The Last Son, Book Two: Reckonings
by The Writer with No Name
Summary: AU Season 2. Crossover with Superman. In his second year at the Institute, the young Man of Steel must deal with new friends, new foes, and growing public curiosity. Rated T for now. Author's Note inside.
1. Author's Note

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi, it's me, The Writer with No Name. I'm back, with my sequel, and I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays! I've had the idea for this story mid-way through the development of Book One, and now I'm developing it; I hope you all like it!

However, I need to say a few things first, for any new readers. First of all, this story, as I said is a sequel to "The Last Son, Book One." It takes place in an alternate universe, and is basically a re-telling of Evolution, with Superman teamed with the X-Men. Also, it helps if you've read Book One, but it's not ABSOLUTELY necessary. I encourage you to read Book One; you should be able to enjoy Book Two more if you do, but you can still enjoy this story if you don't. Whenever I write stories in a saga, I always try to make each one able to stand on its own, so that someone who hasn't read the previous story or knows NOTHING of the characters involved can still enjoy it. As a result, I tend to be descriptive; if you find it somewhat tedious, please forgive me. I just can't write any other way.

Second, I will re-address the issue of flaming (anyone who's read any of my stories can just skip this section). I understand that you may not like my work, but I humbly ask that you please do not flame me. I have a quote from Voltaire at the start of Book One that is relevant to the subject, if you care to read it. I have never and will never flame any writer on I would deeply appreciate the same courtesy from you, my peers.

And last, but not least: the disclaimer: X-Men: Evolution and all Marvel characters are property of Marvel Comics. Superman and all DC characters are property of DC Comics. This story was written solely for my own entertainment, and I am making no money from this.

Thank you all for reading my story (and not flaming). That said…on with the show!


	2. The Return

CHAPTER ONE: THE RETURN

_London International Airport, London, England, September 7, 2007_

The mighty Big Ben clock tower rang out three o'clock over the fog-shrouded London as the passengers of Flight 353 – heading for New York – were boarding. Among them was a fairly tall woman in her late forties, with an average build, as well as fairly long brown hair and green eyes, wearing jeans, and a dark blue jacket, her carry-on over her shoulder. She walked onto the plane, showing her boarding pass, and took her seat, tucking her carry-on under her seat, plugged in the ear-phones provided by the flight attendant, and opted to listen to the radio.

"_...reports indicate that there have been no new Superman sightings in the past few weeks, but that can likely be attributed to the fact that there haven't been any recent disasters; it's been fairly quiet across the globe, which means less work for the elusive Man of Steel! In other news, stock prices at LexCorp have tripled for the second time this month! The company's success has been following this pattern ever since the young Lex Luthor took the reins; the son of Lionel Luthor – _"

"Um...excuse me?"

The woman took off her ear-phones to see another middle-aged lady, slightly overweight, with short, blond hair, green eyes, in a simple, pink, floral dress, smiling at her. "Hi...aren't you the manager of Alison Blaire?"

Bridget Blaire smiled; she'd been half-expecting someone to recognize her ever since she went on this trip to visit her Mum and Dad. Alison had encouraged her manager – and Aunt – to take a vacation, as she was currently between concerts and thus didn't need her manager at the moment. It had been a nice few days, and now she was going back to being manager of her sweet, incredibly talented niece. "Yes, I am." Bridget replied, her voice still holding its British accent, present since childhood. "Can I help you?"

The woman smiled, and held out a poster of Alison: a fairly tall, willowy young woman of 17, with long, shimmery strawberry-blond hair, reaching the middle of her back, sapphire-blue eyes, and perfect, creamy skin, clad in her favorite light-pink tank top, perfectly accentuating her ample curves, and her favorite slim blue jeans, tight against her long, slender legs, her perfectly rosy lips in a sweet smile, as she sat upon a chair in the poster.

Bridget's niece was currently the country's Number One pop singer; she was the most talented and the sweetest young woman anyone could ever meet, on _or_ off stage.

"My daughter is Alison's biggest fan; she'd _love_ it if Alison signed this poster for her!" the woman explained.

Bridget's smile widened. "_Sure_!" she agreed.

"Oh, thank you!" the woman said, handing Bridget the poster, as well as a scrap of paper. "Here's our mailing address; you can just mail it to us when Alison signs it. If she could make it out to my daughter, Megan, I'd be so glad! Thank you so much!"

"My pleasure." Bridget replied; she knew that Alison loved her fans as much as they adored and idolized her. Then, the woman sat down, as the flight attendants began their pre-flight safety demonstration. Before long, the plane was underway.

It had been about three hours after take-off, and Bridget was just reading her new novel...

...when it happened.

The entire plane suddenly dipped, as a loud bang – sounding terribly like an explosion – echoed outside the plane. The emergency air masks dropped down, as Bridget – along with everyone else – became terribly alarmed.

"_Everyone, this is your Captain._" the voice on the loudspeaker said. "_We are experiencing some slight engine trouble and must make an emergency landing. Please put on your masks and prepare for landing. Stay calm; we're all going to be fine._"

Bridget quickly put on her mask, her mind racing. Despite the Captain's words, Bridget was nervous.

Something was terribly wrong...

In the cockpit, both the Captain and the co-pilot had their own masks on, trying to guide their plane into a safe landing on the water.

"_Mayday! Mayday!_" the co-pilot cried into the radio. "_This is Trans-Atlantic Flight 353; we have port engine blow-out and we are going down! Please, can anyone hear us?!_"

No response.

"Forget it, son." the Captain said. "There's nothing anyone can do; we have to get this bird to land smoothly on the water if we're going to have a chance."

"Captain, we're coming in too fast!" the co-pilot cried, frightened; the Captain really couldn't blame him – it was his first co-pilot flight...and it looked to be his _last_. "We're all going to..!"

Suddenly, a blip appeared on their radar.

"W-What the..?!" the co-pilot cried. "Captain, where'd that plane come from?!"

The Captain looked at the screen. "That...that's not a plane..." he murmured, "...it's much too small..."

"Well, whatever it is, it's coming straight for us, _fast_!" the co-pilot cried. "It has to be moving at Mach Five, or _more_!"

"_No_ plane is that fast." the Captain said. "And it's _far_ too small for an aircraft...it looks like a..."

He stopped as his mind finished his statement: '_...a man._'

The Captain and the co-pilot looked at each other. "Hey..." the co-pilot murmured, "...y-you don't think..!"

"No matter what, we keep this bird in the air." the Captain said firmly. The co-pilot nodded. The Captain didn't know how...

...but he knew that help was on its way.

Flight 353 was rapidly losing altitude, its port engine utterly burned out, and starting to catch on fire. In a matter of minutes, the plane would hit the freezing Atlantic Ocean at crushing speeds...

Suddenly, a blue-and-crimson streak shot out of the sky, zooming through the clouds at speeds well above Mach Five, a sonic boom echoing in its wake, flying towards the dying Flight 353. As it approached the plane, the streak slowed, matching its speed...revealing its true form: a tall, powerfully built young man of 20, with short, black hair, slicked back, a few spiky tufts down over his forehead, and piercing sky-blue eyes, clad in a blue bodysuit, skin-tight, accentuating his powerful arms and legs, as well as his chiseled abdominal muscles, with tight red shorts, red boots, a yellow belt about his waist, a long red cape...

...and a large, red stylized 'S' in the middle of his uniform's chest, surrounded by a yellow diamond outlined in red.

Instantly, Superman's lightning-fast mind assessed the situation; that engine-fire had to be dealt with first, before it spread.

Quickly, he flew ahead of the damaged wing, grasping its other side, before he deeply inhaled, and blew; a blast of absolute-zero air left his lungs, both blowing out the fire and coating the engine in frost, preventing future fires.

Superman then moved on to the main problem; he darted to the underside of the plane, grasped it, and _lifted_ as he flew, supporting it.

Slowly, the plane leveled off, and began to climb, reaching cruising altitude.

He had to smile as his ultra-sensitive hearing overheard the pilots: "_Captain, we're climbing! It **was**..!_"

"_Talk later, son; we've got a plane to land. Set course for Bayville Airport; it's the closest stop, now, and we can't take any chances. Hail them, and tell them to have emergency crews ready._"

'_Bayville; works for me._' Superman thought with a smile, as he supported the plane as it flew, all the way to the Westchester town of Bayville. It was mid-afternoon in Bayville when they arrived. Superman gently guided the plane down onto the air-strip, and then quickly flew away before anyone spotted him, flying back up into the upper atmosphere.

He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes, listening for any other incidents that he could help with. Here, watching over the people of the world, he felt truly at peace; he had never – and _would_ never – regretted his decision to use his powers to help the people of this world.

His powers still astounded him, even after having mastered their use. His physiology allowed him to draw energy directly from Earth's yellow sun, giving him access to a wide range of abilities. He could lift _well_ over 50 metric tons, and move at speeds that exceeded Mach Five. His body was utterly invulnerable to conventional weaponry; his skin was untearable, his bones unbreakable...the only thing that could actually hurt him was Kryptonite, which was quite rare...but he still had to be careful. His sight was telescopic, enabling him to see things from miles away, and he could see through many solid objects – an "X-Ray vision" – except objects made of lead. He could also see in infrared, and on a microscopic level. Furthermore, his eyes could generate deadly heat-rays, with enough sheer destructive force to level a building at the very _least_. His hearing was ultra-sharp, and could pick up signals of Ultra-High and Ultra-Low Frequency...like plane distress calls. He could exhale with the force of a _hurricane_, or unleash blasts of absolute-zero-degree air from his lungs, freezing anything in their wake. And finally – the ability he loved the most – he could _fly_.

As he listened for trouble, Superman reflected on the past year, the year he'd spent being Superman...which was a full-time job. He'd also completed his first year of Journalism at Bayville University...

...as well as becoming an X-Man.

Superman smiled to himself. He could still remember the day that Professor Charles Xavier – Headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Children – with Ororo and Logan, as well as his good friends, Scott and Jean, had found him. He'd spent four years before that learning who he was and what he could do.

He was an alien...the sole survivor of the Kryptonian race; the Last Son of Krypton. It had come as a surprise when the 15-year-old Clark Kent had learned this after entering the crystalline sanctuary he'd inadvertently built in the North Pole, from the nano-crystal he'd found in the ship that had brought him to Earth. Now, he had come to terms with his identity, and his place in the world. He'd spent four years in that sanctuary – his Fortress of Solitude – training in the use of his powers, learning from its Knowledge Chamber, taking in all the knowledge, culture, and philosophy of Krypton and the worlds it had been in contact with before its destruction...as well as learning of the world he now lived upon.

And he'd found a home.

The X-Men had become his family, accepting him for all that he was – they accepted him as both Clark Kent _and_ Kal-El. He felt welcome there, just as he had with his Ma, Martha Kent, back in his childhood home of Smallville, Kansas.

Chuckling to himself, he recalled that he actually had more in common with them than he ever had with anyone else. His friends at the Institute were mutants; they possessed the genetic mutation known as the "X-Gene," which imparted special abilities to those who held it; each one was unique. Professor Xavier's dream was of a world where humans and mutants could peacefully co-exist. Currently, the existence of mutants was a secret from the general public.

And that was why Superman tried his very best to stay under the radar when he helped people; if the public had concrete proof that _he_ existed, then they would begin to inquire about _other_ beings with unique abilities.

Like mutants.

His recollection complete, Superman became aware of a sound: his belt-buckle was beeping.

Smiling, Superman unclipped the buckle from the rest of his belt, opening it into a palm-top computer and communicator, activating the call-masking option that kept its signal masked from satellites; he'd developed the unit to stay in contact with the Fortress' computer to keep him appraised of events that his hearing might miss...but it worked equally well as a communicator to stay in touch with his family. "Superman, here." he said.

"_Superman, it's Professor Xavier._" came the reply. "_I trust everything is okay with you?_"

Superman smiled. "Oh...nothing I'm not used to." he replied. Laughing, he added, "But it's _amazing_ what people can get used to!"

The Professor chuckled. "_Yes, I've just heard the news; a plane landed 'miraculously' at Bayville Airport._" he replied. "_You do good work, my young Kryptonian friend._"

Superman just shrugged. "Hey, we've all got to do our part!"

"_I hope there are no other situations that require your attention at the moment,_" the Professor continued, "_because I would like you – as well as the other students – to meet back here as soon as possible._"

Superman listened carefully. "Well, I don't hear anything else." he said. "What's the emergency, Professor?"

"_Oh, it's not an **emergency**; I just wanted everyone to meet our new students. They've arrived just a few hours ago._"

Superman smiled; the Professor had been planning to enroll a number of new students in the Institute, which had recently been remodeled to accommodate the increased numbers. "I'll be right there." he promised. Chuckling, he added, "You haven't told them about me, yet, have you?"

The Professor chuckled. "_I think you're something that they have to **see** to believe, Clark._" he said. "_I hope their reactions don't put you off._"

Superman laughed. "Professor, I've chased meteors through re-entry; what could be scarier than _that_?" he joked. "Don't worry; I'm not going to fly off if they freak out."

"_Promise?_" the Professor joked.

Superman smiled. "Professor, I _never_ lie!" he said. "I'll be there, soon. Superman out." With that, he closed the communicator and clipped it back on his belt, before he flew off towards the Institute, his hands in front of him as he flew, his body torpedo-straight, a sonic boom echoing in his wake.

_Bayville High School Soccer Field, Bayville, New York_

The crowd cheered as Bayville High's Girls Soccer Team recovered the ball, only seconds left on the clock, the score tied, in the last soccer game before the start of the school year. As the other team tried to mount a defense, the girls passed the ball from one teammate to the next in a lightning-quick series of passes, ending with the team captain, right in front of the goal...who kicked the ball just _so_, causing it to arc just past the goalie's reach, into the net...just as the timer buzzed.

_Bayville 6; Gardendale 5._

From the bleachers, 17-year-old Scott "Cyclops" Summers cheered his best friend's goal. Scott was tall, and fairly well-built, with short brown hair, clad in light-brown khaki pants, with a navy-blue sweater, and red ruby-quartz shades covering his blue eyes...due to the fact that his mutant power caused uncontrollable optic-blasts of terrible force to shoot from his eyes.

In the seats next to him were the rest of his friends from the Xavier Institute; Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner, Kitty "Shadowcat" Pryde, Rogue, and Evan "Spyke" Daniels. Kurt, 16, was a bit shorter than Scott, and of athletic frame, with mid-length blue-black hair, blue eyes, clad in light brown khaki pants and a beige sweater. Kitty, also 16, was a bit short, and of delicate build, her long, chestnut hair in a ponytail, her eyes a baby-blue, clad in her usual white t-shirt under her pink hooded sweater and her blue capri pants. Rogue was also 16, of average height, and slender frame, her mid-length auburn hair with white streaks at the front, matching her Goth complexion, her eyes dark green, wearing her usual black tank-top under her green semi-transparent blouse, with her black mini-skirt and black leggings, and black gloves on her hands. And Evan was a 16-year-old African-American youth, fairly tall and of athletic frame, his short hair bleached blond, contrasting his complexion, his eyes dark brown, clad in a white sleeveless t-shirt and light brown pants, his skateboard and helmet under his arm.

They were mutants, too; Kurt had the power to teleport, but his mutation was the most obvious – his skin was naturally blue and fuzzy, with yellow eyes, tridactyl hands and feet, and a long, prehensile spaded tail. The only way he could attend high school was through the image-inducer that Professor Xavier had given him, which cast the illusion of normality over his fuzzy self. Kitty had the power of corporeal intangibility, enabling her to pass through solid matter. Rogue's ability allowed her to drain the energy and memories of anyone who touched her skin...as well as copy the powers of any mutant who touched her; it was why she often covered herself up. And Evan's mutation caused excess bone-growth on command, enabling him to generate bony weapons and armor.

They had all come to support their friend and teammate, Jean Grey...even Rogue. From the bleachers, Scott could see her; Jean was tall, and elegantly built, with long, red hair, currently in a ponytail, and emerald-green eyes, wearing the yellow-and-green jersey and shorts that the rest of her team wore. Jean, like them, was a mutant, capable of telepathy and telekinesis.

Scott left his seat, and hurried down to the field, to congratulate her. He was almost there...

"Going somewhere, Summers?"

Scott groaned as the form of Duncan Matthews blocked his path. Duncan, like Scott, was 17, around his height, and around the same build, with short, blond hair and green eyes, clad in light khaki pants and a green sweater under his letterman jacket. Duncan was the quarterback of the school football team, as well as the school's Big Man on Campus, despite only being a junior, like Scott...

...and he was Jean's boyfriend, which irked Scott to no end.

"Hey, Duncan." Scott greeted neutrally. "I just wanted to say congrats to Jean. That a crime?"

"Didn't she tell you?" Duncan asked, smirking. "I was going to take her out to celebrate. Got a problem with that?"

Scott arched an eyebrow. "She told me she was heading home after the game; I was going to give her a lift."

"Plans change, Summers. Later." Duncan said, before turning his back and walking to Jean, giving her a congratulatory hug.

Scott frowned, and then went back to the others. "Looks like it's just us heading to the Institute." he said.

Rogue arched an eyebrow. "Jean ain't comin'?" she asked, in her Southern accent.

"Nah. She's going off with Duncan." Scott reported, hoping his voice didn't sound as bitter as his thoughts.

"Ach, tough luck, mein friend!" Kurt said, in his friendly German accent.

"Yeah! I mean, what does she _see_ in that guy?" Kitty exclaimed.

Scott smiled. "Thanks, guys." he said. "Anyway, we'd better get going."

"I'll se you guys back at the Institute; I'm going to 'board home." Evan said, donning his helmet and hopping on his board. "Later!" With that, he skated off, as the others headed for Scott's car, to head home.

After Jean accepted Duncan's hug, she looked around for Scott...but couldn't see him. "Duncan, have you seen Scott?" she inquired. "I was going to get a lift home with him and my friends."

Duncan smiled apologetically. "Sorry; he said that something came up – he had to take off early."

"Oh." Jean said; she'd been hoping to talk to him after the game.

"Besides, babe, I wanted to take the team captain out to celebrate." Duncan said.

Now it was _her_ turn to smile apologetically. "Sorry, Duncan, but I really need to get back to the Institute; we're meeting new students." Jean said.

Duncan frowned. "Fine, fine." he muttered. "I'll go warm up the car." With that, he headed off, while Jean headed to the change room.

By the time Jean had changed into her usual light brown khaki pants and light-violet long-sleeved t-shirt, Duncan had his blue convertible ready. Jean walked out of the change room, along with her friend, Taryn Fujioka, a fairly tall, elegantly built 17-year-old Japanese-American girl, with fairly long dark brown hair, and dark eyes, clad in her usual short blue dress and light blue sweater; she was one of the "popular" crowd, like Jean and Duncan. Duncan had agreed to drive Taryn home, as well. The two girls hopped in the car, Jean in front, Taryn in the back, and then Duncan drove out of the parking lot.

As they drove, Jean thought she heard something. "Duncan, turn the radio up." she said, and Duncan did so.

"_...reports are coming in of a 747 developing catastrophic engine failure over the Atlantic, and then miraculously landing at Bayville Airport!_" the anchorwoman said. "_We now take you to the pilot of that airplane._"

"_I thought we were pretty much done for; we were heading for the water too fast – we would've been torn to shreds._" the pilot said. "_All of a sudden, something – I don't know what – just pops up on our radar, coming right out of nowhere! It was too small to be a plane, and **much** too fast – this thing was moving at Mach Five, or **more**! Then, suddenly we get power back, like we were...oh, I don't know...being **lifted**, as if someone was carrying us! I can't explain it, but...I think someone saved us._"

"_I can't speak for anyone else,_" the anchorwoman said, "_but it looks to me that Bayville just had its very first Superman sighting! Will we be seeing any more of the Man of Steel? Who knows? This is Leanne Mitchell, signing off!_"

Jean chuckled to herself. '_Way to go, Clark!_' she thought.

Duncan scowled. "What is it with everybody and this 'Superman' thing?" he muttered. "God, everybody's always saying 'Superman' this and 'Superman' that; the guy's not even _real_!"

Taryn giggled. "Jealous, Duncan?" she teased. To Jean, she added, "Oh my _gosh_, Jean, he was _here_! Do you think he could come back? Oh, I hope I get to _see_ him!"

Jean managed to suppress her knowing smile; practically all the girls at Bayville High were talking about Superman. "I don't know." she said honestly; Superman only went where he was needed.

Duncan rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"Why do you think he never shows himself?" Taryn continued.

"Oh, I'm sure he has a reason." Jean said.

"But why _not_?" Taryn exclaimed.

Duncan smirked. "Maybe he's butt-ugly."

"_Duncan!!_" Taryn cried. "He is _so_ _not!!_"

Jean didn't know how she managed to keep the smile off her face as Duncan drove on, towards the Institute.

Scott and the others were on the way home, in traffic, in Scott's prized red convertible, with Scott driving, Kitty up front, and Kurt and Rogue in the back, when they heard the news report.

Scott smiled. "Looks like Superman saves the day again." he said.

"Was there ever a _doubt_?" Kitty exclaimed, beaming.

Even Rogue smiled. "If Wonder-Boy can shoot down _meteors_ fallin' from orbit, catchin' planes has ta be _borin'_ for him."

"You know Superman; no job is too small, _or_ too big!" Kurt exclaimed.

By then, they were under an overpass, and traffic had slowed to a _crawl_. Scott happened to look up...and saw a police car chasing another car. Suddenly, the car hit an empty school bus, before careening over to the other side, both vehicles hanging over the edge of the overpass.

Scott and the others watched in horror at what was about to happen. "Oh my gosh...w-what do we _do_?!" Kitty cried.

"Ve can't just let zhose people fall!" Kurt exclaimed.

Scott knew that no-one else could get to those people in time, except Superman, and there was no way _he_ could do it without being seen.

It was up to _them_.

"Rogue," Scott instructed, pointing to a nearby warehouse, "take the wheel and meet us behind that warehouse. Kurt, you 'port the drivers of those vehicles to safety. Kitty, you phase us all out of sight when we're done."

"_Jawohl!_" Kurt agreed.

"Okay." Kitty said. Then, the three of them got out of the car, and darted out of sight, as Rogue took the wheel.

Quickly, Scott took aim, and fired his optic-blasts at the two vehicles, pushing them back onto the road. At once, Kurt vanished with a _bamf!_ and appeared inside first the car, then the bus, grabbing each driver, and then 'porting them to the side of the road below, before anyone noticed. Kurt and Scott then met up with Kitty next to the warehouse, who took their hands, and phased through the walls of the warehouse, unnoticed, to sneak out through the back, where Rogue was waiting. They quickly piled into the car, as Scott took over driving, and headed off, taking a less direct route home.

Everyone kept quiet as they drove, but Scott actually felt pretty good.

They'd used their powers to help those people.

Scott allowed himself to smile. '_I guess this is how Clark feels._' he thought, as he kept driving.

_Xavier Institute, Westchester, New York_

In the stately mansion of the Xavier Institute, in its expansive back yard, near a cliff overlooking the sea, Professor Charles Francis Xavier was watching the Institute's newest students, smiling proudly.

Charles was in his early fifties, fairly tall, and of average build, though he was confined to a wheelchair. His head was bald, with light skin, and dark eyes, wearing black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt under his light brown sweater. He was a mutant – one of the most powerful telepaths in the world, and the Headmaster of the Institute.

Standing beside him were his two instructors, Ororo "Storm" Munroe, and Logan, or "Wolverine." Ororo was a tall, elegantly built African-American lady in her thirties, with long, cloud-white hair, a stunning contrast to her chocolate skin, and dark eyes, wearing a light purple, short-sleeved blouse, with a long, matching skirt. Her mutant power gave her mastery over the weather.

Logan, seemingly in his forties, was also tall, and strongly built, with short, dark black hair, and cold blue eyes, wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His mutant power gave him heightened senses and a healing factor for near-instantaneous recovery from any injury...but he also had an adamantium-infused skeleton, with retractable razor-sharp claws. The both of them were observing their latest additions to the Institute: the New Mutants.

Standing by the fountain was 14-year-old Robert Drake, or "Bobby," as he preferred, fairly tall and of average build, with short, light-brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a light blue t-shirt and brown pants, gifted with the ability to generate sub-zero temperatures. He reached his hand into the water, using his powers to chill the water a little bit...before lightly splashing the girl leaning by the fountain.

The girl, 14-year-old Jubilation Lee, or "Jubilee," shrieked in surprise, before laughing and splashing Bobby back. Jubilee was a slender Chinese-American girl of average height, with long black hair and dark eyes, wearing a light violet t-shirt under a yellow sweater, and violet slacks. Her mutant ability allowed her to generate firework-like flashes of light from her hands.

"_CANNONBALL!!_"

14-year-old Sam Guthrie yelled out a warning as he shot through the air, his power turning him into a living ballistic missile, also rendering him – thank goodness – impervious to harm in that state. Sam landed flat on his face; he was a tall, well-built young man from Kentucky, with short blond hair, and blue eyes, wearing blue jeans, a blue vest, and a black t-shirt underneath. Sitting up, Sam started to laugh good-naturedly at his own foolishness.

A few feet away, 11-year-old Jamie Madrox, a fairly short boy with brown hair and hazel eyes, in a red sweater and brown pants, was playing frisbee with Rahne Sinclair, a 14-year-old Scottish lass, with mid-length red hair in two short pigtails, as well as blue eyes, wearing a green tank-top and beige khaki pants. As Jamie threw the frisbee, Rahne used her mutant ability, changing into a red-furred half-wolf being, before morphing into a _real_ wolf, which easily caught the disc, and threw it back, becoming human again. The frisbee knocked Jamie over, the impact activating his ability; where there was once one Jamie, now there were _six_.

Further away, three of the new students were just idly chatting: Ray Crisp, Amara Aquila, and Roberto DeCosta. Ray, 14, was of average height and build, with short blond hair, streaked with orange and spiked in the front, and blue eyes, clad in blue jeans, a light blue t-shirt, and a darker blue flannel shirt under that. His ability enabled him to generate electricity on command.

Amara, also 14, was a bit shorter, of slender build, with long, dark chestnut hair, lightly tanned skin, and brown eyes, wearing magenta slacks, a light-violet t-shirt, and a white jacket over that. She was native to the hidden island of Nova Roma, a place where the days of the old Roman Empire hadn't left, where modern technology hadn't reached at all; the Institute was completely new to her, and it had taken time for the Professor to teach her enough about the modern world to attend the Institute, as well as high school. Her mutant power enabled her to control flame, as well as assume a fiery, lava-like state, in which her powers strengthened.

Roberto was a tall, well-built Brazilian youth of 14, with light-tanned skin, short brown hair, and brown eyes. He was wearing light brown khaki pants, and a dark red t-shirt. His power enabled him to draw energy from the sun –he had to have _direct_ sunlight to use it – causing him to assume a jet-black, flame-outlined "powered-up" state, where he had super-strength, limited invulnerability, limited flight, and the ability to generate flame-blasts.

From a few feet away, 16-year-old Tabitha Smith peered out from behind a corner, spying the three students – her next victims. Tabitha was fairly tall, her frame fairly curvy, with short, blond hair, and mischievous green eyes, wearing a light rose-colored blouse, and blue jeans. She snapped her fingers, using her ability, generating a tiny, glowing sphere; a tiny explosive charge – a cherry bomb.

With the accuracy of a professional, she flicked the tiny charge behind the three young mutants; seconds later, it detonated in a tiny _pop_, startling the three of them. Tabitha burst out laughing at her little prank...

...until she saw the three of them glaring at her, Ray's hands sparking with electricity, Amara holding a flame-orb on her fingertip, and Roberto having powered-up, glowing with energy.

Tabitha smiled sheepishly. "Um...oops?"

Ororo could only smile as the three of them watched the little scene, particularly the half-hearted chase following Tabitha's prank. "Quite the spirited bunch." she commented pleasantly.

Logan half-smiled. "That's _one_ way to put it." he said.

Charles smiled. "I'm glad we put in those extra rooms; we'll certainly need them."

Logan chuckled. "That ain't _all_ we'll need, Chuck." he said. "Maybe I ought to call in a few favors with Steve; see if he can get Fury to lend us a couple of _tanks_." He grinned. "You haven't told 'em about Flyboy, yet, have ya, Chuck?"

Charles smiled. "No, not yet." he admitted.

Ororo smiled. "Clark should make quite the impression." she said.

Charles nodded. "Yes, Clark does tend to have that effect." he agreed. When he'd first asked Clark to join, he knew that, even though he was an alien, Clark would be a shining example for mutants everywhere; both to inspire young mutants, and to show the human race that mutants were no threat to them.

His nickname was well-deserved.

Just then, he sensed the rest of the Institute students returning home. "Everyone," he called to the New Mutants, "come meet the rest of the Institute family!" With that, he rolled back into the Institute, heading for the front door, and the front yard, with Ororo and Logan following, with the New Mutants close behind.

When Scott and the others arrived at the Institute, Evan was just pulling up on his skateboard, and Jean was just arriving, Duncan driving off with Taryn after Jean got out. "Hey!" Jean called, smiling as she walked up to him.

"Hey." Scott greeted, smiling, hopping out of his car. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Jean replied, smiling as Scott gave her a friendly hug. Then, lightly frowning, she added, "But what happened? I thought we were going to drive home."

'_Huh?_' Scott thought. "Duncan told me that he was taking you out to celebrate; that you were going with _him_..."

"He told _me_ that you said that something came up..." Jean replied.

They both had the same realization.

Jean's cherry eyebrows narrowed in annoyance. "Duncan lied." she said angrily. "Ooh, _boy_ am I going to let him have it! If he has a problem with me spending time with my best friend, he's just going to have to _lump_ it!!" She looked at Scott apologetically. "Oh, Slim, I'm so _sorry_."

"Don't worry about it, Jean." Scott assured her, smiling. At that, Jean smiled at him; it was the smile that could all-too-easily make his heart do back-flips...

Suddenly, a dark green jeep pulled up, and one of the newer members of the X-Men family hopped out. "Hey, guys." 17-year-old Lance "Avalanche" Alvers said, smiling. Lance was around the same height and build as Scott, with fairly short, brown hair, and brown eyes, wearing blue jeans, and a black t-shirt under a brown vest. His power was that of geological manipulation, enabling him to create earthquakes. He had once been a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, their rivals, until Superman had convinced him to join their team during the events of Asteroid M.

"Hey, Lance!" Kitty greeted happily. "How come you didn't come to the game?"

Lance smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Kit, but I've never been a big fan of soccer." he said. To Jean, he added, "No offence, Jean."

Jean smiled. "None taken."

"You're coming to the assembly tomorrow, right?" Kitty asked him.

Lance grinned. "If _you're_ going, then I wouldn't miss it!" he said, causing Kitty to blush lightly.

Just then, the sound of a motorcycle cut the air, causing Rogue to groan. "Oh, _Gawd_..."

A sweet-looking Harley motorcycle pulled up; its driver was tall and of athletic build, wearing a brown trenchcoat, with a black bodysuit underneath it. He removed his helmet, revealing a young man of 17, with short, dark reddish-brown hair...and utterly black eyes, with red irises. He was Remy "Gambit" LeBeau, an incredibly talented thief and a former member of the New Orleans Thieves Guild, who'd left the Guild – to escape a marriage to, as Remy had put it, "the bitchiest woman on the face of the planet" – and decided to join up after Asteroid M. His mutant ability allowed him to charge any object with kinetic energy, changing it into a deadly explosive.

Remy smiled at Rogue, hopping off his bike. "_Bonjour, cherie._" he greeted, in his Cajun accent. "Remy can' tell y' 'ow much 'e missed y'."

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "_Gawd_, Swamp-Rat, when are ya goin' to take a _hint_?!" she snapped.

Remy smiled. "Dat brutal 'onesty...dat sharp tongue...music t' Remy's ears!" he said.

Lance whistled as he saw the bike. "Nice wheels, LeBeau!"

"_Merci_." Remy replied. Grinning, he added, "Remy lifted dis bike from Julien, de leader o' de Rippers, some time ago – ol' Jules ain' nev'r forgiven Remy for it."

"So, where were you?" Scott inquired.

"Oh, jus' 'ad t' pick up some o' Remy's stuff back in N'awlins." Remy replied, tapping the side-bags on his bike. "Remy's _pere_ was still 'angin' onto 'em, but Remy jus' took 'em off o' 'is 'ands."

Jean chuckled. "In other words, you stole them."

Remy feigned looking insulted. "Dat's an _awful_ word, chere! Remy _nev'r_ stole anyt'ing!" he protested. "Remy pref'r t' say dat 'e... 'creativ'ly repossessed' 'em."

They all got a good laugh at that. "So, I guess CK isn't here, yet." Evan said. "Must still be out doing his hero thing!"

"Ah, _oui, le Derniere Fils de Krypton_..."(1) Remy said, chuckling. "If y' 'ad told Remy 'bout 'im a year ago, Remy would 'ave _nev'r_ believed y'!"

Just then, Professor Xavier rolled out of the Institute, followed by Miss Munroe and Logan, and then by nine more students – the New Mutants, Scott figured. "Welcome home." the Professor greeted. To the New Mutants, he said, "These are our first students, the X-Men." To the X-Men, he added, "And these are our new students."

Introductions were quickly made and pleasantries exchanged. "Now," the Professor said, "there's one more member of the X-Men that you have to meet."

"Well, who is it?" Bobby inquired.

Scott smiled. "You kinda...have to _see_ him to believe him, Bobby." he said. At that, a sonic boom echoed above their heads, startling the New Mutants.

Ororo smiled. "Ah, he's here!" she said.

Rahne blinked, looking around. "_Who??_" she asked, in her Scottish accent. "I dinnae see 'nary a soul, save all of us!"

"Professor, suh, who are ya all talkin' about?" Sam asked, in his Southern accent. "Ah don't see anyone else!"

Remy chuckled. "Dat's 'cause y' ain' lookin' in de right direction, _mon ami_."

Smiling, Kurt looked up, cupped his hands, and shouted, "Hey, Big Blue! Zhe New Mutants vant to meet you!"

Amara looked confused. "Um...why is he shouting at the sky?" she asked.

Smiling, Jean said, "Amara, he's shouting at the person _in_ the sky."

Jamie's eyes widened. "You...you mean..." he murmured. At that, the New Mutants all looked up...

In seconds, Superman descended at lightning speeds, stopping perfectly on the ground without so much as making a sound. "You didn't have to _shout_, Little Blue." he said, smiling. To the X-Men, he added, "Hey, guys. Anything new?"

Scott shrugged. "Oh, not much."

Superman turned to the Professor. "I'm sorry I'm late, Professor; I had to help a cat get down from a tree."

Smiling, the Professor replied, "Oh, that's quite alright, Superman."

Superman then turned to the New Mutants, who were all looking at him in shock. "I'm guessing you're the new students." he said, smiling. "Welcome to the Institute!"

No response.

Superman looked concerned. "Is...something wrong?"

"_Mah Good Lord...he's real..._" Sam murmured.

Bobby opened his mouth...and promptly closed it.

Rahne didn't move.

Ray just stared.

Amara gasped, her hands covering her mouth.

Jamie gazed up at Superman with awe.

Roberto rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.

Tabitha looked Superman over. "_Damn_..." she said, smiling, "...about _time_ we had something good to look at around here!"

"I'm...sorry if I startled you..." Superman began.

"_OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!!!_" Jubilee squealed. "_You're REAL!! You're really, really REAL!!!_" Then, she gasped. "Oh, my God...I just made a total _fool_ of myself!" she lamented. "In front of _Superman!!_"

Kitty laughed. "Don't worry, Jubilee! That was _my_ reaction, too!" she assured the younger girl.

Smiling, the Professor said, "I think we should all head inside. X-Men, please meet in my office; we need to discuss a few things." Everyone nodded, and they all headed inside, the X-Men heading for the Professor's office, with Superman just heading to his room, to change, before meeting them later.

After returning to his room and putting on his street clothes – blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black jacket – over his uniform, Clark headed to the Professor's office, where the X-Men had already assembled. "Ah, Clark," the Professor greeted, as Clark walked in, closing the door, "we were just discussing the room arrangements. There will have to be a few changes, due to our increased numbers. Lance, you will have to share a room with Evan."

Lance shrugged. "Okay."

"No problem." Evan said.

"Very well." the Professor said. "Tabitha and Amara will share a room; Bobby and Sam will share a room; Ray and Roberto will share a room; Jubilee and Rahne will be sharing a room; Jamie will have one room; and, Clark, you and Remy will have to share a room."

Rogue chuckled. "Careful, Wonder-Boy; you'd better make sure that Swamp-Rat doesn't swipe any of yer stuff."

Remy grinned. "Chere, y' wound Remy!" he said. "Remy got 'nough sense t' know not t' steal from someone who could – lit'rally – turn Remy inside-out!"

Clark chuckled. "Hopefully, it won't come to that."

Rogue glared at Remy. "Get this through yer head, Cajun – _Ah ain't yer chere!!_"

Chuckling, the Professor continued, "Next, there's the issue of the new students' training. They're going to need someone to supervise their training, someone who has mastered their powers. Naturally, Wolverine will still be overseeing all Danger Room sessions, but they should have someone that they can relate to more; someone closer to their age – a field-leader."

Kitty smiled. "I think I know who _that_ should be." All the others nodded, smiling in agreement.

Clark blinked. "Who?" he asked. One-by-one, their gazes all fell to him.

It hit him harder than a punch from Juggernaut.

"_W-What??_" he exclaimed. "_Me?_ Guys, come _on!_ That's ridiculous!"

"I think it's a good idea, Clark!" Ororo said, smiling.

Clark looked to his friends. "You can't be serious! I'd be the _worst_ choice; I mean, with my 'job,' I could never commit to a schedule – I'd be setting a terrible example!"

"I think they'd understand, Clark." Jean said. "I think you'd make a good leader for them!"

Clark looked to Logan. "Logan, tell them what a bone-headed idea this is!"

Logan just grinned. "Hope yer powers include super-_patience_, Flyboy!"

"Now, we _should_ get the New Mutants' input." the Professor said. "This is about _them_; they deserve a say in this."

Clark suddenly heard something; he looked to the closed door, and used his X-Ray vision, his eyes flashing electric-blue...

He half-smiled, and walked to the door. "Why not ask them _now_?" he suggested, and he opened the door.

All the New Mutants toppled into the office, from having been listening at the door. "How did you _know_??" Bobby asked.

Clark smiled, and tapped his ears. "When you have ultra-sensitive hearing and X-Ray vision, it gets a little difficult for people to pull a fast one on you." he said. "I assume you heard that last bit."

"Oh, _please_ say yes, Superman!" Jubilee pleaded.

"It'd be so cool to have you as our leader!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Really, guys – you wouldn't _want_ me for the job!" Clark said. "I mean, I'd be half-way through a training session with you when my hearing picks up a train wreck in Texas and I'd have to bolt! I'd be the _worst_ candidate!"

The Professor smiled. "The best choice for any leader would be the one who wants it _least_; I truly think that you could inspire them, Superman."

Clark sighed; the Professor certainly knew how to work the guilt-angle. He looked to the New Mutants. "Are you _sure_ you want me to do this?"

"Yes!" Jubilee exclaimed.

"Sure!" Bobby agreed.

"Okay." Ray said.

"I'm game." Tabitha agreed.

"No problem!" Sam said, smiling.

Roberto shrugged. "Fine."

"'Tis fine with me." Rahne said.

"Okay." Amara agreed.

Clark half-smiled. "Fine, fine; I'll do it." he relented.

"Oh, thank you, Superman!" Jubilee exclaimed. Then, she gasped. "Oh my gosh! W-We don't even know your real _name!!_"

Clark chuckled. "My birth-name is Kal-El," he said, "but my friends call me Clark Kent."

Bobby blinked. "'_Kal-El_'??" he repeated.

"What kinda name is _that_??" Roberto asked, incredulous.

"This is so _cool_!!" Jamie exclaimed. "We're gonna be led by _Superman_, Defender of Truth, Justice, and the American Way!!"

Clark inwardly groaned. '_Who comes **up** with this stuff?_' he thought. "Jamie, you make it sound like I'm part of a comic book..." But his voice trailed off, as his hearing picked something up. "_Uh-oh._"

The X-Men and the instructors all knew that sound. "Uh-oh."

The New Mutants didn't. "'Uh-oh'??"

"Australia." Clark said, his eyes closed, _listening_. "Ferry taking on water. Rescue crews are too far away."

Kitty chuckled. "Well, looks like another job for Superman!"

"Are you gonna go save those people?" Jamie whispered.

Clark had to smile. '_He's a sweet kid._' he thought. He reached down and affectionately ruffled Jamie's hair. "That's the plan, champ." he said.

And with that, he darted out of the office, zipping into his room and leaving his clothes there, now back in his uniform, darting towards a nearby window, opening it and flying out at top speeds, heading towards Australia, a sonic boom echoing in his wake.

Scott had to smile at the New Mutants' reaction to Superman flying off to save the day once again. "Okay, that is _definitely_ cool." Bobby said.

"Ja, zat kinda...never _stops_ being cool." Kurt agreed.

"Well, that covers everything." Professor Xavier said. "That will be all." With that, everyone turned to go.

"Scott, may I speak with you?"

Scott stopped, and headed back in. "Is...something wrong?" he asked.

The Professor looked stern. "Scott, before you came back here...you used your powers in public."

Scott inwardly grimaced; he'd figured that the Professor might ask him about that. "Yes." he admitted. "Someone was going to get hurt; I didn't know what else to do."

The Professor sighed. "Scott, morally, I agree with you; using your powers for good is admirable." he said. "But this is exactly the kind of thing I have cautioned Clark about; your beam was caught on the news. Fortunately, the beam was the _only_ thing caught."

Scott nodded. "I understand." he said. "But the more I think about it, the more I think that we _should_ be using our powers for good! We should be _helping_ people! Then everyone will _know_ we're not a threat!"

"Scott, I understand how you feel; I've _been_ there." the Professor said. "But the truth is that people simply aren't ready to know about us."

Scott sighed. "Yes, sir."

The Professor smiled. "I am proud of you for helping those people, Scott." he said. "I'm only asking you to try to keep your powers a secret if you ever need to do so again."

Scott nodded. "I will."

"Good. That will be all." the Professor said. With that, Scott left the office.

_Bayville High School, September 8, 2007_

The first day back to school was pretty lax, Scott had always found. Currently, he was sitting in the bleachers in the gymnasium; the school now had a new principal, who was going to give a speech.

"Hey."

Looking up, Scott smiled as Jean sat down next to him. "Hey." he greeted. "I thought you'd be sitting with Duncan."

"So did he." Jean replied. "I told him that I wanted to sit with my best friend, and that he would have to deal with it."

Scott's smile grew. "Thanks." he replied. "So, any word on the new principal?"

"I think his name is Edward Kelly." Jean said. "But I don't know anything else."

Just then, the new principal – Edward Kelly – walked onto the podium at the front. He was of average height and frame, in his mid-forties, with short, thinning brown hair, and brown eyes framed by glasses, in a casual brown suit, a neck-tie around his neck. He smiled as he stood behind the microphone. "Good morning, everyone; I'm Edward Kelly, and I'll be your principal for this year." he said. "Now I'm sure a lot of you are thinking that you're not any different from the person next to you; that there's absolutely nothing special about you."

"Well, you'd be wrong."

"Everyone has things that set them apart; everyone has their own special talents." Mr. Kelly continued. "All I ask is that you all think about how best to use your special gifts to make this a great school year, not just for yourselves, but for _everyone_!" Grinning, he added, "I also ask you to come out tonight to support the Girls' Soccer Team before they go on to the State Championships!"

A cheer went up from the students assembled. Scott chuckled. "Mr. Kelly has no idea how ironic that speech was." he joked.

"I _know_!" Jean giggled. Then, as the students all began to head back to class, Scott and Jean got up, and headed for their classes.

Before too long, classes had ended, and Lance and Kitty were just heading for Lance's jeep; Lance was giving Kitty a ride home. "Oh, my _God_, how ironic was Mr. Kelly's speech?" Kitty exclaimed.

Lance laughed. "Yeah, I nearly busted a gut after he was finished!" he said.

"And did you see who's teaching us Chemistry?" Kitty exclaimed. "It's Mr. McCoy!"

"Who?" Lance asked, confused.

"He's someone who helped us run a few tests on..." Kitty began, but paused as someone passed by, before whispering, "...on You-Know-Who!"

"Oh." Lance said. "Cool."

"So, this is why you ditched us."

Lance sighed, as he turned to face his old teammates, the three remaining members of the Brotherhood of Mutants: Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff, Fred "Blob" Dukes, and Todd "Toad" Tolansky. Pietro, 16, was of average height, and of a lean, light frame, with short, silver hair, and light blue eyes, wearing jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. His mutant power gave him super-speed...but he wasn't _nearly_ as fast as Superman, which bugged Pietro to no end.

Fred, also 16, was Pietro's opposite; he was very tall, and immensely fat, with blond hair in a mohawk, and brown eyes, wearing a green t-shirt with jean-overalls. Fred's mutant power – coupled with his weight – gave him considerable strength, as well as a uni-directional gravity field, making him borderline _immovable_.

Todd, 16 as well, was around Pietro's height, and gangly, with messy, sandy-blond hair, and green eyes coated by a murky film, wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His mutant power gave him an uncanny jumping ability, the power to spit sticky globs of slime, and a long, frog-like tongue...which he used to catch flies.

Lance sighed. "Hey, guys." he greeted.

"Don't 'Hey, guys,' us, _traitor_." Pietro spat. "You ditched us...just so you could have a chance to get your little Kitty caught in a _tree_."

Lance's eyes narrowed. "I _left_, Pietro, because your old man was _nuts_." he said. To Fred and Todd, he added, "And you two should've come _with_ me."

"We stick by our friends." Fred said.

"We ain't workin' for Bucket-Head no more, yo." Todd said. "We're just doin' our own thing."

"So you just tell your X-Geeks and Super-Dork to stay out of our way." Pietro snarled.

Lance chuckled; so Pietro still had his hate for Superman. "Pietro, he's probably already _heard_ you, by now."

Kitty giggled. "A voice as annoying as yours is hard to miss..." she said, "...and that's if you _don't_ have super-hearing!" Scowling, Pietro headed off, the rest of the Brotherhood following, and Lance and Kitty left the school.

_Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House_

After school, Pietro and the Brotherhood had returned to their hangout...which was little more than a run-down – bordering on condemned – building that hadn't seen a fresh coat of paint in _decades_. Fred and Todd were just watching TV while Pietro rapidly paced in the hall outside the living room.

It had been a few months since his father's plan had been wrecked...by Super-Dork and the X-Geeks, he added, scowling to himself. He hadn't heard from Magneto ever since..._or_ from his father's associate, the shape-shifting Mystique.

So, why the hell were they just sitting around, playing nice like Xavier's cronies?!

Pietro smiled to himself, as he got an idea. "Hey, guys," he said, "aren't you tired of staying in the shadows, while Super-Dork gets all the glory? Isn't it high time we let everyone know that he isn't the _only_ guy with powers, around here?"

Todd and Fred looked up from the TV. "Wait, you mean..?" Todd asked.

"Yeah." Pietro said. "There's a rally, tonight, isn't there? Well, I say we make it a night to _remember!_"

"Yeah!" Fred exclaimed.

Pietro smiled as his pals agreed. '_And after we make our entrance,_' he thought, _'I'm gonna tell the world about that alien freak...and **then** we'll see if anyone talks about Super-Dork!_'

As night fell, a crowd had gathered in the school soccer field, as the pep rally was in full swing, complete with TV cameras. Scott and the rest of the X-Men were in the bleachers, except Jean – who was with her teammates on the field – as well as the Institute instructors. "Professor," Kitty inquired, "did Clark say he was going to drop by?"

Professor Xavier nodded. "He said he was just going to finish his 'job' for tonight before dropping by."

Looking around, Scott noticed that Rogue was missing. "Hey, has anyone seen Rogue?"

"I zhink she vanted to sit next to her new friend, Risty." Kurt reported. "She said zhat zhey met at zhe assembly, today."

By then, Principal Kelly had finished introducing the Girls' Soccer Team. "And now," he spoke into the microphone, gesturing to the large, firework-laden bronze hawk behind him, "let me introduce our new mascot, the Bayville Hawk – "

But he was cut off, as a silver streak snatched the microphone out of his hands, darting away.

'_Oh, no..._' Scott thought, '_...**Quicksilver**..._'

Quicksilver, in his uniform – a sleek, streamlined aqua-green bodysuit with silver chest armor and boots – darted to the top of the bleachers, joined by Blob and Toad, also in uniform; Blob wore dark green pants and a matching vest, under a white t-shirt, and Toad had donned a green bodysuit with cream-colored, hunch-backed chest-armor.

"Good evening, Bayville High!" Quicksilver said into the microphone. "You probably know the three of us – the 'school rejects,' but you probably don't know us _that_ well. You see, everyone...we're mutants."

Scott and the X-Men froze in horror, as the color drained out of Professor Xavier's face. "_No..._" he whispered.

"Oh, you don't know what a mutant is?" Quicksilver continued. "Do I have to _spell_ it out for you? We've got special powers that you human chumps don't! Take me, for example; like you've probably guessed, I've got super-speed! Fred here's got super-strength, and Todd can jump higher than the whole basketball team put together!"

At that, Blob jumped down from the bleachers...and started to push on them, making them start to collapse, sending the crowd into a panic...which was worsened by Toad hopping between the crowd, firing his slime-globs.

He smiled wickedly. "And don't even get me _started_ on the Institute students! You know, like Scott Summers and Jean Grey? They're mutants, _too!_"

"Professor..." Scott began.

"I know what you're going to say, Scott." the Professor said. "Do it."

"And if you thought _that_ was freaky, you all ain't seen _nothing_, yet!" Quicksilver sneered. "Boy, have I got a surprise for you..!"

He was cut off as Scott fired his optic-blasts, sending Quicksilver flying, stopping whatever he had been about to say. "Kitty, get to those TV cameras and short them out." Scott instructed. "Everyone else, try and contain the Brotherhood." At that, the X-Men team darted out of the bleachers, heading onto the field.

Recovering, Quicksilver scowled...and then smiled wickedly, as he darted towards the school mascot, grabbing a lighter...and lighting every single firework he could find. In seconds, the fireworks went off, flying haphazardly across the field, going every which way, as the mascot began to dangerously tip, driving the crowd into an even _bigger_ panic.

Scott and the X-Men tried to close in on the Brotherhood, but the panicking crowd kept getting in their way. Then, Scott's eyes widened in horror, as the new mascot began to fall...heading right for Principal Kelly, who was frozen in terror. There was no way Scott could blast it; he couldn't get a clear shot...

Suddenly, a familiar sonic boom echoed overhead, and Scott smiled.

Backup had arrived.

Superman had been flying back to Bayville when he'd heard Quicksilver's announcement. '_Oh, no._' he thought, horrified, as he doubled his speed. When he'd arrived, he saw the soccer field in chaos, people panicking, fireworks flying everywhere...

Then, he saw a large, bronze hawk – the mascot, he guessed – about to fall over on a middle-aged man – the Principal.

He knew that if he went down there, he would be seen; he would no longer be a myth. But Pietro had already exposed mutants...

Superman's eyes narrowed. If he didn't act, people would get hurt; he could sort things out _later_.

Superman dove out of the sky, heading towards the falling mascot, and landed in front of it, pushing it back, causing it to roll back harmlessly. The threat averted, Superman turned to the almost-victim. "Are you alright, sir?"

The Principal looked at him with frightened eyes. "D-Dear Lord..!"

"Please, sir, get to safety." Superman instructed. "It's too dangerous to be in the open; find cover and you'll be safe."

"All...all right." the Principal murmured, still shocked. Then, he quickly hurried off.

Then, Superman spied a girl in a soccer uniform – Taryn, one of Jean's friends, he believed – running away from numerous fireworks. In less than a second, Superman darted between her and the fireworks, before inhaling and blowing his freezing-breath, freezing the fireworks _solid_, causing them to crash to the ground harmlessly. "Are you okay, miss?"

Taryn, who'd been hunched over in fearful anticipation, stood up and turned to her rescuer. "_Oh my God...OH MY GOD!!!_" she squealed. "_You're HERE!!_"

"I'll assume that means 'yes'." Superman said. Then, he spied a number of bleachers wobbling dangerously...with _people still trapped on them..._

Like lightning, Superman darted over to the bleachers, taking firm hold of the metal struts damaged by Blob. His eyes glowed red, as he fired a surgically-precise red heat-ray at the damaged metal, welding it solid, again. He darted to the next damaged strut, and then the next, welding them back together, until the stands were stable.

Just then, a familiar silver blur began to run around him, circling him. "Oh, you just _had_ to wreck our fun, _didn't_ you, Mr. 'Save-the-Day'!!" Quicksilver sneered. "Well, not _this_ time!!"

His eyes narrowing, Superman watched Pietro's path...and unleashed his gale-breath at the exact moment, just as Pietro ran into its path, blowing the speedster back over fifty feet. "_This_ time, and _every_ time, Pietro." Superman replied.

By then, most of the crowd had cleared the field, and Superman could clearly see the X-Men. Scott grinned at him. "What took you so long, big guy?"

Superman chuckled. "You know how air-traffic is, these days!"

Just then, Blob rushed at him, roaring angrily, swinging at him. Superman blocked Blob's punch, and then trapped his arm, locking Blob's elbow, immobilizing his arm, and followed with a punch to Blob's gut, sending Blob flying back thirty feet, his punch echoing like a _thunderclap_. As Blob tried to recover, Jean rushed over and used her telekinesis to levitate him, enhancing the impact of Scott's optic-blasts as he blasted Blob, sending him flying.

As Quicksilver recovered, enraged, he ran at Superman. Evan saw him, and fired a bone-spike from his forearm, which stuck into the ground...right in Pietro's path, causing him to trip...and fall into Rogue's outstretched bare hand; Quicksilver instantly fell unconscious as Rogue drained him enough to keep him out.

Toad hopped toward Lance, readying a slime-glob; Lance focused, shaking the earth...and causing a stone pillar to shoot up, striking Toad and knocking him off-balance, where he was promptly booted in mid-air by Kurt, who'd 'ported in to intercept him, sending Toad flying off to the side, landing on the ground. He tried to get up...but couldn't; his feet were stuck in the ground...as Kitty phased up from the earth. Toad's eyes narrowed in anger...

...and then, numerous glowing playing-cards formed a circle around him, thrown by an expert hand. Toad's eyes widened. "Aw, not _again!!_"

Remy smiled as he put his deck away. "Feelin' lucky, _mon ami_?"

The cards detonated, sending Toad flying, to land hard, bruised but otherwise fine.

"Guess not."

As the Brotherhood slowly recovered, Quicksilver glared at Superman and the X-Men. "This ain't over, losers!" he snarled, and he ran off, followed by his teammates.

As the Brotherhood left, Superman looked about the wreckage of the field, as he now had time to think.

He'd been seen; they _all_ had.

Then, as the crowd slowly began to walk back into the field, regarding them all warily, he couldn't help but feel worried.

Charles felt ill as he looked at what had just occurred. He was proud of the X-Men for helping to contain the Brotherhood...

...but the damage was done. Mutants were exposed; he had to move fast. "Ororo, put out the fires." he instructed. Ororo nodded, and summoned a rain cloud, extinguishing any remaining flames.

Charles then began to gather his mental strength; for what he hoped to do, he'd need every _ounce_ of energy he had.

On the ruined field, Scott looked wistfully at his schoolmates, who were now regarding him with suspicion and, in some cases, disgust. The Professor had been right.

Even though he – and the others – had tried to do good, people weren't ready.

Then, he saw Jean turning away, her arms folding about herself, saddened...from the expression on Duncan's face, akin to revulsion. Scott moved closer to her, looping a comforting arm around her shoulders...although he wanted to pound Matthews for making her feel bad.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Duncan turn...to look at Superman, his expression becoming utterly _hateful_. Then, other people started to look at Superman, it only just dawning on them who he was.

"Dear Lord...the guy's _real_..."

"He...actually exists..."

"He's even _dreamier_ than I thought..." _That_ had come from Taryn.

Then, the students began to look at Scott and his friends differently, with more confusion than anything else. "Hey..._they_ saved us, too..." one student said. Similar murmurs began to rise from other students.

By then, Professor Xavier had rolled over to them. "Professor, what do we do, now?" Scott asked.

"Don't worry, Scott." the Professor said. "By this time, tomorrow, everyone will just think that a gas line had leaked." Then, he closed his eyes, focusing.

Scott could _feel _the immense psychic force of his mentor ripple through the air, as the Professor used his powers to erase the memories of everyone in the field. Slowly, one-by-one, the students and teachers fell asleep, until only Principal Kelly remained...

By then, Scott had noticed that the Professor was sweating; this was too much for even _him_...

With a gasp, the Professor passed out just as the Principal succumbed. Ororo checked his pulse. "He's fine; he's just unconscious." she reported. "We'd bet get back to the Institute, before everyone wakes up." With that, the X-Men and their unconscious mentor headed for the X-Van, their modified minivan, to head home, as Superman took to the sky.

After leaving the field, Superman did a quick sweep of Bayville, staying out of sight, listening both for trouble and for any indication that the Professor had missed anyone with his powers.

He hadn't heard anything...but his vision picked up some electromagnetic interference over the Bayville area..._too_ much to be from natural causes.

Superman's eyes narrowed, as he scanned the horizon for a familiar helmet-clad, cape-wearing silhouette...but found nothing.

After heading back to the Institute and donning his street clothes, Clark met Scott and the others just outside the Professor's room. "How is he?" Clark asked.

"Tired." Scott reported. "He thinks he got everyone, but he wasn't sure if he finished everything in Principal Kelly's mind."

Clark's eyes widened. "Could that be a problem?"

Jean looked worried. "If so, we'll know soon enough, won't we?"

"Also, none of the video-footage went out." Lance said. "There was strange 'electromagnetic interference'."

Clark's eyes narrowed. "We all know what _that_ means."

Magneto, born Erik Magnus Lensherr, formerly the Professor's colleague and friend, who now sought to start a war between mutants and humans...with mutants as the victor. The last time they'd seen Magneto, he'd been spouting something about how Clark was part of some 'prophecy' and was destined to lead '_Homo superior_'. He'd been intent on making mutants' existence known.

Had he changed his mind?

"I'll be keeping an eye out for our bucket-headed friend." Clark promised.

Jean sighed. "The Professor was right; people aren't ready to know about us."

"Maybe, but they were starting to come around at the end," Scott said, smiling, "once they got a look at Superman!"

Clark smiled. "Hey, it's nice to know I'm good for _something!_" he joked, causing his friends to laugh. "Don't worry, guys; no matter what, I'll be backing you guys up every step of the way."

Kitty smiled, and gave him a friendly hug. "Thanks, Clark!"

Clark smiled at Kitty, who he'd come to regard as his unofficial 'baby sister.' "No problem, Kit." he replied. Grinning, he added, "Anyone up for some 'Third Rock from the Sun'?" His teammates laughed, as they all headed for the living room.

In his office, Edward Kelly was just finishing up some paperwork. '_First day on the job, and I lose the soccer field to a gas-line break._' he thought glumly.

But somehow, that just didn't seem to fit. He kept getting images of a fight in the field, of people with..._powers_...

...and of the new mascot – now ruined – about to fall on him...before someone pushed it back, saving him.

'_What does all this mean?_' Edward pondered. He got up, walking over to the window, looking up at the moon.

It had all been a dream...hadn't it?

_(1) translation: "...yes, the Last Son of Krypton." Just in case you don't speak French._

_Coming soon: _

_You've all seen Dr. Doom..._

_You've seen his terrible power..._

_You've seen his sinister intellect..._

_But you haven't seen his **daughter**._

_Anita LeRoux. Siryn._

_A will-melting, magic-wielding enchantress..._

_...the apple of her Papa's eye._

_See her schemes begin, in "Siryn's Song," coming to your computer soon..._


	3. Siryn's Song, Part 1

CHAPTER TWO: SIRYN'S SONG, PART ONE

_Bayville Airport, Bayville, September 14, 2007_

After Flight 262 from Europe arrived, the passengers disembarked. Most were greeted by friends and family...but one young woman walked on alone, heading out, clad in a designer brown jacket, with slim black slacks. She was 17, fairly tall, with a slender frame, ample curves, and long, flawless legs, her long hair a deep chestnut, tied in a ponytail, her green eyes sparkling with cold mirth behind her designer shades.

Anita LeRoux walked on, picking up her luggage; her clothes and personal effects in one suitcase...and her spell-books in the other. She was a sorceress, as well as a mutant. Her in-born talent caused her voice to extend into UHF and ULF, sounds that the human nervous system "felt," not heard. It had manifested when she was only five.

Her parents had been less than understanding. She'd been born to Mark and Diane LeRoux; Mark being a wealthy Quebec industrialist, the owner of LeRoux Enterprises, and Diane being a spoiled socialite. Neither of them would win any awards for "Parent of the Year." They'd often left their only daughter alone with abusive Nanny Elizabeth, who delighted in tormenting Anita, until she'd gotten fed up enough to tell her to go jump out a _window_.

She'd been fortunate enough to do so when her powers had emerged; Elizabeth had promptly complied. Her voice, she'd later learned, carried incredible power of suggestion.

After that incident, her parents had thrown her into a "children's mental hospital," effectively washing their hands of her. Anita had honestly expected to die there...but she'd been rescued.

By Victor van Damme, who had adopted her.

In the first year, her new Papa had doted on her, and Anita's shattered spirit had healed...until he discovered her "ability." Anita had half-expected him to toss her out...but instead, her father began to train her in the use of her gift, as well as in the sorcery he'd long mastered. It had been hard – unbearably so – at first, so much that Anita had heartbrokenly thought that _this_ was how her father planned to get rid of her.

But, as time went on, she realized that her Papa was harsh out of _love_; he wanted her to be strong, to _master_ her gift. She dove into her lessons, learning everything she could, determined to be what her father knew she could be.

She smiled as she remembered the first true training-duel in which she'd actually _struck_ her Papa; at first, she'd been horrified...but Papa had laughed, and hugged her, telling her he was _proud_ of her.

And now, she was more powerful than she'd ever thought she'd be...though not as powerful as her Papa. She'd mastered her mutant ability; she could exert an unnatural control over any who heard her voice, as well as channel her voice into a "sonic scream" of deadly voice. Her powers had prompted her to take another name.

_Siryn_, in homage of the three mythological creatures who had nearly forced the Greek hero Odysseus to crash in _The Odyssey_. Almost no-one could resist her voice...

...including her parents.

She'd met Mark and Diane some time ago, after she'd mastered her gifts. To say they'd been surprised was an understatement. The look on Mark's face was _comical_ as Anita had ordered him to sign over majority stock to _her_, giving her control of the company. And she had absently suggested them to do the world a favor and die as she'd left.

She honestly didn't know if they'd jumped out the window because of her suggestion, or because they'd lost everything. It didn't matter; her _real_ father – the father she adored, the one who had raised and nurtured her – ruled Latveria.

Later, her father had been disfigured by an accident with a quantum teleporter, designed by Dr. Reed Richards; he'd become a creature of living metal, even more powerful than before, now calling himself _Doom_.

No matter what he called himself, to her, he was still her beloved Papa.

Still, Anita _despised_ Richards, for besmirching her Papa's scientific reputation, perhaps even more than her father loathed him. It was her primary objective in life, to humble the man who'd insulted her Papa...

Anita smiled, as she mentally corrected herself; right now, that was her _secondary_ objective. Her _primary_ objective had led her here, to Bayville.

Last year, Papa had struck an alliance with another mutant, Magneto, providing a magically-cooled super-conductive core, as well as magically cloaking an island, to further Magneto's plans of mutant dominance of the world. Magneto had also hoped to recruit an incredibly powerful being – an alien – who was destined to lead the mutant race. Magneto's plan had failed, but the alien – Kal-El – had visited Castle Doom and confronted her Papa...with Anita secretly watching.

Kal-El and her father had engaged in a battle of wits...and Kal-El had held his own, before making the winning move in a game of chess that Papa had been playing against himself, and then leaving.

He'd impressed her father – which was a feat in itself – so much so that he'd told Anita that, if she chose to pursue him, he would approve, deeming him worthy of his daughter.

Oh, how right her Papa _was_. He was _perfect_.

And so, here she was. Her father had advised her to meet with Magneto's previous employees – the "Brotherhood," she believed – and assist them in defeating the students of Magneto's ex-colleague, Charles Xavier – the X-Men – in addition to her own objective. Apparently, Magneto and her father were still allies, as Magneto still meant to start a war with humanity...with Kal-El leading the mutant race.

Well, that was fine with her, as she planned to be at Kal-El's side, ruling beside him. With a smile, Anita walked out of the airport, to find her new associates, and to begin the search for Kal-El...

...the man who called himself "Superman."

_Xavier Institute_

It was early Saturday morning when the New Mutants – still not quite used to the early training sessions – walked into the silvery-metal hallway leading to the Danger Room, the high-tech holographic training chamber beneath deep beneath the Institute, all wearing their new uniforms: black bodysuits with yellow gloves and shin-high boots, and yellow belts, with shoulder-pads with an 'X' insignia on them. Still, this session was a bit different from the others they'd had; before, they'd each had individual sessions, basic training in using their powers.

_This_ would be a _team_ session, involving all of them...guided by their new field-leader.

"This is gonna be _so_ cool!" Jamie – code-named "Multiple" – exclaimed. "I can't _wait_ to see Superman use his powers!"

Roberto – nicknamed "Sunspot" – smirked. "I thought that this session was going to be _us_ showing what _we_ can do."

Tabitha – or "Boom-Boom" – yawned. "Couldn't they have scheduled this session _after_ sunrise?"

"I still can't believe it." Bobby – "Iceman" – murmured. "I mean, it's _one_ thing to be a mutant...but Superman is actually an _alien!_"

Ray – "Berzerker" – chuckled. "Well, that sure tops being a mutant on the 'freakiness scale'."

"I think it's _amazing!_" Jubilee – who'd kept her own nickname – exclaimed. "He's actually from another _world!_"

Sam – who'd taken the nickname "Cannonball" – looked thoughtful. "Guys, Ah don't think we should be talkin' about it around him; he's the _last_ one of his people – that's _gotta_ be hard to talk about for him."

That sobered the New Mutants. The fact was that their leader was the sole survivor of his world, the only Kryptonian – that was what his people were called – left alive.

That _had_ to be hard to deal with.

"Aye; 'tis a hard thing to learn 'bout yourself," Rahne – "Wolfsbane" – agreed, "to know ye're the last one to remember an entire civilization."

Amara – "Magma" – nodded. "On Nova Roma, we're the only ones who truly remember the Roman Empire. There are relatively few of us compared to the rest of the world...but to have the legacy of an entire _race_ passed to one person..." she shuddered, "...we can't even _imagine_ what that's like..."

By then, they had reached the door leading to the Danger Room. Opening it, they all headed inside, to face their first challenge as a team.

In the control room overlooking the Danger Room, the vast, metal chamber laden with holographic emitters and potentially deadly devices – kept at low power for training uses – Superman, in uniform, looked down at the chamber.

He wasn't sure he was cut out for this.

The rest of the X-Men and the instructors were in the control room, as well, also in uniform, save for Professor Xavier. Cyclops was clad in his black bodysuit with a yellow 'X'-crest across the chest, his shades exchanged for a ruby-quartz visor. Jean had donned a black bodysuit with a long green triangle extending down the mid-section. Nightcrawler wore a black bodysuit with a red vest over it, his image-inducer off, revealing his true, fuzzy blue self, with his yellow eyes, tridactyl hands and feet, and spaded tail. Shadowcat's uniform was similar to Jean's but the triangle on hers was light blue, and with a yellow-lapeled collar, and she wore a yellow belt, with yellow gloves and light blue, shin-high boots. Spyke's uniform was similar to that of the New Mutants. Gambit had donned his black bodysuit under his brown trenchcoat, casually leaning against his bo-staff. Avalanche's uniform consisted of a dark blue bodysuit, with reinforced chest-padding, and grey boots, a glass dome over his head. Storm's uniform consisted of a dark navy-blue bodysuit with a long, dark blue cape. And Wolverine's uniform consisted of an orange-and-black bodysuit, with a cowl that made him look like a feral beast.

'_Great._' Superman thought. '_Everyone's here to watch me make an ass of myself._'

Cyclops smiled. "Ready for this, big guy?" he asked.

Superman half-smiled. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Jean smiled. "You know, Clark, even though I can't hear your thoughts, I know what you're thinking." she said; it was an established fact that Superman was mostly immune to X-Gene-based powers – including telepathy – due to the tremendous amount of energy in his body. "You'll do _great!_"

"Yeah!" Shadowcat agreed. "You've saved the _world_ from falling meteors, so _this_ should be _easy!_"

Superman smiled. "Thanks." Then, he took a deep breath. "Well, here I go." With that, he took the elevator leading down to the Danger Room.

Superman walked into the Danger Room just as the New Mutants had arrived. "Okay, everyone," he began, "as you know, this is a team-based exercise. The objective here is for you all to work together to complete the session; any questions?"

Jubilee raise her hand. "Yes, Jubilee?" Superman said.

"Will you be helping us?" Jubilee inquired.

Superman chuckled. "I think that would be cheating." he answered. "This session is about _you_ using your powers; you wouldn't benefit if I did the work for you. I will, however, give the occasional hint on what to do next. Anything else?" No-one else raised their hands. "Okay, then." Looking to the control room, he called out, "We're good to go!"

"_Commencing simulation._" came the computerized voice of the Danger Room. Instantly, the holographic emitters powered up, replacing the gleaming metal chamber with a forested area, a massive steel door in front of them.

"Okay..." Iceman said, "...I don't see a doorbell anywhere..."

"That door is controlled by two switches." Superman said. "Both of them are buried nearby. Rahne?"

Wolfsbane's eyes lit up. Instantly, she shifted into her wolf-form, and began sniffing the ground...before she stopped, and began to dig, unearthing a pressure-sensitive switch. She resumed sniffing, before she located and unearthed the second switch. She promptly returned to human form, none the worse for wear.

"Very good." Superman said. "But these switches have to be activated simultaneously to open the door. Jamie, your turn!"

"Yes, _sir!_" Multiple said, as he lightly slapped the side of his head, generating another Multiple. Both Jamies each took a switch and stepped on it as one; the door swung open easily, as both Multiples ran at each other, fusing back into one Jamie, good as new. Superman and the New Mutants then headed through the door...

...and were confronted by about a dozen robotic drones. Superman recognized them; they were the same kind of droids that he had encountered last year, when he had assisted the Avengers, led by his childhood hero, Captain America. They were the mechanical minions of the Latverian tyrant, Dr. Doom.

Apparently, Logan must have programmed the training-drones to look like this, as a joke.

Superman chuckled. "I don't think this requires any explanation."

"Yeah, it's pretty self-explanatory, Big Blue!" Iceman chuckled, as he took aim, firing a freezing blast from his hands, turning two drones into popsicles. Berzerker followed suit, his hands crackling with electricity as he fried another two robots. Magma then powered-up, her entire body going black with red stripes, her face glowing red, her hair going red as flame. She then unleashed several flame-blasts, turning four drones into slag, before powering down. Then, Cannonball took aim, and launched himself at them, his ballistic attack taking out the remaining four robots.

Looking ahead, Superman spied several towers, each with gun-turrets...guided by a video camera. "If you get tagged by those guns, the session ends." Superman said. "Those cameras track movement, but they can be distracted by bright lights."

Jubilee's face lit up. "_I_ can do it!" she exclaimed.

"Bingo." Superman said, smiling. "All yours, Jubilee."

Zipping ahead of the group, Jubilee took aim and fired at the nearest camera, flashes of multi-colored light flying from her hands, sounding very much like _real_ fireworks, effectively blinding the turret, allowing everyone else to dart by, unseen, as Jubilee kept her distracting burst trained on the turret enough for her to rejoin her team undetected. By repeating this process, they passed by the turrets unseen.

Further ahead, they came to a vast ravine, with a massive stone column in front of them. "We should be able to use this as a bridge." Superman said. "We'll need to weaken its foundation before we can knock it over. Boom-Boom?"

No answer.

"Boom-Boom?" Superman repeated. The rest of the New Mutants looked around...and then Amara sheepishly pointed to the back of their little group. Superman looked in that direction...

Sighing exasperatedly, he walked to the single stone where Tabitha was sitting, listening to her CD player, oblivious to the rest of them. Superman simply lifted away one earphone. "_Boom-Boom._"

"Huh?" Tabitha asked. "Oh, sorry; I was just listening to my CD by Alison Bla – "

"You can listen to it _later_." Superman said sternly, extending his hand. "Right now, your team needs you."

Tabitha smiled, and turned off her CD player, placing it in his hand. "Whatever you say, Super-Cutie." she cooed, gliding her finger along his chin as she walked over to the boulder. Superman simply shook his head in response. As he walked back, he was glad to see Boom-Boom laying her explosive charges around the base of the stone. When she was finished, the team moved clear...and then the charges exploded in modest-sized blasts, cracking the stone.

"Okay." Superman said. "We just need one good impact to knock it over. Cannonball?"

Sam nodded, before he took a step back, aimed at the rock, and launched himself, striking the rock with impressive force, knocking it over; the rock easily spanned the ravine, acting as a bridge, allowing them to cross.

Further ahead, they came to a huge metal barricade, blocking their path. "Okay, we're going to have to cut through that barricade." Superman instructed. "Sunspot, Magma, aim for the two sides."

Sunspot grinned. "Watch and learn." he said, as he and Amara powered-up, firing flame-blasts at the metal, gradually cutting through, causing the barricade to fall back, the way now clear. As the two young mutants powered down, Superman and the rest of the team simply walked through.

"_Simulation complete._"

At once, the hologram faded, as the Danger Room returned to normal. "Nice work, everyone." Superman said. "Not bad for a first run," he looked to Boom-Boom, "but I think Logan will want to talk to you about using this CD player during training, Tabitha." He handed it back to her.

Tabitha pouted. "I was just having a little fun..."

"There's a time and a place for everything." Superman replied.

Just then, Logan's voice came over the speaker: "_Okay, Flyboy; your turn._"

Chuckling, Superman said, "Okay, everyone; you'd better get to the control room. It's time for my own training drill."

"All _right!_" Multiple exclaimed. "We're gonna get to see Superman in action, after all!" At that, the New Mutants cleared out, taking the elevator to the control room, as Superman prepared for his own session.

"_Commencing simulation._"

The Danger Room was instantly replaced by a bustling metropolis; it was the same basic simulation he'd always used, based on the program he'd designed for use in the Fortress of Solitude – it was a random-event-generating program, and it was different each time. The objective was always the same: to prevent damage and loss of life to the city.

Suddenly, Superman's hearing picked up police sirens across town, and he took to the sky, flying across the city at top speed. Below, he could see a single car – with two masked criminals inside – being pursued by two police cars. The criminal in the passenger seat leaned out the window, and fired a machine-gun at one police car, puncturing its tire, causing it to spin out of control, rolling...

Instantly, Superman dove down and caught the police car in mid-roll, setting it down safely, before taking off after the crooks. As he closed on them, the criminal tried to shoot him, but the bullets harmlessly bounced off of him. Once he was within range, Superman grabbed the back bumper and _lifted_, coming to a stop, holding the car above his head, before simply shaking the crooks out of the car, setting it down after they'd fallen out. He quickly grabbed their guns and crushed them in his hands, before picking them up by their collars, and handing them to the police officers as they arrived, and quickly taking to the air once more.

Hearing a scream, Superman took off towards the north side of the city...in time to see a tall building start to fall towards the populated street. He quickly flew towards the building, grasped it, and _pushed_...slowly forcing it back upright. He then darted inside heading to its foundation, and used his eye-rays to weld the weakened supports columns back together, before darting out, again.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise echoing from the eastern sea-port. He flew to the seaside...and saw a huge tidal-wave come surging towards the city, towering over it. Superman deeply inhaled, and blew his freezing-breath at the wave, turning it into an immense block of ice. Flying underwater, Superman lifted up the huge ice-mass, and carried it further out to sea, using his eye-rays to gradually melt it, so that the huge amount of water wouldn't cause _another_ wave to form. The ice safely melted, Superman flew back to the city...

...in time to see a large meteor – the size of a _house_ – falling towards the city. Superman shot towards it at top speed, unleashing his freezing breath on it, chilling it to the point where it was brittle, and then slammed into it, fracturing it into several smaller meteors. He then darted back and forth, slamming each meteor with his fists, shattering each one into harmless dust, until the skies were clear.

"_Simulation complete._"

Superman smiled as he touched down, the Danger Room returning to normal. "Real original at the end, there, Logan!" he joked.

He heard Logan chuckle over the speaker. "_Hey, it ain't nothin' you haven't handled before, Flyboy!_"

"_Well done, Clark._" came Professor Xavier's voice over the speaker. "_You and the New Mutants did very well._"

"Thank you, Professor." Superman replied. Suddenly, his hearing picked up something. "Sorry, I've go to go; I just heard the real thing!" Then, he quickly darted out of the Danger Room, zooming upstairs, and bolting out the nearest window, flying off at top speed.

_Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House_

It was another slow Saturday for the Brotherhood, as Pietro and his pals just lounged around, watching TV.

Normally, Pietro hated standing still, but he just wasn't in the mood to zip around.

Unbeknownst to his pals, he'd received a call from "Daddy dearest"...who'd given him a world-class tongue-lashing for trying to blow the cover on mutants. Apparently, Magneto was trying a _new_ tactic in his pro-mutant agenda...though he still was on his tirade to recruit "Kal-El," the man "destined to lead _Homo superior_ to greatness."

Pietro had felt like _gagging_ when he'd heard that.

Just then, he heard a knock on the door. He zipped over, opened it...

...and _froze_, his mouth hanging open.

Standing there, in the doorway, clad in designer black slacks and a trendy brown coat, designer shades on her perfect nose, was an incredibly, arrestingly, heart-stoppingly, jeans-tighteningly smoking hot young woman of 17. Pietro's train of thought went on hormone-autopilot: '_Holy crap...green eyes, chestnut hair, perfect skin, perfect lips, endless legs, and oh my God look at those curves and me with no brakes..._'

The girl – or goddess – looked about the place with mild disdain. "Such squalor." she commented. "I'm so thankful that Papa isn't making me _stay_ here with you three."

'_Huh??_' Pietro thought, his brain finally winning out against his hormones. "Who're you?" he managed to ask.

The vision smiled coldly as she glided in past him. "Anita LeRoux," she said, "your new leader." She looked at his pals sitting on the couch. "I think I can manage to work with you three."

Pietro's eyes narrowed. '_No matter **how** hot a girl is, **nobody** just bosses me around!_'

His pals shared his unspoken sentiment, getting up off the couch. "Hey!! You can't just walk in here and tell us what to do!!" Fred bellowed.

The girl – Anita – just looked at them all from over the rim of her shades, smiling like they'd said something _really_ stupid. "Oh, _really?_" she asked. She turned to Pietro. "_Walk into a wall._"

'_Ha! I'm not going to..._' Pietro thought, but his thought was cut off as he found himself _walking into the nearest wall_. He promptly fell flat on his rear.

Anita turned to Fred. "_Take off your socks and stick them in your mouth._"

Before he could stop himself, Fred sat down, removed his shoes, then his socks, and stuck them in his mouth.

And then she turned to Todd. "_Go to the freezer and stick your tongue to its inside wall._"

Todd immediately walked into the kitchen...and seconds later...

"_AAAAHHHH!!! Guyth!! Halp!! Halp!! Mah tung!! Mah tung ith thtuck to the feether!!!_"

Anita promptly snapped her fingers, as Todd's tongue came unstuck, causing him to tumble back into the room. "I trust that my point is made?" Anita said.

"Holy...how'd you do that?!" Fred cried, once he'd yanked his socks out of his mouth.

Pietro had a _different_ thought. "Hey...can you do that to _Super-Dork?!_"

Anita smiled. "So you _do_ have a brain!" she said. "That is _precisely_ why my Papa – your father's ally, Maximoff – sent me here; to win over Kal-El."

"No way! We don't work for Magneto, no more!" Fred said.

Anita glared at him. "Do I have to order you not to _eat_ for a week?!" she hissed.

"Sorry." Fred whimpered.

Todd shook his head. "I hate to break this to ya, but that ain't happening anytime soon, yo." he said. "Old Mags tried using that Kryptonite stuff on him, and he didn't even _crack!_"

Anita laughed. "_My_ methods, foolish boy, are more sophisticated than mere pain could be; Kal-El will be eating out of my _hand_ before the week is out!" she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to _meet_ my future husband."

Pietro scowled to himself, before he asked, "What makes you think he's an easy mark?"

Anita looked over her shoulder as she walked off. "Kal-El is incomparably mighty," she cooed, "but even the great _Odysseus_ had to tie himself to his ship's mast...because he couldn't resist the song of the _Siryn_." With that, she walked off, leaving Pietro and his pals behind.

After making her point to her new team – motley though they were – Anita had returned to her hotel room, and donned her new uniform, putting on a long overcoat on over it, concealing it from prying eyes, and then undoing her ponytail, her shimmery chestnut tresses flowing freely. Satisfied, Anita left the hotel, heading for the tallest building in New York City, and heading to the very top. A security guard tried to stop her, but after a smile and a hypnotic word, he'd submitted to her will, and opened the top door for her.

Now she stood atop the roof of the building, looking down on the city...like how Kal-El must have, so many times.

She smiled to herself. She'd had to make her point to those boys, but now she would radiate all the charm and grace that her training had bestowed on her...

...and Kal-El would be _hers_.

She undid her coat, putting it aside, before clearing her throat...and beginning her song.

'_Kal-El...come to me..._'

After averting the train-crash in Tokyo, Superman had flown back towards home, passing over New York City as he did...when he heard it.

It was a song...an incredibly haunting, beautiful song, traveling over the air...and extending into UHF, for his hearing could pick up words on one frequency.

"_...come to me...come to me...I am for you alone...there is none for you but me...come to me..._"

They were whispers, in a woman's voice; flirtatious, as if trying to lure him away. Superman promptly ignored the whispers...

...as his hearing picked up another sound: a woman's cry.

Superman shot across the sky, diving at lightning speed, towards the alley where two gunmen were trying to hold up an old lady. As he dove, he spied another red-and-blue figure diving towards the alley, and he smiled.

He grabbed the first gunman, flying away before anyone could see him, as the web-line grabbed the second. Superman and his colleague both deposited the two crooks next to a police car, darting away before anyone could notice.

Superman touched down on a high rooftop, the other costumed hero soon following on his web-line. "Hey, Big Blue! What's up?" Spider-Man said, as he perched on a side flag-pole. Spider-Man wore a red-and-blue bodysuit, with black web-patterns, a black spider-crest on the chest, with a red mask with reflective white eye-lenses, his frame lean, yet athletic. He possessed the agility and proportionate strength of a spider, as well as the ability to adhere to walls...and some kind of precognitive ability – a "spider sense," he thought he'd heard Spider-Man call it. He'd often seen Spider-Man as he flew by New York, and occasionally assisted him when he could.

Superman smiled, and shrugged, as he leaned against a wall. "Oh, not much, Little Red." he replied. "Business has been a bit slow, these past few weeks."

"Hey, finest kind of business, in _our_ line of work!" Spider-Man quipped.

Superman nodded...and then he heard that song, again. "Hey, Spider-Man...you haven't heard anything..._weird_, recently, have you?"

Spider-Man arched an eyebrow behind his mask. "How weird?" he asked. "Because around here, 'weird' gets re-defined on an hourly basis!"

Superman chuckled at the joke. "I was just wondering if you'd heard any...strange singing, recently." he said.

"Nope. Sorry, big guy." Spider-Man replied. "The only singing I've heard is people singing Alison Blaire songs, and it's getting _old_. Don't get me wrong; Alison's an _amazing_ singer – not to mention amazingly _gorgeous_ – but some of the people singing her songs...their _voices_...they could make Simon Cowell run screaming from the room."

Superman paused. That name...Alison Blaire...it echoed from his childhood...

'_No. It **couldn't** be._' Superman thought. "It was just a hunch." he said.

"Well, I'd better get going." Spider-Man said. "Later, Big Blue!" With that, he leapt out into open air, swinging off.

Then, the song came back, again. Now Superman was curious; he flew off, listening carefully...tracking the sound to the roof of the highest building in New York. He looked around; the coast was clear, so he touched down, looking around. Suddenly, he heard footsteps, as he whirled around...

...and paused, as he now beheld a 17-year-old young woman, and a very pretty one at that. Her long, chestnut hair seemed to shimmer as it flowed down her back, pooling over her delicate shoulders, her emerald eyes sparkling, her shell-pink lips glistening in a smile. She wore silver seashell earrings, and a sea-green halter-top consisting of two straps of silk cris-crossing over her chest, with a silver clam-shell pinned in the center, accentuating her ample curves, as well as skin-tight, green spandex pants, accentuating her long, slender legs, and green sandals on her feet, with two straps of semi-transparent sea-green silk encircling her wrists like armlets, before trailing to her back like a cape, encircling her waist.

The young woman smiled at him. "_Impressive_..." she cooed.

Superman folded his arms. "Were you the one singing?"

"Of _course!_" the woman giggled. "How else would I have gotten you here, Kal-El?"

Superman froze, his eyes narrowing. "How do you know that name?" he demanded. "Who are you?"

"I am called Siryn," she replied, curtsying, "but my birth-name is Anita LeRoux." She smiled at him, looking at him through her dark eyelashes. "Which one do _you_ prefer?" she cooed.

Superman arched an eyebrow, both at how this woman – Siryn – seemed to know his birth-name...

...and at how she seemed to be _flirting_ with him.

"Who told you my name?" Superman inquired cautiously.

"My father." Siryn replied. "Oh, and Papa sends his regards."

Superman paused. "Your father??" he asked. "How would _he_ know my name?"

"Oh, come now, Kal-El; surely you remember!" Siryn exclaimed. "You played chess with him, a few months ago!"

'_Chess??_' Superman thought...and then he remembered...

_He'd confronted Dr. Doom in his castle in Doomstadt, Latveria, about his involvement in Magneto's plan. He'd stood in front of the living-metal madman, looking him right in his yellow eyes._

_"Magneto believes that a war is coming." Doom had said. "I believe that he is right."_

_"Then know this, Doom." Superman had replied. "In the future, I will be there to **stop** it."_

_And at that, he'd reached for the chess game that Doom had been playing against himself, moving a black rook to take a white bishop, a move that would win the game, before leaving and flying away, heading home._

Superman looked at Siryn incredulously. "You're _kidding_." he said. "You're Doom's _daughter??_"

"_Adopted_ daughter." Siryn admitted. She smiled at him. "Even before the two of you met, Papa had been following your achievements; you've impressed him...and that was _before_ you defeated him at chess – do you know how many times _I've_ tried to do that?"

"I might be able to ball-park it." Superman replied. "So what brings you here?"

Siryn smiled. "Papa thinks that you would be a good match for me." she cooed. Then, she moved closer to him, looping her arms around his neck.

"And I think _you_ should know...that I whole-heartedly _agree_."

Superman arched an eyebrow quizzically at that. '_Okay..._' he thought. He gently unwound Siryn's arms from his neck, saying, "Well, Miss Siryn, I'm flattered that you've taken a shine to me – really, I am – but I'm afraid that I'm married to my _work_. I have a responsibility to use my powers to help all of humanity, and it's one that I can't shirk."

Siryn smiled. "Oh, but you _can_." she purred. "_You're going to kiss me, right now._"

Those last words had extended into the UHF range, carrying a tone of command...which Superman promptly ignored. "And why would I do that?" he asked.

Siryn looked cross at his reaction. "_I **said**, you're going to kiss me, right **now**._"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "And _I_ said, 'Why would I do that'?" he replied.

Siryn looked shocked...and then she smiled. "You're immune..." she murmured, "...if I had used my power to that extent on anyone else, they'd have ended up in a _coma_..."

"'Your power..?'" Superman repeated. "You're a mutant, aren't you?"

Siryn nodded. "Papa was _right_ about you, Kal-El," she purred, "you're powerful, intelligent, and now immune to my vocal charms? You're _perfect!_"

"Um...thanks?" Superman replied.

Siryn frowned. "However, there are a few things that we'll need to work on." she said. "The main one is this 'heroism' habit of yours. As adorable as it is, Kal-El, I'm sorry, but it simply _has_ to go."

Superman's eyes narrowed. "Really." he said flatly.

Siryn nodded. "Trust me, Kal-El; you'll have _much_ more important things to worry about, such as guiding the mutant race..." she smiled, "...and where to spend your honeymoon with your new bride."

Superman frowned. "So _that's_ it." he muttered. "Magneto convinced Doom to send you here; he thought that I might be more inclined to accept his theory if I heard it from a pretty face." He looked into Siryn's eyes. "Well, you can tell Magneto _and_ your father the same thing _I_ said months ago."

"_No._"

At that moment, Superman's hearing picked up an emergency call; there was a boat in distress in international waters. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there are people who need my help." Superman finished. With that, he took to the air, flying off, a sonic boom echoing in his wake.

As Kal-El flew away, Anita paused; she'd been _rejected_...

She smiled. '_Wow!_' she thought; she'd expected Kal-El to be a tough nut to crack, but not _that_ tough! He was completely immune to her charms; she'd have to use her _magic_ to get through _his_ shell!

'_Well, Kal-El, I love a challenge!_' Anita thought with a smile. With that, she donned her coat once more, walking back into the building.

Time for Phase Two of her plan.

"_X-Men, report to my office immediately._"

It was just after sunset when Scott and the rest of the X-Men got the Professor's telepathic summons. They quickly hurried to their mentor's office. "What's wrong, Professor?" Scott asked.

"Cerebro has detected a new mutant signature in Bayville Park." Professor Xavier replied. "Anita LeRoux; her voice extends into UHF and ULF, which gives her incredible power of suggestion. Be careful, X-Men; the reading I got indicated that her mutation had manifested much earlier than normal...indicating that something has been concealing her from Cerebro."

Scott nodded; Cerebro was the Professor's mutant-detection system, which amplified his telepathic abilities exponentially. If something was powerful enough to mask a mutant from Cerebro, then that mutant showing up now was no accident. "We'll be careful." Scott promised. With that, the X-Men moved out.

Within the hour, the X-Men had suited up and taken the X-Van to Bayville Park, which was empty at this time of night. As they left the X-Van, they could hear a beautiful singing in the distance. "Everyone stay alert." Cyclops instructed, and everyone immediately was on-guard, as they walked through the park.

Before long, they came to a clearing, with a large boulder at one end...with a 17-year-old young woman sitting on it, clad in a sea-green halter-top, and green spandex pants; it was _her_ song they'd heard.

It had to be this 'Anita LeRoux' that the Professor had told them about.

Anita stopped her singing as they walked in, looking at them. "Hmm...I was hoping for someone else to show up, first." she said.

"There's no need to be alarmed," Cyclops began, "we're..."

"...the X-Men. I know." Anita replied, rolling her eyes. "No doubt here to try and recruit me. Well, I'm so sorry to disappoint you..."

At that, the Brotherhood, in battle-gear, walked into view.

"...but I have my _own_ team." Anita finished. To the Brotherhood, she added, "Get them." At that, the Brotherhood came at them.

Toad fired a slime-glob at them, but Jean raised a telekinetic shield, repelling the glob. As Blob came at them, Cyclops stunned him with an optic-blast, knocking him off-balance enough for Avalanche to generate a small quake and trap him in a small pit.

Quicksilver started running circles around them, but Nightcrawler 'ported into his path, unleashing a foot-sweep, knocking him off-balance. Gambit then casually flicked a card at Quicksilver's feet, the blast startling and angering him, causing him to dash at Gambit...who'd been ready; as Pietro came near, he unleashed a clothesline-strike with his bo-staff, which had been hidden in his coat. Quicksilver stumbled away, into Rogue's path, who knocked him out with a tap of her hand.

Toad fired another slime-glob at Spyke, who blocked it with a spike-shield he'd formed on his arm, before firing a spike-salvo, pinning Toad to a nearby rock...allowing Shadowcat to phase him _into_ the rock, trapping him.

By then, Quicksilver had recovered. "Hey, LeRoux!" he snapped. "A little _help?!_"

Anita rolled her eyes. "Do I have to do _everything?_" she muttered. "_Scott, blast Rogue with your eyes._"

Suddenly, Cyclops found himself firing at Rogue, who'd just managed to duck out of the way. '_What the..?!_"

"_Jean, levitate yourself ten feet and then drop._"

Jean suddenly levitated herself up ten feet...and then just stopped; Cyclops was just barely in time to catch her.

"_Kitty, phase yourself into the ground._"

Shadowcat shrieked as she suddenly found herself sinking up to her neck in the earth, stopping there, thankfully.

"_Kurt, teleport twenty feet into the air._"

_Bamf!_ "_GOTT IN HIMMEL!!_" Nightcrawler cried, as he managed to catch a tree branch after his sudden 'port.

"_Evan, fire your spikes in every direction._"

"Everyone, _duck!_" Spyke cried, as he fired a multi-directional spike-attack; everyone had ducked in time.

"_Lance, put yourself in one of those pits._"

"_Holy..!!_" Avalanche cried, as his powers suddenly activated, trapping himself in an earth-pit.

"_Remy, charge your coat._"

"What the..._MERDE!!_" Gambit yelled, as he quickly shed his glowing coat, before it burst into flames.

By then, the Brotherhood had recovered...mostly. "Get me out of here!!" Toad cried.

"Hang on, little pal!" Blob exclaimed; he ran over, picked up the rock, and prepared to smash it on the ground.

"_No, Fred!! Not THAT way!!!_"

Blob smashed the boulder into pieces, freeing the now-dizzy Toad. "You okay, little pal?"

Toad groaned. "_Peachy._"

Anita smiled at the X-Men. "When a Siryn says 'jump'...mortals don't ask 'how high'."

Just then, a sonic boom echoed overhead. "Finally! Some _backup!_" Avalanche exclaimed, as he used his powers to free himself and Shadowcat.

In seconds, Superman landed, surveying the situation...and glaring at Siryn. "Like father, like daughter, I see." he said.

To the X-Men's surprise, Anita – Siryn – _smiled_. "_Flatterer!_" she giggled. Then, she hopped off the rock, and ran into the forest.

"Superman...do you _know_ her??" Jean asked.

"I'll explain later." Superman said. "Can you guys handle things here?"

"Now that she's gone, yeah!" Cyclops said.

"Good. I'll go after Siryn." Superman said, and he ran after her, as the X-Men prepared for Round Two.

Superman followed Siryn through the woods, his super-speed easily enabling him to catch up to her...only to have her teleport out of his reach, perching on a tree-branch above his head. "_Come find me, hero._" she cooed, before she conjured a violet mist, which filled the area, before she disappeared into it.

'_She's a sorceress._' Superman realized. '_Terrific._'

Magic was one of the few things – other than Kryptonite – that could give him trouble. His body was hardy enough to take the physical beating that attack-spells could generate, but spells had the nasty habit of also inflicting nasty side-effects, such as confusing or obstructing the vision of the victim.

Right now, this mist was as thick as pea soup, even for _his_ vision.

Superman waded into the mist, looking for that little spell-caster. "Give it up, Siryn." he called. "Whatever your dad and Magneto are up to, it won't work. The X-Men and I will _stop_ you."

Siryn parried with a question.

"_Why are you doing it, Kal-El?_"

That threw him. "What?" he replied.

"_Why are you bothering with those losers, the X-Men?_" Siryn's voice elaborated. "_You don't belong with them._" Then, a misty apparition of Siryn appeared before him, looking up at him, her hand tracing circles on his chest...which felt _real_. "_Why are you helping them?_"

Superman quickly shook the apparition off, causing it to vanish. "They're my _friends_." he said firmly.

Siryn's chiming laughter echoed through the area. "_Oh, my sweet Kal-El, they're only **using** you._" she purred, another Siryn-phantom appearing, embracing him, her head nuzzling into his chest. "_They only pretend to care for you because of your power. You're so much more powerful than them; of **course** they want you around._"

"That's a _LIE!!_" Superman shouted, shaking off the phantom. This was why magic was so dangerous; it was something he couldn't fight on his terms.

But then, he remembered a warning once given to him by Doctor Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, during one of their discussions, before he'd left the Fortress, after the good Doctor had discovered him, mistakenly thinking him a threat to Earth: "_Magic is ultimately the manifestation of the will; the stronger the will, the more powerful the magic. If your will is stronger, you can overcome any spell._"

If he focused his will, he could shake off Siryn's spell.

"_Even if that **were** true, they're not worthy of you; neither are those foolish humans._" Siryn's voice purred, as _another_ phantom embraced him, her arms circling his neck, her lips inches from his. "_Your destiny is to lead the mutant race...just as it is **mine** to be beside you. The strong deserve each other, my Kal-El; you are the true power behind your team, just as I am the power behind mine. You can rule this world, my darling...if you only choose to._"

_You must never directly interfere in their natural development; that is forbidden by our highest laws._

The words of his biological father, Jor-El, came to him instantly. He shook off the phantom. "_No._" he said, focusing his mind.

"_You can't run from your destiny, Kal-El...nor can you run from **me**._" Siryn cooed, her voice purring into his ear, as yet another phantom wrapped herself around him from behind. "_Every time you listen for trouble, I'll be whispering in your ear, singing for you...until the day you're ready to accept your fate...and me._"

Superman shook off the apparition. "I'll stop you, Siryn." he said.

Siryn's voice giggled from everywhere. "_You mean to send me to jail?_" she cooed. "_Oh, my darling Kal-El...I'm **already** a prisoner...because you've captured my **heart**._"

Finally, Superman's mind broke free of the spell, finding a solution.

He inhaled, and unleashed his gale-breath, blowing the mist completely away.

The area clear, Superman looked around – there was no trace of Siryn...but he could still hear her voice, in the distance, now, giggling.

Just then, the X-Men came running up to him. "You okay, Superman?" Cyclops asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Superman replied. "You guys?"

"We're fine." Jean answered. "It was the strangest thing; after you went afer Siryn, the Brotherhood just...backed off. We have no idea why."

Siryn had _planned_ this. "I think I do." Superman said, as he told them of the chase, and the strange – and eerily love-laced – conversation he'd had with her.

When he was done, his friends looked incredulous. "Wait...you mean Siryn's leading the Brotherhood...and she staged all this so she could _flirt_ with you??" Shadowcat exclaimed.

Gambit chuckled. "De mean streak aside," he quipped, "she be one _belle femme_; hats' off t' y', _mon ami_."

Superman half-glared at his roommate. "Gambit, this is serious."

Shadowcat looked nervous. "All that stuff about us...not really caring about you..." she murmured, "...y-you didn't believe her, did you? Because we _do!_"

Superman smiled. "Of _course_ I didn't, Kit!" he laughed. Kitty looked relieved as she heard that.

"But, _damn_, how'd she get so good with her powers?" Avalanche said.

"She had a good teacher." Superman said.

"Who? _Magneto?_" Rogue muttered.

"_Worse. Doom._" Superman said.

Everyone froze. "'Doom'?" Cyclops asked. "As in, '_Dr._ Doom'? The nutcase ruling Latveria? The guy who was helping Magneto?"

"That's him." Superman said. "She's his _adopted daughter_."

No-one spoke for a full _minute_ after that. "Aw, holy _hell!_" Rogue muttered.

"_Jeez_..." Spyke murmured, "...she's gonna be a _handful_..."

Cyclops nodded. "We'd better head back to the Institute." he said. "We should let the Professor know what's going on." Superman nodded in agreement, and took to the air, as his friends headed back to the X-Van.

As Superman touched down in front of the Institute, his friends dropping the X-Van at the garage before catching up to him, he saw that Logan was coming out to greet them...holding a letter. "Hey, Flyboy," he said, "I've got a letter for a 'Kal-El'; you'll never guess where it's from."

"It's from Doomstadt, Latveria." Superman deduced.

Logan chuckled. "Lucky guess." He handed Superman the letter.

Superman opened the letter, read it...and handed it to the nearest X-Man, who happened to be Kitty. She began to read aloud:

"'_To Kal-El: I trust my letter finds you in good health, which is most likely the case, given your abilities._'"

"'_I send greetings from both myself and my associate, Magneto, to you, the apparent future leader of the mutant race._'"

"It's Doom." Cyclops muttered. "So, he and Magneto are still working together...and Magneto's still going on about that nutty 'prophecy.'"

"'_As such,_'" Kitty continued, "'_I have deemed you worthy of my dear daughter's attentions. I trust that you understand the immense honor I have bestowed upon you...one which is not to be shunned._'"

Gambit chuckled. "Dat's a first." he said. "Most _peres_ be tellin' y' _not_ t' go near de _filles_."

"'_I also trust that you will soon cease your foolish 'heroics' and assume your true responsibilities. I hope that your 'friends' do not cloud your judgement, and, in fact, it is my sincerest hope that they, too, accept my associate's view; I see no reason that they cannot join you, and since you clearly care for them, I would encourage it._'"

"No way _that's_ happening." Avalanche said.

"'_In conclusion, I wish you the best, and trust that you will accept your destiny, as I have accepted mine._'" Kitty continued.

"'_Oh, and Anita says hello._'"

"'_Sincerely, Victor von Doom._'" Kitty finished. "And there are X's and O's in the corner next to Siryn's name."

Kurt chuckled. "Vell, zhat girl has it _bad_ for you." he said.

"Kurt! _So_ not helping!" Kitty said. To Superman, she asked, "So, what are you going to do, now?"

"I'm going to keep on doing what I've _been_ doing." Superman replied. "Doom isn't going to intimidate me, and his daughter isn't going to distract me."

Cyclops chuckled. "I figured you were going to say that, big guy."

Jean smiled. "And we're going to be right beside you, like you always have been for _us_." The others all nodded in agreement.

Superman smiled. "Thanks, guys." he said. Then, he frowned...as he heard Siryn making good on her word; she was singing, her voice extending into UHF, enabling him to hear her whispers even from this distance...

...and making it slightly harder for him to pick up the distress signal of the airplane over Australia.

"Sorry, guys; gotta go." Superman said. The X-Men nodded in understanding, and Superman took to the sky, flying towards the trouble at top speed. As he flew, he sighed to himself.

'_Jor-El leaves me all the knowledge of Krypton and all the worlds it had ties with...and in all that, he never thinks to leave me any advice about how to deal with **women**._'

_Coming soon:_

_Will Siryn's deadly melody prevent the Man of Steel from carrying out his mission?_

_How will the X-Men counter the irresistible tones of the Brotherhood's new leader?_

_All this, and more, in the conclusion to "Siryn's Song," coming soon to your computer..._


	4. Siryn's Song, Part 2

CHAPTER THREE: SIRYN'S SONG, PART TWO

_Xavier Institute, Bayville, September 23, 2007_

It was Monday morning as Clark awoke, getting up, still in his white t-shirt and black shorts; he'd gotten a few hours of sleep, which was all he ever really needed. He'd had a late patrol, taking full advantage of the night hours...the _quiet_ night hours.

Siryn had made good on her word. For a little over a week, she'd been singing almost non-stop, with only a few breaks: during school hours, and during the late night – these were the only times she kept quiet. Her melodious advances, extending into UHF, hadn't affected him directly...but they were distracting, making it harder for him to hear _real_ distress calls.

It was getting _annoying_.

After Clark had gotten up, his roommate, Remy, stirred in his bunk on the other side of the room. "Ugh...mornin', already?" he muttered, sitting up, in his black t-shirt and black shorts. "_Merde_...de nights, dey just too short."

Clark chuckled. "_Tell_ me about it."

Remy caught the joke. "Ah, so de _fille_ still be singin' fo' y'?" he replied, getting up.

Clark nodded, as he got up to head for breakfast. "School hours and late night are the only times she clams up." he said. "Is she ever going to take a _hint?_"

Remy chuckled, following. "Dat's de funny t'ing about de _femmes_, _mon ami_: dey want what dey can' 'ave." he said. "By sayin' t' Mademoiselle LeRoux dat she can' 'ave y', y' jus' makin' 'er want y' all de _more_."

Clark arched an eyebrow. "But...according to that logic, the only way to make her _stop_ wanting me...is to go _out_ with her! How is _that_ a solution?"

"Who said dere _was_ a solution?" Remy replied. "De _femmes_, dey complicated creatures; guys 'ave prob'ly been puzzlin' over 'em since de dawn o' time, an' prob'ly on _Krypton_, too...an we _prob'ly_ be puzzlin' 'em when time _stops_, _mon ami_. If dere _is_ a solution, Remy ain' got it."

Clark sighed. "Terrific." he said. Chuckling, he added, "But wanting what you can't have isn't a trait that's _exclusive_ to women, is it?"

Remy laughed. "_Non_. Remy be livin' proof!" he replied. "Remy ain' givin' up on de Institute's Southern _belle_, jus' yet."

By then, Clark had reached the kitchen, followed by his roommate, as the rest of the students arrived; Clark had almost forgotten how crowded the Institute was, now – getting breakfast was almost as tough as a Danger Room session.

Walking to the counter, Clark managed to pick up a waffle – swerving to avoid the stampede of Bobby, Ray, and Sam rushing for the cereal – and moved to the toaster, next to Logan sipping a coffee. "Rough night, Flyboy?" he inquired.

"Not too bad." Clark answered, smiling. "I just had to make a stop at a hydroelectric plant to put out a fire, and patch up an oil tanker before its oil tanks breached."

Logan arched an eyebrow. "So, a fairly quiet night, then."

"Not too bad, like I said." Clark said. Sighing, he added, "I wish my _days_ were a little quieter."

Jean looked up from her toast. "Siryn was bugging you, yesterday?"

"Yep."

Kitty frowned. "_God_, what is her _problem?!_" she exclaimed. "She's been pestering you, all _week!_"

Remy chuckled. "Remy got a t'eory, but 'e already 'splained it t' de big guy."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Oh, Gawd, Ah'm not sure Ah want ta _hear_ it, Swamp-Rat!"

Remy grinned. "Why, chere, Remy t'ought y'd be int'rested!" he said. "Siryn's problem wit' Superman be de same one Remy got wit' _y_': de more y' say _non_, de more Remy wants y', an' it's de same way wit' Siryn."

Bobby spoke up: "So, big guy...just how hot _was_ she?"

Clark frowned. "I don't see how that matters, Bobby."

"Oh, my _God_...she was _smoking hot_, wasn't she?" Ray exclaimed.

Roberto frowned. "Dude, that is just not _fair_."

"No, it's _not_ fair!" Jubilee exclaimed. "Clark's trying to do good with his powers, and now this 'Siryn' is trying to keep him from doing that!"

Tabitha shrugged. "Hey, you can't blame the girl for having good taste."

By then, Clark's waffle was done, and he took it from the toaster as it popped, placing it on a plate. He was about to grab the maple syrup...

...when his hearing picked up a transmission on the emergency channel.

Seeing Jamie trying to reach the cereal in the cupboard above, Clark handed him the waffle. "Enjoy, Jamie." he said.

"Wow, thanks, Clark!" Jamie exclaimed. "But...what will _you_ have?"

"Sorry; I'm on duty." Clark replied. "I just picked up a plane in distress over China; no time to eat. Later, guys."

With that, he darted to his room, changing into his uniform and opening a nearby window, flying out in all of three seconds, soaring towards the plane.

"_...come to me...my Kal-El...don't deny yourself...come to me..._"

Superman sighed as he flew; Siryn was starting earlier than usual. He blocked out the mutant enchantress' singing, flying on towards the people who needed his help.

He was _really_ getting tired of her distractions.

_Bayville High_

The morning passed fairly quickly, and Scott and the others met at their usual table in the cafeteria when lunch came around...all except Jean.

Scott looked around for his best friend...and his face fell as he saw her sitting at the same table as Duncan and his crowd.

"Looks like de big guy ain' the only one wit' _femme_ problems." Remy observed, in his street clothes – a black button-up shirt, black jeans, and black shades hiding his eyes; he'd transferred to Bayville High at the start of the year.

Scott shrugged. "Hey, Duncan is Jean's boyfriend; of course she'd sit with him." he said.

Remy crossed his arms, an eyebrow arched behind his shades. "Uh-huh."

"Scott, you _so_ obviously like Jean!" Kitty exclaimed.

Scott shook his head. "We're just friends, and that's all."

'_**Sure**,_' a tiny little part of his mind said, '_you just keep on telling yourself that, Summers. **That's** why you want to pound Matthews every time you see him with Jean._'

Scott shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Even if that _were_ true, Jean was with _Duncan_, he thought bitterly; the guy had boyish good looks, was filthy rich, and was the freakin' school _quarterback_ – practically _royalty_...

"Hey."

Scott was surprised as he saw Jean walk up to them. "Hey." he greeted, smiling. "I thought you were sitting with Duncan, today."

"I was, but then I decided to sit with my best friend." Jean replied, smiling that oh-so-radiant smile. "Anyway, what were you all talking about?"

"Oh, nothing." Scott said quickly. He looked to everyone else. "Right, guys?"

"Right." Kurt quickly agreed, the others echoing his reply...

...though Remy's eyebrow was arched, his smug smile saying, '_Just friends, huh?_'

"Hey, guys." Evan muttered, glancing to another table. "Check it out."

Scott followed Evan's gaze...to where Anita LeRoux, clad in a violet halter-top and stylish blue jeans, and the rest of her snobby clique were sitting.

Anita had arrived at Bayville High the Monday after the weekend they'd first encountered her, enrolled in the junior year. The minute she'd walked through the doors, her presence had reduced half the male population to drooling morons. She'd very quickly found her niche in the popularity hierarchy...near the top. In addition, she was quite intelligent, as far as grades were concerned; she was just as brainy as any of the career-academics in their grade.

'_I guess being taught by Dr. Doom **does** have an upside._' Scott thought.

"Well...Ah wonder what Her Bitchy Majesty is up to." Rogue said.

Scott nodded. "We should try to find out." he said. "I say we try to talk to her."

"Right." Lance said. "I know I'm sure in a hurry to have _my_ powers blow up in my face."

"Look, as long as we're in school, Siryn can't do anything because she'll just end up blowing her cover." Scott reasoned. "It's worth a shot." At that, the others agreed. Then, the lunch bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and Scott and the others left the cafeteria...to try and talk to their new foe.

Scott and the others found Anita by her locker, on her own, before the start of classes, the hall mostly empty. Anita turned around to face them, one of her chestnut eyebrows arched. "Fighting on school grounds?" she said. "And I thought you X-Men were _so_ well-behaved."

"We're not here to fight." Scott said. "We just want to talk."

Anita slowly folded her arms. "So talk."

"Why are you here?" Jean asked. "What do you want?"

Anita smiled. "Why, I want to defeat you foolish X-Men." she said. Her smile became sly. "And, of course, I want Kal-El as my husband, but that's something of a...'work-in-progress'."

"But why are you doing this?" Kitty asked. "He's trying to do _good_ with his abilities; to help _everyone_, both mutants and humans. Why can't you just let him alone?"

Anita smiled. "Surely you know? He's destined to be the future leader of our race!" she replied. "If he's to lead us, he'll have to snap out of his little fondness for helping those foolish humans; he's going to have _much_ more important things to worry about." She smiled dismissively. "Believe me, dear; in the long run, you'll be _thanking_ me."

Just then, Duncan walked over to them, smiling at Jean. "Hey, babe." he greeted. "Why did you head off so suddenly? I thought we were going to talk before classes started."

"Oh...something came up." Jean replied.

Duncan shrugged, and smiled, nodding to Anita. "LeRoux." he greeted.

Anita simply smiled. "_Walk into a wall._"

Duncan smiled goofily, turned, and then did just that. "_Ow!!_" he yelped. "What the..?!"

"Oh, you boys!" Anita giggled, twirling a strand of her hair. "Always doing anything for a laugh!"

"Oh...right." Duncan muttered, walking off.

Anita smirked. "You've got a real keeper there, Grey."

Jean frowned. "That was pretty stupid." she said. "What if someone _saw_ that?"

Anita laughed. "Jean, I _hardly_ used _any_ of my power!" she said. "Some people are just easily controlled." She sighed. "And then, there are some men who have _amazing_ willpower...like Kal-El." With that, she simply walked away, as the bell rang for class, prompting Scott and his friends to head to their classes.

High above the Earth, at the outer edges of the atmosphere, Superman floated above the planet, his eyes closed, as he listened to the world below.

After rescuing the Chinese airplane, he'd done a quick patrol before returning to don his nervous, clumsy "Clark Kent" persona before heading to Bayville University. After classes had ended for the day, he'd resumed patrol, making every minute count...

Superman frowned, as Siryn started up her singing again. '_School's out._' he noted mentally. '_That lady sure doesn't waste any time..._'

This was getting ridiculous. Was this how it was going to be; him straining to hear trouble over her endless droning? How on Earth was he supposed to..?

Superman's eyes widened in horror as his hearing caught the faint transmission on the emergency channel; there was a rail-bridge out in Texas...and it sounded like one train was heading right for it!

Instantly, Superman took off at top speed, easily shrugging off the heat of re-entry, as he soared towards Texas, a sonic boom echoing behind him. He reached the bridge in seconds; the rails were out of alignment – if the train hit it, it would jump the track...straight into the ravine. Quickly, Superman grabbed the rails and pushed them back into alignment, before using his eye-rays to weld the in place, and then flying away...seconds before the train barreled through, safe.

If he'd been _any later_...

Superman's eyes narrowed in fury as he heard Siryn resume her melody, as if nothing had happened. He quickly took off, flying towards New York, the source of her song, heading towards the building-top where her melody was coming from.

He could see her as he flew; she was sitting on the edge of the roof, looking much like her mythological namesake, in her uniform; she looked quite fetching, to anyone else.

But Superman knew what kind of evil she was capable of.

He landed on the rooftop fast, lightly shaking the roof; he wanted her to know that he was _serious_.

Siryn smiled, ceasing her melody. "I _knew_ you couldn't stay away from me!" she cooed.

"Enough games, Siryn!" Superman shouted, in no mood for her flirting. "I don't care about this prophecy that you, Magneto, and your father are preoccupied with! And I'm _not_ going to be your husband, no matter _what_ you do!" Calming, he finished. "_The singing **stops**._"

Siryn giggled, twirling a strand of her hair. "My sweet Kal-El," she purred, "one of the lessons that my dear Papa taught me was that, when pursuing a goal..._**never** take 'no' for an answer._"

"This isn't a game, Siryn." Superman said. "I just stopped a train from crashing; a train whose distress call I almost didn't hear because of your singing."

Siryn tilted her head. "So?"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "'_So?!_'" he repeated. "_Your singing almost **killed** those people!!_"

Siryn smiled. "Well, then, hero," she purred, "if you want me to _clam_ up...you'd better _pucker_ up." Her smile became sly. "Don't just think of those poor innocent souls...think of your _friends_."

Superman's eyes narrowed.

"I can easily make them do whatever I _want_." Siryn said. "And I can teleport myself away in the blink of an eye, before you can even arrive." She smiled at him. "All I want is _you_, Kal-El. Are you going to let your friends suffer for you?"

Superman froze; he couldn't let his friends get hurt. Not for _him_...

"I'll let you think about it." Siryn cooed, and she snapped her fingers, causing a green haze to begin to enfold her.

"This isn't over." Superman said.

"_Oh, I surely **hope** not, handsome..._" Siryn's voice cooed, as she disappeared.

Alone, Superman didn't know what to do. He was completely _stuck_.

Then, he smiled, as he remembered the perfect person to go to for advice. He quickly took out his belt-communicator, activating the call-masking, and placed a call.

"Hey, Ma? Can I come talk to you?"

Within minutes, Superman had flown across the country, to the quiet town of Smallville, Kansas, to the Kent Farm at the edges of town, where no-one could see him land...and where his Ma, the fifty-something Martha Kent, came out to greet him. Her face was wrinkly, her mid-length grey hair tied in a bun, with glasses framing her blue eyes, clad in old blue jeans and a grey sweater.

"_Clark!!_ Welcome home, sweetie!" Ma Kent greeted, happily hugging him. "It's so good to see you!"

Superman smiled, returning the hug. "It's good to see you, too, Ma." he replied. "I need some advice."

"Of course, honey! Please, come in!" his Ma said. Then, they both headed into the little Kent household.

Superman quickly told his Ma the story over a cup of tea. "...you mean that this little _witch_ is harassing my boy?!" Martha cried. Her eyes narrowed in maternal fury. "_Let me at her!!!_ I'll crack her spoiled little head with my frying pan so hard, she won't even so much as hum a _showtune_ for the rest of her _life!!_"

Superman laughed. "I don't think that'll help, Ma." he said. "She's a _sorceress_. Plus, her power is in her voice; she can make anyone do whatever she wants, except me. Even so, her singing is distracting me from helping people. Not only _that_, _now_ she's threatening my friends if I don't agree to be her husband!" He sighed. "I have no idea what to do."

Martha sighed. "I wish I knew what to say, sweetie." she said. "Oh, if I could, I'd boo and heckle that girl every single time she opened her mouth."

Superman sighed. If only it were that simple; if he could only just drown out Siryn's melodies...

Then it hit him.

"Of _course!!_" Superman exclaimed. "Ma, you're a _genius!!_"

Martha smiled in surprised joy. "Well, I'm glad I helped, though I don't know _how_ I helped!"

"The same way you _always_ do, Ma!" Superman declared. "By being one _hell_ of a good mother!" He quickly kissed her cheek, said good-bye, and flew out the door, soaring into the sky...

...heading _north_.

As Scott and the others returned to the Institute, Miss Munroe and the New Mutants were there to greet them. "Have any of you heard from Clark?" Ororo asked.

Scott shook his head. "No, we haven't heard from him since breakfast, this morning." he said.

Amara looked worried. "I hope he's all right." she said softly.

"W-What if that Siryn girl has captured him?!" Jubilee cried.

Ray chuckled. "He should _be_ so lucky." he murmured.

"_Ray!!_" Jubilee shouted. "_Not helping!!_"

Kitty smiled, placing a friendly hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "He's fine, Jubilee." she assured her. "We've known him a while, and let me tell you, Superman _always_ comes through, in the end. He always _has_...and he always _will_." That seemed to calm the young mutant.

"_X-Men, the Brotherhood are on the move, heading for a populated area of Bayville Park; suit up and intercept them._"

At Professor Xavier's telepathic message, all the X-Men headed to suit up, before piling into the X-Van and driving off, heading for Bayville Park.

_North Pole_

In the deepest glacial ice of the North Pole, a massive, crystalline structure stood, consisting of countless gleaming crystals, jutting up from the ice at 45-degree angles, interweaving in ways no human mind could fathom.

It was the Fortress of Solitude, the last remnant of Kryptonian technology and knowledge in the entire universe...and the training ground, laboratory, workshop, and former dwelling of Krypton's Last Son.

Superman had flown here the minute he'd gotten the idea, standing within the off-white crystalline halls of his old home, after deactivating the intricate, complex lock on the doors, the lock re-randomizing after he'd entered. He was now in his workshop, at the bench, tinkering with his belt-buckle, using an electron micro-welder to weld the final components in place.

It was so simple. Siryn's voice had the ability to extend into UHF and ULF, sounds that were "felt" by the human nervous system rather than "heard." It was how she controlled people – through suggestion.

It was also the reason why he was immune. Unlike the rest of the people on this planet, he _could_ hear UHF and ULF, and thus could consciously ignore her suggestions. Still, even though her voice couldn't control him, it was still a distraction, having that girl whisper her advances all the time.

But what he hadn't realized – until now – was that Siryn used the _same_ Ultra-High and Ultra-Low Frequencies _each time_. These frequencies were different from the emergency channels he listened to; it was why he could still hear distress calls – the frequencies were close, which explained why it had been difficult to hear distress calls with Siryn singing...but _there was a difference_.

And _that_ was Siryn's _weakness_.

His welding complete, Superman clipped his buckle back on, tapped a button on its side...and listened.

He smiled triumphantly.

Then, his hearing picked up something: his friends were in trouble.

Quickly, he flew out of the Fortress, the lock re-randomized, and soared towards Bayville...with a plan forming as he flew.

_Bayville Park_

'_Man, we're getting our butts kicked._' Cyclops thought, as he and his team began to recover.

They'd managed to intercept the Brotherhood before they'd reached the populated area...and, thankfully, Siryn wasn't with them. They'd managed to handle things, keeping the Brotherhood in check...

...until Siryn had arrived, and completely turned the tables on them.

As the X-Men got up, the Brotherhood were recovering from the beating they'd gotten before Siryn had arrived. Siryn smiled at the X-Men. "If only Kal-El had just accepted his destiny, this need not have happened." she purred. "What happens now is on his head."

"Oh, you're full of _crap_, lady." Avalanche muttered.

"If you were so concerned about him, you'd be arguing with _him_." Cyclops said.

Suddenly, a sonic boom echoed overhead, and Siryn smiled. "You know what? I think I'll do just that!"

In seconds, Superman had landed between Siryn and the X-Men, looking grave. "Kal-El, you're here!" Siryn cooed. "I trust you know what you have to do?"

"Yes." Superman said.

Shadowcat looked confused. "Superman..?" she murmured. "W-What are you doing..?"

"Why, he's saving you all." Siryn purred, extending her hands to Superman. "You've made the right choice, Kal-El." she cooed. "_Come to me._"

Slowly, to the X-Men's horror, Superman walked to Siryn, taking her hands. Siryn beamed, her face flushed. "It was a _fact_ that we would be together, Kal-El." she whispered, her voice breathy. "And now you'll see what a _pleasant_ fact I can be." She closed her eyes. "_Kiss me._"

Superman didn't move.

Siryn opened her eyes. "I'm _waiting!_" she said, annoyed.

Superman just grinned. "_Don't hold your breath._"

Superman simply flicked his wrists, sending Siryn flipping back, shrieking, to land hard on her rear.

Siryn stood up, angry. "You're _not_ making things easy on your friends, you know!!" she hissed. "_Scott, blast Jean with your optic-blasts!!_"

Cyclops didn't move. '_Huh..??_'

Siryn got _angrier_. "_I said, blast her right **now**!!_"

Superman laughed, tapping his belt-buckle. "Sorry, Siryn, but I'm afraid there's a _heckler_ in the audience; nobody could hear a _word_ you said." he chuckled. "It's a little something called a Sonic Wave-Neutralizer, courtesy of the know-how of my home planet! It works on a very simple principle: two waves of equal magnitude and opposing phase, when they interact, will _cancel out_. And since your voice uses the same frequencies each time, it was easy to calibrate the Neutralizer to send out a UHF/ULF sound with a phase in diametric opposition to your voice. All I have to do is switch it on...and neither I nor anyone in a fifty-mile-radius can hear _anything_ you say on UHF or ULF!"

He turned to the X-Men. "Sorry I'm late, guys; it took me a little while to get the calibration just right."

Siryn's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in utter and complete shock.

Rogue laughed. "Ya oughtta see yer face, Yer Royal Pain-in-the-Highness!" she said. "_Prahceless!!_"

Jean grinned. "You heard her, Scott." she said. "Siryn said, 'blast her, right now!'"

Cyclops grinned, turning to the flabbergasted Siryn. "If you say so, Siryn!" he laughed, and he opened his visor, firing an optic-blast, sending Siryn flying into the bushes.

Now only the Brotherhood remained. "Oh, _man_," Toad whimpered, "we're gonna get our butts kicked something _fierce_..."

Suddenly, with a harpy-like shriek, Siryn levitated out of the bushes, landing on her feet, glaring at the X-Men. "My abilities were _crude_ before my father found me." she hissed. "They were a _cudgel_, but Papa refined them into a _rapier!_" She glared at them hatefully. "_But sometimes, a cudgel works **just** as well!!!_"

With that, she opened her mouth, unleashing a devastating _scream_, a shrill, deadly banshee-wail, a pure _wall_ of sonic force, tearing up the ground in her path, uprooting trees and bushes, crumbling rocks...and sending her three teammates flying.

Superman stood his ground, his arms blocking his head, as he took the brunt of Siryn's scream, its force slowly moving him back...until he dug in his footing, refusing to budge.

As the scream seared towards the X-Men, Jean quickly raised a PSI-barrier, a wall of psychic energy...which began to _vibrate_ as Siryn's scream hit it. Jean's hands went to her head. "I...I can't hold it..!!" she cried. "She's...she's too strong..!"

"You can do it, Jean!" Cyclops said. "You're _stronger!_"

Jean managed to hold the shield...until Siryn's sonic-scream ended, her shriek dying away, leaving the park-field in ruins...but the X-Men were unharmed, and Superman was unphased.

As she dropped the shield, Jean collapsed, and Cyclops caught her. "Jean, are you okay?"

"Yeah...I think so..." Jean murmured. "I've...never blocked anything like that before..."

Cyclops smiled. "I _told_ you that you were stronger." At that, Jean weakly smiled.

Superman glanced back to them. "You guys okay?"

"We're a little shaken up, but otherwise fine." Cyclops said. "But do you think you can handle things, big guy?"

Superman glared at Siryn. "I think so."

Siryn's eyes narrowed, smiling archly. "This _is_ a momentous occasion, Kal-El," she said, "it'll be something to tell our children about..."

"...our first lovers' _spat!_"

Superman kept on-guard as Siryn conjured spheres of flame in her hands. "_Raekis Shriker Pyror!!_" she chanted, her words seeming to take substance within the fire-bolts as she cast them at him. Superman raised his arms, blocking most of the force, but the impact still sent him flying back a good twenty feet, though he landed on his feet. "_Raekis Sumnol Shriker Glacis!!_" Siryn hissed, as she conjured blasts of frigid energy, firing them at him. Superman was ready, and fired his heat-rays, blasting every frosty spell to shards...but as the shards touched the ground, they froze the entire field...coating his feet in ice.

"_Raekis Shriker Blitzrius!!_" Siryn chanted, as she sent a bolt of lightning searing from her hand, striking Superman before he could break free, sending him flying back thirty feet, landing hard...

...but he quickly did a handspring, getting back on his feet in record time, remembering what Dr. Strange had once told him.

If his will was stronger, he could take _anything_ she could dish out.

"_Raekis Shriker Blitzrius!!_" Siryn hissed once more, as the lightning blazed from her hand towards him, but Superman focused...and zipped away at super-speed before it hit him, zipping behind Siryn and sending her flying with a gust of gale-breath.

Siryn shrieked as she flew across the field, but caught herself, levitating and landing on her feet. "_Raekis Sumnol Lithos!!_" Siryn shrieked, causing fingers of stone to rise up around Superman, enfolding him...

...until his eye-rays melted the rock, and he burst free. He glared at her. "You'll have to do better than that, Siryn."

Siryn started to look nervous. "_R-Raekis Shriker Pyror!!_" she cried, sending flame-bolts at him again, but Superman inhaled and extinguished them with his ice-breath. "_Raekis Barrius Glacis!!_" Siryn cried, as she conjured a barrier of ice between herself and Superman. Superman's eyes glowed red, as he fired his eye-rays, melting the barrier, but slowly, as Siryn's magic was fueling it...but she was losing energy...

With one burst of effort, Superman shattered the barrier with his eye-rays, the blast from the shield breaking sending Siryn flying, to land ingloriously on her rear end. Superman glared at her. "Had enough?"

Siryn just looked at him with wonder. "_No-one_...other than my father...has ever defeated me..." she murmured. Slowly, she stood up, gazing up at him...and then she smiled, before she darted over and _hugged_ him.

"_You're my **equal**!!_"

Superman was too shocked to move. '_Oh, don't **tell** me..._'

Siryn backed away from him, her eyes shining. "I _will_ have you, Kal-El." she purred. "There is no other for me but _you_...and there is none for you but _me_...but you'll see that, in time, my darling."

By then, the rest of the Brotherhood had picked themselves up from Siryn's sonic-attack. "LeRoux, whose side are you _on?!_" Quicksilver yelled.

"_Hush!!_" Siryn snapped, before gazing at Superman with loving eyes. "Good-bye for now, my Kal-El." she whispered, before blowing him a kiss, and then vanishing into green mist, taking her teammates with her.

Superman groaned, holding his forehead in his hand. "I don't _believe_ this..."

Gambit chuckled. "Like Gambit said," he said, "de more y' say _non_, de more de _femme_ want y'!"

Shadowcat giggled. "Well, you _do_ have to give her points for persistence!" she joked.

Cyclops smiled. "Thanks for the assist, Superman!" he said.

Superman smiled. "No problem, guys." he replied.

"Well, let's just head home." Cyclops suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Superman agreed. Then, he chuckled. "But, when you think about it, it's kind of funny!"

"How's zhat, Big Blue?" Nightcrawler asked.

"Some guys can attract a girl like crazy," Superman said, "but I screwed it up, except in _reverse_: I attracted a _crazy_ girl!"

Everyone had to laugh at that. "Don't worry!" Shadowcat assured him. "I know you'll find the _right_ girl, Superman; someone who'll be so _perfect_ for you, and who'll make you so _happy_, you won't even _remember_ so much as _meeting_ Siryn!"

Superman smiled. "Thanks, Shadowcat." he said. "But, for now, let's go _home_." With that, the X-Men headed for the X-Van, as Superman took to the sky, heading for home.

In her hotel room, after dropping off her teammates at the boarding house, Anita had promptly taken her phone...

...and called _home_.

"Oh, Papa, you were _right!_" Anita all but squealed. "He's _perfect!_ He actually _defeated_ me! He actually figured out how to counteract my powers, and he withstood my spells! He's my _equal!!_"

"_I am truly happy for you, my dear Anita._" came the metallic voice of her father, the man known as Dr. Doom, his metallic voice softer, though it could still petrify the bravest soul...but Anita would _never_ fear her beloved father's voice...unless she had done something to displease her father, in which case that voice would dispense discipline for her transgressions.

Then, Anita frowned. "But he _has_ to be the most stubborn man I've ever met! _Honestly!_ He will _not_ listen to me! It's so _frustrating_, Father; for him to be so _perfect_ and yet so _stubborn_...it drives me _insane!_"

Her father chuckled. "_Most strong men do tend to be stubborn, my child; do not be discouraged._" he said. "_Have patience._"

Anita calmed herself. "Yes, Father." she said. "And what of the rest of the plan, if I may ask?"

"_You may._" her Papa replied. "_Everything is going according to plan, my dear. My associate's assessment of the humans is accurate to a **fault**; their plans will be manipulated to benefit **us**, to force Kal-El to accept his destiny. And all of this will occur right under General Fury's **nose**, making it a wonderful low blow._" He chuckled. "_Ah, my dear Anita, if it is at all possible, you must tell your father the exact expression on the General's face, when he discovers what has occurred._"

Anita giggled. "I will, Papa." she promised. "Good-bye."

"_Good-bye, my sweet child._"

Anita then hung up, and sighed to herself, smiling dreamily.

'_Soon, Kal-El,_' she thought happily, '_you'll be **mine**._'

_Coming soon:_

_As events in Jean's life come to a surging head, an old danger rises._

_Can the Man of Steel help one of his dearest friends?_

_Or will Jean need the help of someone who knows her better than anyone else?_

_Find out in "From the Ashes..." coming to your computer soon..._


	5. From The Ashes

CHAPTER FOUR: FROM THE ASHES

_Xavier Institute, October 1, 2007_

It was morning at the Institute as Clark got ready for his first big assignment in the fall semester at the university. He'd just gotten back from his morning patrol, the others having left for school. The assignment involved conducting an interview; the students in his class had been allowed to pick any current-events topic – within reasonable limits – and do an interview of a person related to that topic. Clark had chosen to do a human-interest topic; he'd heard that Bayville High was awarding the Girls' Soccer Team's Most Valuable Player award, today, so he'd decided to interview the recipient of the award.

He quickly donned the clothing of his clumsy, nervous "Clark Kent" persona, putting it on over his uniform: light brown khaki pants, a grey long-sleeved shirt, a sweater-vest over it, and glasses resting on his nose. He then parted his hair in the middle of his forehead, and then strapped on his own image-inducer, switching it on, making him look more lean, lankier, concealing his powerful frame...making him look more like a clumsy, bumbling country-boy.

He knew that the Brotherhood would be at school, and he couldn't have them deducing that the clumsy Clark Kent was actually Superman.

His disguise complete, Clark picked up his knapsack, and headed out of the Institute, walking a fair distance to a bus-stop, making sure no-one saw him leave the Institute, and quickly caught the next bus to Bayville High.

_Bayville High_

Jean was currently sitting in the gymnasium, along with the rest of the school, as Principal Kelly was handing out the sports awards. "This year, our Girls' Soccer Team played as a team, they _won_ as a team, and through it all, they respected each other!" Principal Kelly said, picking up the most impressive trophy on the table. "And they all voted on who the Most Valuable Player on the team was! It gives me great pleasure to present this year's MVP award to..._Jean Grey!_"

Jean gasped in surprise...and then smiled happily, standing up and heading to the podium to accept the award, the school cheering as she did. Walking up to the Principal, she shook his hand, and took the trophy, before standing at the podium, for her acceptance speech. "Thank you all!" she said. "I'm so honored that you chose me for this award!" She looked out among the crowd, spying her friends. Lance was sound asleep in his seat, as was Remy.

She smiled as she spied Scott, her absolute best friend, who was always there when she needed him. Her smile became a bit guilty as she lowered her mental shields slightly, allowing herself to catch a few of his stray thoughts: '_Jean really deserves this award; she's worked so hard for the team..._'

Then, she happened to catch a few of the others' thoughts. '_That's so awesome! Way to go, Jean!_' Kitty thought.

Rogue's thoughts weren't quite as supportive. '_Oh, Gawd, how long are we gonna have ta stay here?_'

Evan was bored out of his mind. '_Okay, I have twenty-six teeth in my mouth...hang on...darn it! Okay...one...two...three..._'

Suddenly, the thoughts of _everyone_ in the audience started to fill her mind, overwhelming her; she put a hand to her head. "_AAAAHHHH!!_" she cried.

Then, suddenly, another voice began to echo in her head...one that was _speaking_ to her.

'_Jean...Jean...let me out, Jean..._'

Jean managed to raise her mental shields, shutting off the thoughts, recomposing herself. "Sorry about that; migraines!" she said, smiling. "That's what you get from head-butting too many soccer balls!" The audience laughed appreciatively, the tension eased, as Jean continued her speech.

After her speech, and the awards assembly had ended, Jean left the gym, heading for her next class. "Jean, wait up!" Scott called, as he ran up to her.

"Oh, hey, Scott." Jean said, smiling.

Scott looked worried. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

Jean smiled, nodding. "I'm fine, Scott; my shields just slipped. It was just a bit overwhelming, but I'm fine."

"Oh. That's good." Scott replied. Smiling, he added, "Congratulations, Jean! You really deserve it!"

"Thanks!" Jean said, her smile growing. Scott always made her feel better when she was down.

"So, any plans?" Scott asked.

Jean sighed, nodding. "Duncan was having a party, tonight." she said. Recently, she and Duncan had been arguing often. Duncan was turning out _not_ to be the charming gentleman he'd been on their first date. He was too cocky, he enjoyed flaunting their relationship, and he just...

...wasn't like Scott.

Smiling, Jean asked, "Do you want to go?"

Scott's smile became a bit forced. "I don't know..." he said, "...Duncan and I aren't good friends, even on the _best_ of days..."

"Please, Scott?" Jean asked. "Look, we've been arguing, recently, and if I want to leave, I'll be stuck there..."

Scott smiled, and nodded. "Sure, Jean. I'll go."

Jean beamed. "Thanks, Scott! You're the _best!_" she exclaimed. Then, she waved good-bye to Scott, heading for her next class.

It was about lunch-time when Clark arrived at Bayville High, walking through the main doors of the high school. He walked down the hallway, his ears ringing from all the teenage chatter; all the bragging, gossiping, and rumor-mongering of high-school. '_And, once again, Kryptonian Knowledge-Chamber home-schooling gets the nod._' he thought. He'd left home before he'd started his freshman year at Smallville High, to find himself, to learn where he came from. Four years of training in the Fortress and learning from the Knowledge Chamber had replaced his high school years. He didn't know if he would have been able to take all this, at fifteen; he didn't know _how_ he would have been able to survive, knowing he was so different from everyone else.

It gave him a whole new respect for his friends.

Before long, he'd reached the office, seeing Principal Edward Kelly...the man he'd once rescued from the falling school mascot. "Uh, Principal Kelly?" he asked, while "tripping" on a knapsack left in the hallway, to enhance his appearance of clumsiness. "I'm, uh, Clark Kent, sir, from the university."

"Clark Kent...oh, yes, the Journalism student!" the Principal said. "Well, it's nice to meet you, son! How can I help you?"

"Well, sir, I was going to do a human-interest interview, and I wanted to interview your Girls Soccer MVP." Clark said.

"Oh, well, that would be Jean Grey." Mr. Kelly said.

"I see." Clark said, trying to keep from smiling; he should have known. "And where can I find Ms. Grey?"

"Well, she may be still in Chemistry class with Mr. McCoy." Mr. Kelly thought. "Class only just let out; you might catch her. If not, he may know where she went next."

Clark blinked. "Is that...Mr. _Hank_ McCoy?"

"Why, yes." Mr. Kelly replied. "Do you know him?"

"I, uh, helped him with some research, once." Clark said; Mr. McCoy had once visited the Institute last year – he'd been fascinated to study the abilities of a "real, live alien."

"Well, his class should be at the end of that hallway." Mr. Kelly said, pointing towards a hallway.

Clark took a few steps, to get a better look...and "accidentally" stepped in a janitor's washing-bucket, soapy water soaking his pant-leg up to his shin. "Aw, _dang_ it!" Clark muttered...while trying very hard not to laugh.

The Principal lightly chuckled. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, sure!" Clark said. "Well, thanks, Principal!" With that, he headed down the hallway.

After a few minutes, Clark had found Mr. McCoy's classroom, with Mr. McCoy still there. Hank was tall, and broadly-built, with short, black hair, and dark eyes framed by glasses, clad in khaki pants, and a dark navy t-shirt, under his white lab-coat. He glanced up, his eyes widening as he saw Clark.

"Clark Kent, sir, from Bayville University." Clark quickly introduced himself. "I helped you with those experiments last year, remember?"

"Oh...yes, of course!" Hank said, smiling. "You were certainly a big help; the data I got was...quite insightful! How can I help you?"

"Well, I was just looking for the MVP winner, Jean Grey." Clark said. "I was going to interview her for a human-interest assignment."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but you just missed her." Hank said. "She should be at lunch, now."

"Oh. Well, thanks, anyway, sir." Clark said, as he turned to go...

...and stopped as Jean's friend Taryn walked in. "Mr. McCoy, I finished that review sheet..." she began, but burst into giggles as she saw him. "What happened to _you?_" she laughed, pointing to his soaked ankle.

Clark chuckled. "Janitor's bucket."

Taryn laughed. "Wow, you must be a _major_ _klutz!_"

"Taryn." Hank said flatly.

"Sorry, sorry." Taryn said. "Anyway, here's the sheet, sir." She handed him the worksheet, and then headed off.

Clark just turned to Hank, flashing him a conspiratorial thumbs-up; Hank grinned, and nodded in understanding. With that, Clark headed off.

Clark had to admit, Bayville High was pretty big. He'd been walking for several minutes, after finding a map that indicated that the cafeteria was on the level _below_ him. He turned a corner, spying a stairwell...

...and came face-to-face with Anita LeRoux.

Anita, clad in a purple halter-top and blue jeans, arched an eyebrow curiously at him. "Do I know you?"

Clark grinned sheepishly. "Uh, I think I'd remember us having met before!" he stammered, hoping she'd buy the act.

She wasn't entirely convinced. "_Who are you?_" she demanded, her voice carrying a UHF command; if he refused, she'd know he was Superman...

"Clark Joseph Kent, born April 27, 1987." Clark "babbled." "I was adopted and raised in Smallville, Kan..."

"_Enough!_" Anita ordered. "_Just...walk into a wall._"

"Okay!" Clark said, as he turned, and walked into the wall across from the stairwell, pretending to stumble back...and "slipping" on his soaked shoe, sending him tumbling down the stairs, to land flat on his back on the floor below...unhurt. '_Well, at least I'm on the right floor..._'

Then, he smiled as he heard Anita say, "_Well, he's certainly no Kal-El._"

He'd fooled her.

Then, he heard a soft female voice giggle. "Are you okay?"

Standing up, Clark spied a 16-year-old African-American girl, with long, brown hair, chocolate skin, and dark eyes, slender, a good bit shorter than him – she looked close to Kurt's height – and clad in a black, shoulder-baring t-shirt, and dark red jeans.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that happens all the time!" Clark laughed. He extended a hand. "Clark Kent, Bayville University, Journalism."

The girl smiled, and shook it. "Amanda Sefton, Bayville High." she replied. "Need any help?"

"I'm just looking for Jean Grey, the MVP, so I can interview her." Clark replied. "Any idea where she might be?"

Amanda nodded. "I think so." she said. "She often hangs out at the cafeteria, in the far-right corner, with Scott Summers...and that cute German exchange-student, Kurt Wagner." She blushed lightly as she said Kurt's name...and then she looked stricken. "B-But you can't tell him I said that!! Please, if you see them, don't mention my name!"

Clark chuckled. "Okay, I won't!"

Amanda looked relieved. "Promise?"

Clark grinned. "I _never_ lie!"

Amanda smiled. "Thanks." she said. She pointed to a hallway. "Anyway, the cafeteria is just at the end of the hall; you can't miss it!"

Just then, Clark's hearing picked up a signal; there was a ferry in distress in the English Channel. "Thanks, Miss Sefton, but I just remembered something; I'll have to come back later." Clark said. "Thanks for the help!"

"No problem!" Amanda said. "Good luck in your assignment!" With that, she walked off.

Looking around, Clark zipped into an empty area, finding an old service elevator. He quickly made sure no-one was looking, and then pulled the doors open, darting into the elevator, letting the doors close behind him. He then opened the top hatch, and flew up, removing his clothes and shutting off his inducer, putting them in his knapsack, now clad only in his uniform. He tucked his knapsack into a nook near the top of the elevator-shaft, to come back for it later, before opening the top hatch and flying out into open air, rapidly ascending, flying towards England, where he was needed.

It was about mid-afternoon when Scott and the others got back home. After dropping his knapsack upstairs, Scott headed down to the main entrance, where he saw Jean getting ready to leave. "Hey." Scott called. "Leaving so soon?" he innocently inquired.

"Yeah; I promised Taryn I'd help her pick out a new dress for the party, tonight." Jean said sheepishly.

"Oh." Scott replied, smiling. Suddenly, they heard a familiar sonic boom echo overhead. He and Jean both smiled, and headed to the back yard.

Scott and Jean got to the back yard in time to see Superman touch down, his knapsack over his shoulder. "Hey, guys." he greeted.

"Hey, Clark." Scott said. "Working, again?"

"Yeah; ferry in distress on the English Channel." Superman explained.

Jean shook her head, smiling. "Clark, no offense, but you're working too hard!"

Superman chuckled. "Hey, this is a full-time job!" he laughed. "And I'm not the only hard worker, around here! Congratulations, Miss MVP!"

"You heard about that?" Jean asked.

Superman nodded. "I was going to do a human-interest interview with the MVP-winner, today, but I had to leave for 'work.'"

Jean chuckled. "So _you_ were the goof-ball Taryn was telling me about!" she laughed.

Superman nodded. "Never _once_ did she suspect that anything lay beneath the clumsy, country-boy image of Clark Kent." he said.

Scott chuckled. "In addition to being a superhero, he's also a master of disguise!" he joked. "So, is this a big assignment?"

"Oh, yeah." Superman said. "The students with the highest grades are assigned to intern-positions at New York City newspapers."

"Wow." Jean said. She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Clark, but I'm afraid I can't do that interview, just now; I promised Taryn I'd help her pick out a dress."

Just then, Superman paused, closing his eyes, listening...and then opened them. "Don't worry, Jean; I'm still working, it seems." With that, he zipped into the house, dropping off his knapsack, and then zipped out, flying off, a sonic boom echoing as he flew.

Scott chuckled. "No matter how many times we see him do that..."

"...it's still the coolest thing in the world." Jean finished, smiling. Scott smiled back; it was amazing, how in-tune they were, at times...

Scott had once thought that he only liked Jean as a friend.

Oh, what a fool he'd been.

Still, it didn't change anything; Jean was still with Duncan, he thought with a sigh.

Just then, a car horn echoed from the front yard. "Oh, that's Taryn." Jean explained. Smiling, she added, "I'll see you at the party, Scott!" With that, she headed off, to go shopping with her friend.

As the day went on, Scott just worked on his homework, stopping to have dinner with the rest of the Institute, before heading back to his room to finish up his schoolwork. His assignments taken care of, Scott glanced at his clock...

'_Oh, crap, I'm late!_' he thought, as he bolted out of his room, passing by Kitty and Lance as they headed down the hall...and coughed as a familiar, pungent aroma assaulted his nostrils. "Oh, _jeez_, guys, hasn't that stink-bomb worn off, yet?"

"Not yet." Lance said. "I think that's why Mr. McCoy had us make 'em in class; so we wouldn't make 'em on our own time!"

Kitty giggled. "Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if you hadn't used your _own_ recipe, Lance!" she teased.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that the difference between a stink-bomb and a toxic bio-hazard was four extra drops of sulfur tetrachloride?" Lance laughed. "I should _definitely_ sue that web-site!" To Scott, he added, "Any ideas for curing stink-bomb stink, Summers?"

"Yeah! _Isolation!_" Scott laughed, coughing. "Later, guys!" With that, he hurried off, heading for the stairs...

...and nearly got bowled over by the wolfen Rahne and Sam, as they both rushed up the stairs. "Guys! Be careful!" he shouted.

Having no time to waste, he darted outside, where Bobby and Jubilee were standing next to Scott's car; Bobby had used his powers to create a tiny ice-ballerina for Jubilee. "Wow! Bobby, it's _beautiful!_" Jubilee beamed.

Bobby smiled. "No problem, Jubes." he replied.

Scott ran towards his car...and slipped on the ice that Bobby's powers had generated. He quickly got up, and hopped into the driver's seat. "Drake, clean this ice up before someone slips!"

Bobby smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Fearless." he said, as he and Jubilee backed away from the car. Then, Scott turned the key in the ignition, and drove off.

Duncan's house was a fair distance from Bayville, overlooking a cliff on the sea, and it sure was a ritzy-looking place. As Scott pulled up, it sounded like the party was in full swing. He hopped out...

...and immediately got beaned in the head by a flying soccer ball.

Groaning, Scott got back up, picking up the guilty plastic sphere. '_Jean, the things I do for you..._' he thought, as he headed inside.

Jean sighed to herself at Duncan's immature antics; her boyfriend had just turned a soccer ball into a makeshift football, and tossed it clear out of the house, through the skylight, as his football pals cheered, and clapped him on the back.

Jean had donned her yellow, long-sleeved t-shirt, as well as her slim blue jeans, a slightly more formal outfit that her usual clothes; in the seat next to her, Taryn was wearing the slim, short, orange dress she'd just bought, today. Taryn giggled. "Duncan's quite the handful, isn't he?" she joked.

Jean sighed, nodding. "That's..._one_ way to put it."

Taryn smiled. "He's not exactly a 'Scott Summers,' is he?"

Jean froze. "W-Why do you say that?" she said.

"Oh, come _on_, Jean; we've been friends ever since we started school, here." Taryn whispered conspiratorially. "I _know_ you like Scott; and you _should!_ He's cute, smart, nice, a martial-arts _expert_, and he _definitely_ likes you."

Jean shook her head. "We're just friends, that's all." she said quickly...though she had started to wonder about that, recently...

"Okay, whatever you say." Taryn giggled. "Then, if you're not interested...can I have him?"

Jean frowned. "I don't _own_ him, Taryn; you'll have to take that up with _him_." she replied neutrally...though her insides were twisting themselves up at the thought of Scott with Taryn. It didn't feel like it was against _Taryn_; she likely would have felt this way at the thought of Scott with _any_ other girl. But...she and Scott were just _friends_...

...weren't they?

Just then, Scott walked in, carrying the soccer ball that Duncan had tossed. "Anyone lose this?" he inquired.

"Yeah, Summers." Duncan replied, frowning. "And it looks like you've lost your way; pick up a road-map on your way _out_." At that, Jean frowned.

"I didn't lose my way, Dunc. Jean invited me." Scott replied simply, staying cool.

Duncan blinked. "Oh." Then, Scott casually tossed the ball to Duncan, before heading to the kitchen to grab a soda, smiling at Jean as he passed by, who smiled back.

Taryn smiled at Jean. "Just friends, huh?" she whispered. "Anyway, I'm a bit thirsty; want to grab a soda?"

"Sure." Jean said, as they both got up, heading for the kitchen.

Scott was just leaning against the counter, sipping a 7-Up as Jean and Taryn walked in. "Hey." he greeted.

"Hey." Jean replied. "I'm glad you came." She frowned. "Sorry about the reception, though."

Scott shrugged. "Don't worry; as far as I'm concerned, Duncan being a jackass is just par for the course." he quipped.

Jean couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I'm going to have to have a talk with him." she said, taking a can of Pepsi while Taryn opted for an Orange Crush.

Then, Scott called out, "Hey, Dunc, you mind if I switch on the radio?"

"Yeah, yeah, knock yourself out, Summers." Duncan grumbled. Scott shrugged, and switched on the radio, turning the dial to sort through the channels...

"Whoa, hold on!" Taryn exclaimed, as Scott passed one channel. "Go back." Scott did so.

"_...reports are coming in of a major nuclear disaster being miraculously averted in Europe, this afternoon!_" the anchorwoman said. "_The nuclear reactor east of Berlin, Germany, was minutes from catastrophic meltdown, when its reactor control-rods were suddenly inserted, halting the progression of the deadly reaction! We have the statement of one of the technicians at the power plant._"

"_I thought ve vere all done for!_" a German-accented man exclaimed. "_Zhe reactor controls vere severely damaged due to an electrical surge; zhere vas no vay zhat zhe control-rods could have been inserted remotely! Zhe only explanation is zat someone...actually **stood** in zhe reactor, und inserted zhem **manually**!_"

"_A commercial pilot came forward after the event, whose plane had ben flying near the reactor at the time of the incident._" the anchorwoman continued. "_He reported that his radar tracked a blip entering and leaving the area, too small to be a plane, and moving at speeds exceeding Mach Five! What do you think, viewers? Could this be an equipment-malfunction coinciding with a miracle...or has the elusive Man of Steel saved the day, again? This is Leanne Mitchell, signing off!_"

Jean and Scott managed to suppress knowing smiles.

"Well, _duh!_ Of _course_ it was Superman!" Taryn squealed, with similar statements echoing from the crowd that had gathered – mostly the girls. "Is there _anything_ he can't do?"

Scott met Jean's gaze, smiling. '_Probably **not**._' he thought to her. Jean nodded in agreement; Clark never ceased to amaze them.

"Oh, come _on!_ Not _this_ again! The guy _isn't real!_" Duncan said, scowling. "And even if he _is_ real, I, for one, want to know who the _hell_ he thinks he _is!_"

"Amen to _that_, bro!" one of Duncan's football pals said, the rest of the football team muttering words of agreement.

Taryn giggled. "You're just _jealous!_" she said..

Jean turned to Scott. '_I've got a real keeper, haven't I?_' she thought. Scott merely suppressed a chuckle. By then, the crowd gathered had dispersed, moving to the dance floor. Jean decided that now was as good a time as any to talk to Duncan, and she walked over to him. "Duncan, we need to talk." she said.

"I think we do." Duncan agreed. "What's the big idea with inviting Summers here? I didn't want him showing up!"

"And what's up with _that?_" Jean replied, a bit angry. "Scott's my best friend, Duncan; why do you have such a problem with him?"

"He's getting in the way of _us_, Jean." Duncan said. "You act different around him." Jean couldn't help but hear his thoughts: '_You don't act that way with **me**..._'

"How is my friendship with Scott 'interfering with us'?!" Jean said. "_God_, you can be so _impossible_, sometimes!"

Then, it started to happen, again; thoughts started to flood her mind. Jean put her hand to her head. "I'm getting some air." she said, managing to keep controlled, as she walked onto the balcony.

Fortunately, the balcony was empty, so no-one could see Jean hunch over, clutching her head. The thoughts were getting _overwhelming_...

"Jean?"

With a loud cry, Jean sent a telekinetic pulse at the one who had snuck up on her...and then she realized with horror that it had been _Scott_ that her PSI-pulse had knocked over the railing. She raced to the railing, reaching out and catching Scott with her TK just before he hit the pool, below. She breathed a sigh of relief...

"Jean?"

Jean whirled around to face Duncan, her grip slipping...before she caught Scott again, inches above the water. "What is it, Duncan?"

"Hey, I just wanted to know if you wanted to dance." Duncan said, smiling; acting charming, once more.

"Actually, Duncan, my migraine is acting up." Jean said. "I'm going to have to head home."

"Aw, c'mon, babe..." Duncan said.

"Duncan, I _need_ to go home." Jean said firmly.

"Fine, fine." Duncan said, as he walked away, grumbling, "..._I've_ taken hits to the head in football, and you don't see _me_ whining about it..."

Jean sighed to herself, before she pulled Scott up enough for him to grab the railing and climb up. "Your boyfriend's sensitivity and caring are truly inspiring." he quipped.

Jean wasn't in the mood for jokes, though that probably _was_ worthy of a chuckle. "Scott, please, can we go home?" she asked.

Scott nodded. "Sure, Jean. Let's go." With that, they left the party, got in Scott's car, and drove home.

As they arrived at the Institute, Jean was about to head inside, when Scott stopped her. "Jean, what's wrong?" he asked. "I know this is a lot more than just a slipped mental shield; you can tell me."

Jean looked at Scott; out of all the people here, she trusted him the _most_. "It's my powers, Scott; they're acting up." she said. "It first happened at the assembly; I thought it _was_ just a slip-up, at the time. I just started hearing everyone's thoughts...and...and then...I heard the voice." She started to sniffle. "It was the same voice I heard when...when Annie died..."

Scott's eyes widened; he knew that story – as a child, Jean had witnessed the death of her best friend, Annie. The event had triggered her powers, and sent her into a coma until the Professor had found her, raising powerful mental blocks in her mind, to restrain her powers until she was old enough to handle them better, and she'd resumed life...until her powers had begun to manifest again, prompting an invitation to the Institute to be extended to her.

"_God_, Jean," Scott whispered, "why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know!" Jean cried, tears starting to form. "I was just so freaked-out by that voice, I just...I just didn't want to believe it." She hugged her arms around herself. "When...when Annie died...I could _feel_ her dying, Scott...and...and a part of me died _with_ her..."

Slowly, Scott hugged her, letting her lean on his shoulder; he always knew how to make her feel so safe. "Maybe." he whispered. "But, from what I can tell, the _best_ part is still alive and well."

Jean smiled. "Thanks." she murmured. "How is it that you always know how to make me feel better?"

Scott grinned. "Hey, what are best friends for?"

Jean chuckled, their hug ending, before she frowned. "How did the Professor handle it?" she asked.

"Huh?" Scott asked.

"He mentioned it the day we first found Clark, in his Fortress." Jean explained. "When Clark told us what happened to Krypton, the Professor said he'd once heard millions of screams – Clark's people dying." She looked worried. "_God_, Scott...I got this freaked-out by just watching _one_ person dying...but he heard the dying screams of an entire _race_..."

"Well," Scott said, "in your defense, the Professor has had a _lot_ more experience with his powers than the both of us _combined_. _Plus_, at the time, he didn't really know what he was hearing, but Annie was your _best friend_; she was close to you. It isn't _quite_ the same thing, I guess."

Jean smiled weakly, before she hugged him again. "You are my _best friend_, Scott Summers."

Scott grinned, returning her hug. "_Ditto_, Red." he said, his nickname for her earning a laugh. "Anyway, I was just going to go make some hot chocolate. You want any?"

"In a minute; I just need a bit more air. You go ahead." Jean said. Scott nodded, and he headed inside, giving Jean her space. Alone, Jean sat down on the front step, to think...

"Anything wrong, Jean?"

Jean smiled as Superman touched down in front of her. "Nothing you can help with, Clark." she sighed.

Superman sat down next to her. "Try me." he suggested.

"My powers are acting up." Jean said. "So far, it's just my telepathy getting more sensitive...but it could go to my telekinesis, next; just a while ago, I nearly knocked Scott off a balcony! And that's what scares me, Clark; I'm afraid that..."

"...you could hurt someone." Superman finished, his face looking haunted.

Jean nodded. "Yes." she murmured.

Superman nodded in understanding. "Jean...I may not have told you this..." he said, "...but, for the most part, I've had my powers since I was a _baby_, since I arrived on Earth. My Ma once told me that, the day she and Pa found me, Pa had to change a tire on the truck...and I lifted the truck right up off the ground. I was about five months old."

Jean froze. "Oh my _God_..."

"The first time I used my strength and realized it was when I was about four or five." Superman continued. "My Ma had told me that I couldn't watch TV, that I had to go out and get some fresh air, and I was a little upset about it. I just absently kicked the wheel of the tractor...and I _sent it flying about twenty feet_." He closed his eyes. "I was afraid to hug Ma for _weeks_."

Jean looked horrified.

"Then, when I was about six, Pa and I were in the barn; I sneezed and blew off the south wall – I _could've_ brought the whole barn down." Superman whispered. "And when I was _thirteen_, my eye-rays first activated." He shut his eyes. "I nearly torched the whole farm before I figured out how to turn them off." He looked at Jean. "Jean, I completely understand what you're worried about."

Jean nodded; if _anyone_ could understand what having dangerous powers was like, it was Clark. "Hey, you got control, in the end." she whispered, smiling.

Superman smiled back. "And so will you." he replied. "Your control is pretty impressive, already, Jean; you've probably just hit a rough patch."

Jean chuckled. "I hope so." she said. "Plus, I have great friends to help me...present company included." Smiling, she asked, "So, who did you hang around with in Smallville, before you left?"

Superman laughed. "Wow, that takes me back!" he said. "Well, I only had two or three real friends, but I didn't tell them about my secret. The first was Lana Lang, who was – in my opinion – the most beautiful creature on two legs."

Jean chuckled. "You had a huge crush on her, didn't you?"

Superman nodded. "I was _crazy_ about her; I wanted so much to tell her...but I knew that, if I did...she would never understand. By the time I'd left...we'd pretty much grown apart."

Jean gently placed a comforting hand on Superman's arm. "I'm so sorry." she said.

Superman smiled. "The next was my best pal, Lex Luthor." he said, chuckling. "We were pals ever since we were kids; he was quite the prankster – he usually got us in trouble...forcing me to get us out."

Jean blinked. "Lex..._Luthor_??" she repeated. "As in, Lex Luthor of _LexCorp?!_"

Superman nodded. "I heard that he bought out the company after his dad, Lionel, passed away." he said. "I guess he's doing okay for himself."

"Wow..." Jean murmured. "What about the third?"

Superman smiled. "The third was a girl who came to visit in the summer with her aunt." he said. "She was about three years younger than me...and I think she may have had a crush on me."

Jean smiled. "What was her name?"

"Her name was..." Superman began, but then he stopped, his expression going distant. "_Uh-oh._"

Jean knew that look. "Trouble?"

"Oh, yeah." Superman replied. "It looks like I'll be working late, tonight."

Jean nodded. "You'd better go, then." she said, smiling. "Thanks for the pep-talk."

Superman smiled back. "Any time, Jean." he replied. With that, he took off, a sonic boom echoing as he flew, as Jean headed into the Institute, to take Scott up on his offer of hot chocolate.

The next day, Clark – in his clumsy persona – arrived at Bayville High at around the same time as he had, yesterday, to try the interview again. He'd been patrolling late, the night before, and this was his chance to get the interview.

He walked through the main doors, deciding to try the cafeteria, first, but then stopped as he saw a 17-year-old youth in a letterman jacket, with short blond hair, talking to some of his pals – Duncan, Jean's boyfriend. He _had_ to know where Jean was.

Clark walked up to him. "Uh, excuse me?" he asked. "Would you happen to know a Jean Grey?"

Duncan looked him over with a dismissing eye. "What's it to you?" he sneered.

"Oh, uh, I'm from Bayville University, Journalism degree." Clark babbled. "I was doing a human-interest assignment, and I was hoping to interview Miss Grey, the school MVP. Do you know her?"

"Yeah, I know her." Duncan said. "I'm dating her."

"Oh." Clark said. Smiling, he commented, "You must be a pretty lucky guy!"

Duncan snorted. "Not really." he muttered. "Lately, she's been kinda annoying, and she's always hanging around with that Summers loser."

'_What does she **see** in this jerk?_' Clark thought, though he kept calm. "Well...you must really care about her then, or why else would you be with her?"

Duncan laughed, along with his pals. "_God_, what planet are _you_ from?" he sneered. "Why do you _think_ I'm with her? Because she's _hot_, duh!"

Clark had no idea how he managed to stay calm...and then he lightly smiled. "Well, I sure hope she doesn't find out." he commented.

"And who's going to tell her? _You?_" Duncan sneered.

Clark grinned. "I...don't really _need_ to." he said, and he pointed behind Duncan.

Confused, Duncan turned around...and came face-to-face with a seething Jean Grey, who Clark had seen come walking up behind Duncan, in time for her to catch that little confession. "Oh...uh...h-hi, Jean..." Duncan stammered.

"_You...you...you LUGHEAD!!!_" Jean yelled. "We are _so THROUGH!!_" And with that, she slapped Duncan's face hard enough to send his head spinning, before she stormed off, as a hapless Duncan scrambled after her, trying to explain, though Clark knew she wasn't going to listen.

Clark sighed, as he turned to leave; from the looks of it, Jean wouldn't want to do an interview...not until she cooled off, anyway. He headed out of the school, to catch a bus home.

When Scott had gone to look for Jean at lunchtime, she wasn't there, and none of the others had seen her. After checking with the school nurse, he discovered that Jean had gone home, claiming to be having a migraine.

Were her powers acting up?

Quickly, Scott ran outside, hopped in his car, and drove to the Institute, racing upstairs, to Jean's room. He stopped outside her door, and knocked. "Jean?"

Slowly, he heard the door telekinetically unlock, and Scott opened the door...and saw Jean, lying face-down on her bed, quietly sobbing into her pillow. "Jean?" he asked. "Are you okay? Are your powers..?"

Jean slowly sat up, shaking her head no. "_Duncan._" she hissed. "You were right, Scott; he's a total _jerk!!_" Then, she told him what had happened.

Scott wanted to drive to school and punch Matthews' _lights_ out, but comforting Jean was more important. "Jean...please, he's not worth crying over..."

"I'm _not_ crying for _him_." she said fiercely, before she burst into fresh sobs. Quickly, Scott sat down next to her, and hugged her, letting her cry into his shoulder. "Oh, _God_, Scott, what's _wrong_ with me?! What did I _see_ in him?!" she wailed.

"Hey," Scott soothed, "you wanted a normal life, that's all...and you _deserve_ one..."

Slowly, Jean looked into her best friend's shaded eyes...wishing not for the first time that she could see his eyes. "Do you know what the absolute _worst_ part of it was?" she whimpered. "I've been ignoring _you_. Oh, _God_, Slim, I'm _so sorry_."

Scott smiled gently. "Hey, you weren't _that_ bad..."

"Yes, I _was_ that bad, sometimes, and _worse_." Jean lamented. "I can't even _count_ all the times I've blown you off to spend time with that..._creep!_" She lowered her gaze, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Why on Earth have you put up with me for so long?" she whimpered.

She couldn't help but pick up his thoughts...though she was _glad_, this time, as his single thought put her on Cloud Nine: '_Because I've been head-over-heels for you since the day I first saw you._' Scott thought.

What Scott _said_ was just as sweet: "Because you're my best friend, Jean. It's going to take a lot more than that to make me leave."

Jean smiled...and then she noticed just how close their faces were...but she didn't really _want_ to pull away...

'_Jean...let me out, Jean...don't deny me...LET ME OUT!!!_'

Jean screamed as the voice came back, full-force; she couldn't hold it...

'**_LET ME OUT NOW!!!_**'

Holding her head in her hands, Jean ran for the only place where she knew everyone would be safe from whatever was waking up inside her; she got in the Danger Room elevator, took it to the Danger Room level, and threw herself in the Danger Room, shutting the door behind her.

'_Professor! Something's wrong with Jean!_' Scott mentally cried out, as he ran after Jean, heading for the elevator, taking it down to the Danger Room level. Reaching the Danger Room, he tried to open the door...but Jean had electronically locked it from the inside.

Before long, Professor Xavier and Clark, in his uniform, had caught up with him, as Scott told the Professor everything, about Jean's flare-ups, and about the voice she'd been hearing.

The Professor went pale. "_No..._" he murmured. "I...I was afraid that this would happen, one day..."

"What?" Scott asked. "Professor, what's happening to Jean?"

"Scott...when I first found Jean, after Annie's death, the combination of the loss of her friend and the emergence of her powers severely affected her...so much that...an alternate personality emerged, one with an even greater control over her powers than Jean has _today_." the Professor said. "This alternate personality...called itself..."

"...the _Phoenix_."

"The Phoenix was extremely powerful...and extremely _violent_." the Professor continued. "It was utterly _enraged_ at the loss of Annie, and it could have torn Jean's home and family apart...so I did the only thing I could do: I placed powerful mental blocks around the Phoenix personality, locking it away in Jean's subconscious mind." The Professor looked haunted. "But recently, Jean's powers have grown considerably, weakening those blocks..."

"...and the Phoenix got loose." Superman observed.

"Precisely." the Professor said. "I have to restore the blocks around the Phoenix...but it has spent _years_ in Jean's subconscious mind – right now, I have no _idea_ what it is capable of."

"Jean's still in there; she had enough control to lock herself in the Danger Room, to protect us." Scott said. "We have to help her!"

"We will, Scott." the Professor said. "Once we get inside, I'll need the both of you to protect me until I can restore the blocks; the Phoenix almost _certainly_ won't go down quietly."

Superman nodded. "Well, first things first!" he declared, as he walked to the massive steel door, grasped the space between the door, and pried it open, allowing them inside.

The Danger Room was slowly being ripped apart, the steel panels and intricate machinery orbiting a central point. "Jean?!" Scott called. "Jean, can you hear us?!"

Suddenly, a large steel panel broke orbit, flying straight at them, but Superman blasted it aside with his eye-rays. "Well, at least we know that the _Phoenix_ can hear us!" he said. Then, they began to approach the center-point.

As they approached, two more steel panels flew at them, but Scott and Superman both blasted them aside. A Danger Room razor-disc launcher flew at them, but Superman caught it, and threw it away. Several drones came flying at them, but Scott blasted them aside. By then, they were close enough to the center-point. Scott and Superman then opened fire on the debris, clearing it away with eye-rays and optic-blasts. Soon, all the debris was gone...

...revealing a massive sphere of flame in the center. Slowly, the sphere opened, like birds' wings, revealing Jean at the center, except her eyes were now pure white, as she cocked her neck to the side...like a bird of prey, studying them.

The Professor looked grave. "Hello, Phoenix."

The Phoenix's face twisted in rage, as she let out a harpy-like screech, shaking the entire Danger Room. "_YOU LOCKED ME AWAY!!_" she screeched.

"I didn't have a choice." the Professor said softly.

The Phoenix calmed. "_You're going to imprison me, again..._" she hissed, her eyes narrowing, "_...I won't go back!! I **won't**!! I deserve to be free!!!_" With that, countless pieces of debris started to fly at them.

Superman darted to and fro, slamming debris away with his fists and blasting it away with his eye-rays, while Scott stayed near the concentrating Professor, keeping the air clear with his optic-blasts. "Professor, how are you doing?" Scott asked.

"She's...too strong!" the Professor said. "I can't restore the blocks! Not without help!"

Then, Scott got an idea. "Superman, throw me towards Jean!" he said. "I know I can reach her!"

"You got it, Chief!" Superman said. He darted down, lifted Scott up under his arms, and tossed him straight at the Phoenix. Scott grabbed Jean's shoulders, staring the Phoenix straight in the eye.

The tactic confused the Phoenix. "_S-Scott?!_" the Phoenix cried. "_W-What are you doing?!_"

"I know you're in there, Jean!" Scott said. "We need your help! We can't contain the Phoenix without you!"

"_No!!_" the Phoenix cried. "_Scott, **please**! I just want to be free!_"

"Jean, _talk_ to me!!" Scott cried. "Don't give up! _Fight_ her!!"

Suddenly, Jean's voice came through. "S-Scott?!" she cried.

"_Fight_ her, Jean! Come back to us!!" Scott cried.

"I...I _can't_..." Jean whimpered.

"_Yes, you can!!_" Scott declared. "I know you better than _anyone_ ever has, or ever _will_, Jean! I _know_ that no matter how strong she is, _you're stronger!_ You matter more to me than anyone else in this _world_, Jean, and I am _not_ going to lose you!! _Push her back!!_"

"Scott! It's working!" the Professor called. "I can feel Jean's presence! She's helping to restore the blocks on the Phoenix!"

A determined look had come over Jean's face. "_This...is...**my** mind!!_" she shouted. "_NOW, GET **OUT**!!_"

"**_NOOOOO!!!!!_**" the Phoenix wailed, as her voice trailed off...and she was gone, leaving Jean in control.

Slowly, the flame-wings faded, the debris descended to the ground, as Scott slowly descended, holding the now-unconscious Jean. The Professor smiled. "The Phoenix is contained." he said. "It's over."

Smiling, Scott looked upon the peaceful, beautiful face of his best friend, who he now realized meant far more to him than a mere friend _ever_ could. She was safe, now.

And that was all that mattered.

It was about sunset when Jean was allowed to leave the infirmary of the Institute. All the other X-Men, and the New Mutants, had come to visit her after school had ended...though Scott had been the most attentive one of them all, Jean thought with a smile. She couldn't get over what he'd said, before...

Had he really meant it?

By then, she was in the back yard, near the flower garden, one of her favorite spots to sit and think. She sat down, just enjoying the color of the red sky...

"Jean?"

Jean smiled as she saw Scott walk up to her...and her smile grew as she saw what he was hiding behind his back. "Oh, Scott, they're _beautiful!_" Jean exclaimed, happily accepting the bouquet of roses, savoring their sweet fragrance.

Scott smiled, scratching the back of his head in a nervous gesture...one she'd always thought was just _adorable_. "I'm...really glad you're feeling better, Jean." he said.

Jean smiled, lowering her gaze to hide her blush...despite the fact that Scott saw in shades of red, and thus couldn't see it, _anyway_. "I'm...glad to _be_ feeling better." she replied. '_Though I'd feel a lot better if I knew how you felt..._' she thought to herself.

"Go on a date with me."

Jean froze; had she heard right..?

Scott's face twisted in a panicked grimace. "Oh, _God_, Jean, I'm so sorry!" he cried. "I know you might still be upset over Duncan..."

"Scott, Duncan is the _last_ thing on my mind." Jean said. "But...why did you ask that?"

Scott took a deep breath. "Jean, lately I've been thinking..." he said, "...about the both of us. Jean, you are my absolute best friend, and that's been _amazing_ – _really_ – but, I've been wondering if...just maybe...we could be..._more_." He took another breath. "Jean, if you don't feel that way, just say so now. I _promise_, we can just pretend that I never asked you and still stay friends..."

"Yes."

"Okay, Jean, I understand complete...I'm sorry, what did you say?" Scott babbled.

Jean smiled. "Scott, I remember everything you said to me...today." she said. "I...I really want to see where this goes, if there's more for us; I think we owe it to our friendship...because I've been thinking that way, too."

Scott smiled. "G-Great!" he stammered. "I...I think the school carnival is coming up, this weekend; how about we go, together?"

Jean smiled. "I'd really like that." Just then, she remembered something. "Now, I think I owe Clark an interview, Slim."

Scott nodded, smiling. "Okay." he said. "Later."

"Later." Jean replied, and then she walked off, to find Clark.

Jean found Clark, in his usual white t-shirt and blue jeans, sitting on the back steps. "Hey." Clark greeted. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Jean said. "My head's nice and quiet. Thanks for helping with that."

Clark shrugged. "Hey, it was Scott's idea!"

"Yeah, I know." Jean said, smiling. "He and I were going to go to the carnival, this weekend."

Clark grinned. "It's about _time!_" he laughed.

Jean chuckled. "And thanks for talking to me, yesterday." she said. "It really helped."

"Hey, I do what I can."

Jean nodded. "Now, I think I owe you an interview." she said.

Suddenly, Clark perked up, looking off in the distance. "_Uh-oh._"

Jean laughed. "You're _kidding!_" she exclaimed.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "Afraid so."

Laughing, Jean sat down on the steps. "Well, I'm just going to wait right here until you're done!" she declared.

Clark laughed. "Thanks!"

Jean smiled. "What are friends for?" she replied. Smiling, Clark then darted off, donning his uniform and flying off in a matter of seconds, a sonic boom echoing as he flew. Jean just smiled, and waited for her friend to get back.

_Coming soon:_

_Superman's leadership of the New Mutants faces its first real challenge:_

_Tabitha "Boom-Boom" Smith._

_A free spirit with a shadowed past, Tabitha believes in following her own rules, despite the mayhem that ensues._

_Can the Man of Steel inspire this young prankster?_

_Or is the Brotherhood more her style?_

_Find out in "With Friends Like These," coming to your computer soon..._


	6. With Friends Like These

CHAPTER FIVE: WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE

_Xavier Institute, October 4, 2007_

It had been a couple of days since the incident with the Phoenix, and the damage done to the Danger Room still hadn't been repaired, forcing Superman and the New Mutants to conduct their training session outside, on the rear cliff overlooking the sea.

It was currently early Friday morning, and Superman, in uniform, was instructing the New Mutants, also in uniform, in rescue procedures, with Nightcrawler's assistance. The objective was for each of them to rapel down the cliff, safely strap the victim – namely, Nightcrawler – into a stretcher, and lift him to safety.

So far, it was going well.

Superman hovered a few feet from the cliff, watching as Iceman rapelled down the cliff with the stretcher, stopping where the "unconscious" Nightcrawler lay. Iceman quickly and carefully moved Nightcrawler to the stretcher, and strapped him in, before tugging on the line, signaling the others to start pulling them up. The rest of the team responded, and Iceman and the stretcher began to rise, bumping into the cliff-side lightly, before Iceman could grab the ledge and pull the stretcher up.

The exercise complete, Superman touched down next to Iceman. "Not bad, Bobby." he appraised. "But you did nudge the cliff-wall; an impact like that could complicate things if the victim has a neck injury." He smiled. "But the impact wasn't _too_ serious, and it was the only mistake you made, so you only lost 5 points, for a score of 95. Well done!"

"_Yes!_" Iceman exclaimed.

"Uh, Superman?" Multiple asked. "Couldn't you have saved Nightcrawler?"

Superman smiled. "Well, yes, Jamie, I _could_ have, but it's best if you _all_ know how to rescue someone; there are times when I may not be around, like when I'm off on the other side of the world helping people."

"Or vhen you got into outer space vith your spaceship!" Nightcrawler added, his eyes still closed, but with a smile on his face.

Superman sighed. "Thank you, Kurt."

"You have a _spaceship?!_" Jubilee exclaimed.

Iceman smiled. "Could we..?"

"_No._"

Berzerker grinned. "But couldn't we just..?"

"_No._"

Multiple asked, "Not even..?"

"_No._" Superman said firmly. "That ship is a Trans-Warp spacecraft, the only one ever produced on Krypton...and it is _not_ for joy-riding." To Nightcrawler, he added, "Best 'port down, again, Kurt."

"_Jawohl!_" Nightcrawler agreed, as he unstrapped himself, before 'porting away with a _bamf!_

"Okay, Boom-Boom, it's your turn." Superman said...but he got no response. "Boom-Boom?" he repeated, looking around...and sighed, as he walked over to Tabitha, who was sitting on a rock, listening to her CD player. Superman simply lifted the headphones away from her ears.

"Huh? What the..?" Boom-Boom exclaimed, and then smiled as she saw who it was. "Oh, hey, Super-Cutie. What's up?"

"Tabitha, this is the _third_ time this _week_ that I've had to do this." Superman said sternly. "I'm afraid that there will have to be consequences, this time."

"Sorry, sorry!" Boom-Boom laughed, saluting. "I'm going! Don't get your cape in a twist!" With that, she started to get ready.

Superman floated back into the air, hovering down to talk to Nightcrawler. "Hang in there, Kurt; only one left." he said.

"Who?" Nightcrawler asked, his eyes staying closed.

"Tabitha."

Nightcrawler's eyes opened in horror. "_Boom-Boom?!_" he cried. "She's _crazy!_ I'm a _dead_ man!!"

Superman lightly chuckled. "Hey, she's not _that_ bad..."

"Look out, everybody!!" Tabitha called from the top of the cliff, as she started her descent. "Boom-Boom is bombin' in! _Whooohooo!!_"

"_Mutter of Gott_, I'm going to _die!_" Nightcrawler moaned.

Superman groaned. "Of course, I could be wrong."

Boom-Boom grinned as she came to a stop before Nightcrawler. "Hiya, cutie."

Nightcrawler grimaced. "Hi." he replied. "Listen, I have to know: are you insane?"

Tabitha grinned. "Last time I checked!" she replied, as she started loading Kurt into the stretcher. "Anyway, what's up with the codename? '_Nightcrawler??_' Why not something cool, like '_Wild Blue Yonder Boy_'?" Then, she called out, "Okay, we're good to go!" At that, the rest of the team started to pull them up...

...and Nightcrawler promptly rolled out of the stretcher, plummeting towards the sea...before he 'ported back onto the cliff.

Superman frowned. "The victim wasn't secure, Tabitha; you didn't strap him in." he said. "You just lost 15 points. You'd better be careful on the ascent."

"Fine, fine!" Boom-Boom said cheerfully, as she looked up. "Well, those rocks look tough to navigate...so I'll just boom 'em out of the way!" She quickly formed one of her explosives...

"Tabitha, _no!!_" Superman shouted, but it was too late; Boom-Boom threw her charge, and it exploded in an impressive blast of moderate size...causing numerous rocks to break off the cliff, raining down on them, causing Nightcrawler to fall off the cliff, knocking him out, as he plummeted towards the water.

Instantly, Superman darted down, catching his teammate and carrying him over his shoulder, before flying up and grasping the stretcher-cable, towing it and Boom-Boom up, landing on solid ground. As Superman set Tabitha down, Nightcrawler started waking up. "You okay, Little Blue?" Superman asked.

"Ugh...I zhink so." Nightcrawler replied. "Zhanks, Big Blue."

Superman looked to the New Mutants...before fixing a stern glare on Tabitha. "This session is over." he said firmly. "Everyone report to the infirmary; Kurt needs to be checked out." With that, they all headed to the infirmary, Superman carrying his still-dazed friend over his shoulder.

At the infirmary, Ororo was waiting for them; once Superman had set Kurt down on a medical bed, Ororo looked him over. "Well, Kurt, it doesn't look like you have a concussion." she reported, with a relieved smile. "Except for a few bumps and bruises, you seem to be fine, but just let us know if you start feeling drowsy, okay?"

"Okay." Nightcrawler agreed.

"Sorry about this, Kurt." Superman said. To the New Mutants, he said, "You're all dismissed." His voice turned stern. "Tabitha? _Walk_ with me." With that, he walked out the door, and Tabitha followed, as the rest of the New Mutants headed on their way.

Superman walked down the hallway a few feet, before stopping to lean against the wall, his arms folded crossly, his eyes narrowed. Tabitha caught up, looking nervous. "Okay, okay," she said softly, "I admit it; I goofed."

"You _goofed?!_" Superman repeated. "Tabitha, Kurt could have been _killed!_"

Tabitha flinched. "I didn't mean for that to happen." she said. "I was just having a little fun..."

"Training is _not_ the time for _fun!_" Superman said. "You can have fun on your own time, but on the _team's_ time, you _will_ conduct yourself appropriately!"

Tabitha frowned. "Okay, big guy, no offence, but your shorts are on _way_ too tight." she said. Smiling flirtatiously, she added, "Which, in _your_ case, isn't necessarily a _bad_ thing..."

"Tabitha, this is _serious!_" Superman shouted. "If this were the _first_ incident, it wouldn't be _quite_ as bad, but this is starting to become a _habit!_" His voice turned stern. "As of now, you are confined to Institute grounds; except for school hours, you are to stay on campus until further notice."

"_God_, what's the big deal?! Kurt's okay, isn't he?!" Tabitha shouted. "You're bugging just because I goofed with my powers?! They're just cherry-bombs!"

"_Correction_, Tabitha; they're just cherry-bombs _now_." Superman said. "But what happens when they _evolve?_ Are you going to be as careless when your little cherry-bombs start packing _TNT-grade_ punch?" At that, Tabitha froze, as she looked at her hands, considering his words. Superman pointed to his head, adding, "_That_, Tabitha, is why you have to use _this_ before you _ever_ use your powers!"

He frowned. "Tabitha, the whole _point_ of the Institute is to gain control, to use our powers for _good_." he said. "To do that, we all have to use them responsibly...something that you haven't been doing. I suggest you use this little grounding to think about that, because if you're not willing to learn...why are you even _here?_" His eyes narrowed. "_Dismissed_." At that, Tabitha lowered her head, and walked away.

Superman groaned to himself. '_Well, I sure made a mess of that._' he thought.

"Hey."

Looking up, Superman half-smiled as Scott, in his street clothes, walked up, leaning on the wall next to him. "Rough session?" he inquired.

"Oh, yeah." Superman answered. "Tabitha was messing around."

Scott's eyes widened. "_Again?_"

Superman nodded. "I had to confine her to Institute grounds; Kurt could have been seriously hurt." he replied.

Scott frowned. "Well, based on that, I don't think you were out of line; I would have done the same."

Superman sighed. "Why did the Professor give me this job?" he asked aloud. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for this."

Scott chuckled. "I didn't think _I_ was, at first, either." he admitted.

Superman smiled. "How do you do it, Scott?" he asked. "You make it look _easy_."

Scott laughed. "Trust me, it's _not!_" he said. "You learn tough lessons every single day, and just when you think you have everything figured out, something happens to throw you for a loop!" He smiled. "Trust me, Clark; you're doing _fine_. After your first session with the New Mutants – after you had to leave – the Professor said, and I quote: "_It's as if he was **born** for this._" You have nothing to worry about."

Superman smiled. "Really?" he asked. "Because it sure doesn't _feel_ like I'm doing fine!"

Scott chuckled. "It never _does_." he replied. "You have to _inspire_ the rest of your team, make them _want_ to do better, to _be_ better, and then just show them how." Smiling, he added, "And I don't think that'll be a big problem for _you_, big guy. Most of the New Mutants already look up to you."

Chuckling, Superman asked, "Well, then, what's the problem with Tabitha?"

"The problem is that they have to _want_ to be inspired." Scott replied.

Superman smiled. "Well, I guess that's something that I'll have to help her work on!"

"Now, you see? That's _exactly_ what a good leader would say!" Scott laughed. "You'll figure it out, Clark; I'm sure of it."

Superman smiled. "Thanks." he said. Grinning, he added, "So, you psyched for your big date with Jean, tonight?"

Scott smiled sheepishly. "A little nervous." he admitted. "I don't want to screw this up, Clark; Jean's been my best friend since I _came_ to the Institute. I _can't_ lose her..."

"You won't, Chief. She likes you; I can tell." Superman assured his friend.

Scott grinned. "Thanks." he said. "And what about _you?_ Any cute girls at Bayville University that have caught the Man of Steel's eye? The carnival is supposed to be a great place to bring a date!"

Superman laughed. "Sorry, Fearless! The only date _I'll_ be bringing to the carnival tonight is a pen and a notepad; I'm covering the carnival for a Journalism assignment!" he said. "Besides, you know how I'm married to my _work!_"

Scott chuckled. "You know how things can happen to throw you for a loop?" he asked. "That _especially_ applies to _girls!_ I'd be careful if I were you, big guy!" Then, he added, "Anyway, the others and I need to get to school."

Superman nodded. "And I was going to do my morning patrol before I head to University." he said. "Well, I'll see you all later!" Then, Scott headed off, to head to school with the others, as Superman headed for the nearest window, opening it, and flying off, starting his patrol.

_Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House_

Pietro, in his street clothes, was zipping through the kitchen, opening one cupboard after another, looking for something, _anything_ to eat...and finding _zip_. Sitting on the counter, catching flies with his tongue, was Todd. "Hey, Pietro, I _told_ ya; there ain't nothing to eat, here, yo." Todd said, snapping up another fly.

"_Fred!_ Did you forget to get groceries, again?!" Pietro shouted.

Fred walked into the kitchen. "No, Pietro; I don't have any money." he said, softly...as his stomach rumbled. "I'm _starving!_"

"Hey, don't look at _me_; I'm broke, too!" Todd said, snapping another fly. "If I _did_, do you think I'd be gulping down flies? Delicious though they are, I need a _balanced_ meal, too!"

"You mean _none_ of us has any money?!" Pietro cried. "How are we gonna _eat?!_"

"Well...we could ask _Siryn_ for a loan..." Fred suggested.

"No _way!!_" Pietro declared. "I may be starving, but I still have _some_ pride! No _way_ am I going to beg Little Miss Boss-Around for cash!"

"Hey...where _is_ Siryn, anyway?" Todd asked. "She hasn't contacted us ever since the _last_ time we faced the X-Geeks, yo."

"I think she's doing research, or something." Pietro said. "That's the thing about magic, I guess; to get stronger at it, you have to have your nose stuck in a book, half the time."

Then, Fred's stomach rumbled again. "Hey, can we go to school, now?" he asked. "I think they have free cooked lunches on Fridays!"

Pietro sighed. "Fine, fine, you big babies. Let's go." With that, they headed for school.

_Bayville High_

As the office secretary typed at her computer, a fairly tall man, of average build, in his forties, with short brown hair, blue eyes, clad in blue jeans and an orange t-shirt walked up to the desk. "Excuse me?" he asked. "I'm Michael Smith, and I'm looking for my daughter, Tabitha Smith; I'd like to talk to her."

The secretary tapped a few keys. "I'm sorry, but Tabitha has a restricted guest list; if you want to see her, you'll have to clear it with Professor Xavier at the Xavier Institute." she replied.

Michael nodded. "Thanks; I will." he said, as he turned to leave...

Just then, Principal Kelly walked into the office. "Carol," he said to the secretary, "when the carnival gets going, tonight, I want the money from the attractions deposited into the office safe every hour."

"Yes, sir." Carol replied, resuming her typing. Smiling to himself, Michael headed off.

In the hallways of the school, Tabitha, in her street clothes, was struggling with her perpetually-stubborn locker. Finally, she'd had enough. '_Okay, you stupid hunk of junk, I **tried** playing nice!_' she thought angrily. She looked around, making sure no-one was watching, before she formed a tiny charge, and slipped it into the lock.

_Pop!_

The charge blasted the lock open, revealing books, notebooks, and a...cheerleader's uniform?

'_Whoops..._' Tabitha thought, grinning sheepishly. '_I guess this **isn't** my locker._' She quietly closed the locker, and turned to go...

"Are you sure you should be using your powers like zhat?"

Tabitha flinched, as she turned to find Kurt, in his street clothes, his image-inducer running, carrying his Geography textbook. "I don't zhink zhat Professor Xavier would approve of zhat." he cautioned.

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "God, you sound just like Big Blue."

Kurt smiled. "_Danke._" he said. "But he's _right_, you know, and so is zhe Professor."

"Maybe he is." Tabitha said. "But the Professor also needs to _seriously_ loosen his necktie, Blue. Doing good is fine, but what's the point of having these powers if you can't have a little _fun_, once in a while?"

Just then, the class bell rang. "Oh, _damn_. I don't have time to get my Geography textbook." Tabitha muttered. "Can I borrow yours, Blue?"

Kurt paused. "Uh..."

"Thanks, Blue! I owe you one!" Tabitha exclaimed, taking the book. "Later!" With that, she hurried to class, darting around the corner...

...and came face-to-face with her father.

Michael Smith smiled. "Hi, Tabitha." he said softly. "It's taken me two months, but I finally found you."

Tabitha backed up in horror. "W-What are you doing here?!" she cried. "Y-You're not supposed to be here!! Just leave me _alone!!_" She started to go.

"Tabitha, wait!" her father called. "Your mother and I, we're trying to work things out; really, we are!" he said. "But we need your help..."

"To do _what_, Dad?! Bust open another cash-register?! Blast open another parking meter?!" Tabitha snapped. "_Forget_ it!! Go away!!"

"Sweetheart, please, we really need your help." her father said. "We can't do this without you..."

"_Try!!_" Tabitha yelled, and with that, she walked off.

It was about mid-afternoon when Clark, in his bumbling persona, got back to the Institute. Once he was inside, he switched off his inducer, the illusion fading, revealing his powerful frame, as he got rid of the part in his hair. At that point, Logan had walked up to him. "Hey, Flyboy, ya got mail." he said, handing Clark an envelope with the University's insignia on it, before walking off.

Clark opened the envelope, and read the letter. "_Yes!!_" he declared; the letter was sent to inform him that he'd been selected for the intern-program; in the next week or two, he'd be notified which newspaper he was to intern at. He folded up the letter, tucking it into his pocket, as he headed to his room, to get his things ready for his assignment, tonight...

...and then he stopped as he heard voices in the living room. He followed them, and found Professor Xavier in the living room, talking to a man he didn't recognize, in an orange t-shirt and blue jeans.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith, but I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to see Tabitha." the Professor said. "The visitation agreement is quite clear, and I must abide by it, as must you. Your presence alone could be a serious offence."

"Really." Mr. Smith growled, as he gripped the Professor's collar. "As serious an offence as what _you're_ doing, Xavier?! Maybe I ought to call the press and _tell_ them about the little freak-show you're running..!"

"_Leave him alone._" Clark said firmly, walking into the room.

Mr. Smith glared at Clark. "Mind your own business, punk."

"I'd listen to him, if I were you, bub." Logan said, as he walked into the room. "I think you'd rather deal with _him_ than me; yeah, he'd kick your ass a lot better and a lot _harder_ than I probably can, but he'd have to be provoked." He grinned savagely, and popped out his claws. "Me, I don't need much convincing. I'd take your hands off Xavier, bub, or I might just use 'em for hood ornaments."

Mr. Smith backed off. "This isn't over." he muttered, as he left the Institute.

Clark turned to the Professor. "Who _was_ that?" he asked.

"Michael Smith, Tabitha's father." the Professor explained. "He's been released on parole for larceny, and now he wants to see Tabitha, for some reason."

"He's a loathsome dirtbag, and a rotten father." Logan said. "Boom-Boom's better off without him."

Clark nodded slowly; now, he understood her a bit better. Her situation...her childhood...

It could have been _him_. It had been sheer luck of the draw that he'd landed with the loving Kent family; there were all too many parents like Michael Smith in the world.

The Professor smiled. "We'll make sure that Mr. Smith stays away." he said. "Now, Clark, what were you shouting about?"

Clark smiled. "I've been accepted for an intern position at a New York newspaper; I'll receive more information about it in the next few weeks!"

"Why, Clark, that's wonderful! Congratulations!" the Professor exclaimed.

"Thanks!" Clark replied. "Anyway, I'd better get ready for tonight; I have to do a report on the carnival for my class." With that, he headed off, to get his things together.

Evening quickly came to the Institute, and Scott was waiting outside, next to his car, wearing his usual khakis, but with a black t-shirt and his brown coat over it. He couldn't believe this was happening; he was going on a date with Jean.

He was both thrilled and terrified all at once.

Just then, the others started to dart through the doors. "All ready for the big date, Scott?" Kitty giggled.

"Gawd, it's about _tahme!_" Rogue said, half-smiling. "Ah thought the two of ya would _neva_ get together; Ah've been gettin' sick of this 'will they/won't they' crap!"

Remy grinned, as he donned his own shades. "If y' want any ideas 'bout what t' do, Fearless, Remy got a few suggestions."

Scott smiled. "Thanks, Remy, but I'd like to show Jean a nice time _without_ getting arrested."

Remy shrugged. "Suit y'self." he said. He grinned at Rogue, adding, "Y' want t' ride with Remy on 'is bike, chere?"

"Not a chance!" Rogue snapped. "Ah'll go with Kitty and Lance in Lance's jeep, thank ya very much!"

Remy shrugged. "If y' scared o' bikes, that's okay." he said.

Rogue glared at Remy. "Ah am _not_ scared of bikes, Swamp-Rat!" she snapped. "And Ah _will_ go on yer damn bike!" Remy just grinned. Rogue paused. "Wait...did Ah just agree ta...oh, _damn!_"

Lance laughed. "Good one, LeBeau!"

Remy smiled. "Works ev'ry time."

"Hey, isn't CK coming?" Evan asked. "And what about Kurt?"

"Kurt has Geography homework. And Clark's already gone up." Scott said. "He has an assignment to do on the fair."

Kitty sighed. "He _never _takes a break!" she exclaimed. "I swear, the first chance I get, I am _so_ fixing him up with someone nice, someone who'll be _good_ for him!"

Scott chuckled. "Good luck with that..." he began, but his voice trailed off as Jean walked into view. She was wearing a light blue, button-up, long-sleeved blouse, with a deep blue miniskirt, tastefully showing her slender legs. Scott could only think one thing.

'_Wow._'

Jean smiled shyly, as if she'd heard his thoughts...not that Scott would have minded. "Wow, Jean...you look really nice." Scott managed to say.

"Thanks, Scott. You look...really handsome." Jean replied. '_Are we ready for this?_' she sent to him telepathically.

'_I hope so._' Scott sent back. "Well, shall we?" he asked, extending his arm to Jean.

Jean smiled, lacing her arm through his elbow. "Let's!" she replied. Scott grinned, as he opened the passenger door for Jean, letting her sit down, before closing the door and getting into the driver's seat, starting the ignition and driving off, the others driving behind him.

Kurt sighed as he watched the others go off. Thanks to Tabitha "borrowing" his text, he had to do the work assigned in class _tonight_, causing him to miss the carnival...

"Hey, Blue."

Kurt groaned, as he saw Tabitha in his doorway. "Tabitha, I'm kind of busy...vith _Geography_." he said.

Tabitha had the grace to look apologetic. "Sorry." she said. "Hey, do you think that maybe we could go to the carnival?"

"_Vat?!_" Kurt cried. "_How?!_"

"_You_ could do it!" Tabitha exclaimed. "Your powers could get us there!"

"But Clark said you're not supposed to leave..." Kurt began.

"Oh, come _on_, Blue! What he doesn't know won't hurt him!" Tabitha said. "With you, we can be out and back before even _he_ can hear us!"

Kurt thought about it. "Vell...okay, but five minutes, _tops!_" he said.

"Great!" Tabitha said, hugging him. "Let's go!" Kurt smiled, as he took Tabitha's hand, and 'ported them away.

The carnival was set up in the soccer field, and it was in full swing; the roller-coaster was roaring along its tracks, the rides were packed, and the concessions were lined up for miles.

"So," Scott asked Jean nervously, "where to, first?"

Jean smiled. "I don't know." she said, equally nervous. "What do you want to do?"

They'd been stuck in that awkwardness ever since they'd arrived, and it was driving Scott _nuts_. "This is ridiculous." he said.

Jean blinked. "What?"

"_This!_ This tension!" Scott said. "We've done things like this before, but the _second_ we call it a date, _this_ happens!"

Jean blinked. "You're right." she said. "Do you...want to call it off?" she softly asked.

"No, no!" Scott assured her. "It's just something that we need to get past, that's all."

Jean nodded. "I guess we just have to apply the 'date rules' to ourselves." she agreed.

Scott smiled. "I'll be on my best behavior, I promise." he said, raising his hand in a Boy Scout-esque salute.

Jean smiled coyly. "Now _where_ would be the fun in _that?_" she cooed.

Scott froze, smiling at the fact that Jean was actually _flirting_ with him.

Jean buried her head in her hands, laughing. "I can't believe I just _said_ that!"

Scott laughed, the tension broken, as he spied something. "I think I know where we can go." he said. He gently took Jean's hand – which was a thrill for both of them – as he led them to their first stop.

Scott led Jean to a carnival game that involved throwing a ring around a cone to win a prize...which was a _snap_ compared to Danger Room drills. He took a ring, aimed, and tossed...landing the ring around the cone perfectly, winning a stuffed bear, which he gave to Jean. "For you." he said, smiling.

Jean smiled warmly, hugging the toy. "You're so sweet." she cooed. '_And you're pretty good at this._'

'_Hey, with my powers, accuracy is a **must**._' Scott thought back. Suddenly, he spied trouble: an angry-looking Duncan, who'd just spied them from a few feet away, with a few of his pals. "Uh-oh." he said. "Looks like Dunc's not too happy about me going on a date with 'his girl'."

Jean frowned. "Well, it looks like he's going to try and intimidate you away from me." she muttered. "Don't worry about him."

Scott grinned. "We _could_ just ditch him."

Jean's eyes widened...and then she smiled. "I'd _love_ to!" she exclaimed. Then, they both darted away, holding hands.

Scott and Jean darted between stands, evading Duncan and his pals, who were hot on their tail. Scott and Jean ducked behind a popcorn stand, as Duncan and his pals ran past them, allowing the couple to double-back, but Duncan spotted them, and ran after them, his pals following.

Scott led Jean past a bungee-jumping ride, hoping he'd timed this right, as a furious Duncan closed on them. "Scott, what now?" Jean asked, still thrilled.

"Wait for it..." Scott said, grinning.

"For _what?_" Jean giggled.

"For the reason that this ride is called 'The Barfy Bungee'!" Scott laughed. By then, Duncan was a few feet away, with murder in his eyes...when it happened.

"_BLLLEEAAAGGHHH!!!_"

The people on the ride let loose, unleashing a multi-colored stream of spew...drenching Duncan and his cronies, stopping them in their tracks, allowing Scott and Jean to slip away.

When Scott and Jean stopped, they were both still laughing. "Scott, that was _priceless!_" Jean giggled, tears of laughter in her eyes.

Scott smiled. "_Nobody_ insults my girl and gets away with it!" he declared...and then he froze, as what he'd just said registered with his brain, and at how offended Jean must have been...

Jean just smiled. "You are just _too_ sweet." she cooed. "So, where to next?"

Scott looked around...and spied something. "Uh...how about...that one?"

Jean followed his gaze. "The Tunnel of Love?"

Scott paused. "Well, if you don't want to, that's fine..."

"I'd love to."

Scott's brain almost seized up. "Okay!" he said. "Let's go, then!" With that, they headed for the Tunnel, and hopped in one of the boats, heading in.

The Tunnel was quiet, and dark, and all Scott was aware of was Jean, sitting next to him. Slowly, she turned to him, smiling, and all Scott could see were those emerald eyes. She was the most important person in his life; he didn't know what he would do without her...

Very slowly, he leaned in closer to her; Jean seemed to sense his intent, but she didn't pull away...in fact, she moved closer, her eyes closing...

Their lips met in a soft kiss. The kiss started slow, the sweetest tasting of each other, and progressed to deeper passion, never losing that sweet tenderness. Then, thoughts began to flow into Scott's mind, until he couldn't differentiate his thoughts from hers...and frankly, he didn't care. '_Oh my God...so beautiful...never thought...perfect...completes me...wanted this forever...don't stop...more..._'

Then, the kiss ended, as Scott and Jean simply gazed at each other, in wonder, as if they were _truly_ seeing each other, as if for the first time. '_Wow..._' Jean though, smiling happily.

"Yeah, _wow_." Scott agreed. "So...are we...together, now?"

Jean giggled. "Scott Summers, even _you_ can't be that clueless!" she teased. She sweetly kissed his cheek. "Of _course_ we are!"

By then, the ride had ended, and Scott and Jean hopped out. Spying the Ferris Wheel, Scott led Jean – his girlfriend – to the line, and they got in one booth, for a ride high above the carnival. As they ascended, Jean just leaned into his shoulder, as Scott looped his arm around her, holding her close. Soon, they were at the height of the ride, and they could see the entire carnival...

...including the occasional flashes of brimstone-smoke, immediately following shouts and mayhem.

'_Kurt, you dummy!_' Scott thought; it looked like Tabitha had conned Kurt into taking her to the carnival.

Jean sensed his thoughts. '_Kurt's gotten himself into trouble, hasn't he?_' she sent to him. '_We'd better go after him._'

'_Yeah._' Scott agreed. '_Sorry..._'

Jean smiled coyly. '_We can always go on a second date, right?_' she thought. '_Let's go._' Then, as the ride ended, a now-grinning Scott headed after Kurt, with his girlfriend beside him.

Kurt laughed as he and Tabitha got off the roller-coaster. "_See_, Blue? Isn't this _loads_ more fun than Geography?" Tabitha exclaimed. Then, she smiled slyly. "Hey, aren't those the Brotherhood boys, over there?" she asked. "Be ready to 'port us, Blue!" With that, she snuck over, formed a tiny bomb, and flicked it into the hot-dog of the unsuspecting Fred Dukes, before she ran back, as Kurt 'ported them away, to watch as Fred's snack exploded, coating his face with mustard.

Tabitha and Kurt burst out laughing. "Blue, your powers _rock!_" Tabitha exclaimed. Then, she saw something she hoped she wouldn't. "Uh, Blue?" she said. "I'm a little thirsty, so could you just get us both a soda?"

"Sure!" Kurt agreed, as he darted off.

With Kurt gone, Tabitha walked over to her father. "Okay." she said. "This is _it_; the absolute _last_ time! After this, you _leave me alone!!_"

"Of _course_, honey." her father said. "This is the last time."

Tabitha sighed. "Okay."

Her father smiled. "That's my girl." he said. "Follow me." With that, he headed off, and Tabitha followed.

Tabitha followed her father to the high school, heading right into the office...where the safe was. "Work your magic, sweetheart." her father prompted.

Tabitha frowned, as she formed a bomb, put it to the lock, and blasted the safe open, revealing the money inside. Her father grinned, as he took out a duffel bag, and began stuffing the money into it. When the bag was full, he zipped it up, and said, "Okay, honey, let's get out of here!" With that, he darted out of the school, and Tabitha could only follow.

Pietro and the Brotherhood had followed that blond X-Geek to the school, after seeing her stuff a bomb in Fred's hot-dog. Pietro had zipped to the window...and had saw the girl blast open the safe, allowing that other guy to steal the money inside. Pietro grinned, as he turned to his pals. "Guys," he said, "I think our financial troubles are _over!_"

Clark had been taking notes as he walked about the carnival, briefly interviewing school staff about the carnival's success, including Principal Kelly. Before long, he felt he'd gotten enough to do a good report. Putting his pen and notepad away, he decided to just enjoy the rest of the evening...

...until he saw Tabitha and her father running away from the school, her father carrying a duffel bag. Clark promptly used his X-Ray vision...and saw that the bag was full of money.

Then, he saw the Brotherhood sneaking after Tabitha and her father. Frowning, Clark darted into a dark alley, out of sight, where he could shed his clumsy persona and don his uniform.

Tabitha had only just heard Pietro as he zipped toward her father, snatching the bag from him. "Thanks, pops!" he said. "We've gotten a little low on cash! Mighty generous of ya!" Then, he zipped away, into an old abandoned house across from the school, followed by his pals.

"You get back here, you little freak!!" Tabitha's father roared, as he ran after Pietro, into the old house.

"No, Dad!!" Tabitha cried, about to run after her father...

"Tabitha!"

Tabitha stopped, and turned to see the all the X-Men there, except Superman. "We know what's going on." Scott said.

Kurt looked hurt. "Ve saw you und your father...rob zhe safe." he said.

"It was _his_ idea! He said that he'd leave alone after this!" Tabitha cried.

"We'll sort this out later." Scott said. "Kurt, Jean, you're with me; we go inside and stop the Brotherhood. Everyone else, cover the exits."

"I'm going, too!" Tabitha declared. "My father is in there!"

"Alright, but stay back." Scott instructed. "We should have backup pretty soon, knowing Clark." Then, they headed inside, as the others surrounded the building.

Inside, Scott and the others came across Mr. Smith, who was trying to wrestle the bag away from Pietro. "That's mine, you little freak!" Mr. Smith roared.

Pietro managed to pull the bag away. "Ha! Too slow, old man!" he mocked, as he started to run off.

Quickly, Scott fired his optic-blasts, stunning Pietro, allowing Mr. Smith to tackle him and knock the bag away. As Mr. Smith ran for the bag, Todd grabbed it with his tongue, and started to hop away, but Jean caught him with her TK, allowing Kurt to 'port in and kick it out of his hands.

Mr. Smith ran for the bag, and grabbed it, running upstairs. "Dad, no!!" Tabitha cried, as she ran after her father.

"Tabitha, don't!!" Scott cried, as he moved to run after her, but his path was blocked by Pietro and Todd, as Fred lumbered up the stairs after her. "Kurt!"

"On it!" Kurt said, as he 'ported after them. Then, a sonic boom echoed above their heads, and Scott smiled, as their backup arrived.

Kurt 'ported into the upper floor, just as Fred had arrived, trying to take the bag from Mr. Smith...and he was in time to see the floor under Fred's feet started to collapse. "Look out!" he cried, hopefully loud enough to warn everyone in the floor below.

Then, Fred fell through, and Tabitha and Mr. Smith went flying, the bag of money flying over to Kurt's side. As he recovered, Mr. Smith roared in fury, drew a knife, and grabbed Tabitha, holding the blade to her throat. "I've had enough!!" he roared. "Now you listen here, freak-boy; you toss that money to me right now, or I'll _cut_ her!!"

Kurt froze in horror. "But...s-she's your _daughter_..!"

"A fact that has plagued me to no end!" Mr. Smith snarled, causing tears to form in Tabitha's eyes. "Hand that money over _now!!_"

"Let her go."

Startled, Kurt turned to see Superman standing next to him, having come in through the window behind him, his form and face hidden in the shadows. "Look, there's no way you can escape." he said gently. "The police are on their way; they'll soon have this place surrounded."

'_Kurt!_' came Jean's telepathic cry. '_The police are on their way! Get out of there!_'

Mr. Smith snarled. "I'm not leaving without that money, freak!!" he roared. "_Hand it over!!_"

"I gave you a chance." Superman said. "And I'm sorry you didn't take it." His eyes glowed red.

Mr. Smith howled in agony as the knife-handle began to glow red with heat, forcing him to drop it. "Kurt, _now!!_" Superman ordered, and Kurt quickly complied; he ran over, grabbed Tabitha, and 'ported them both away from Mr. Smith, to the other side of the room, as Superman unleashed a fraction of his gale-breath, sending Mr. Smith flying, knocking him out cold. "We'd better go." Superman instructed, and Kurt nodded in agreement. He quickly 'ported himself and Tabitha away, as Superman darted out the window, flying off, as the rest of the X-Men ran away, leaving Mr. Smith for the authorities.

Professor Xavier and Tabitha both had to go to the police station, that evening, and Scott had decided to tag along. Mr. Smith had been charged with grand larceny, and Tabitha had simply been put on probation, since she hadn't been an entirely willing accomplice.

As the three of them walked out of the station, Tabitha started walking away. "I'll get my stuff and leave as soon as I get back." she said softly. "I'll just get the bus home."

"Tabitha," Charles said, "you don't have to leave."

"Yes, I do." Tabitha murmured. "I don't think the Institute is a right fit for me, right now." She turned to go. "Tell Kurt...I'm so sorry." With that, she started to walk away.

Scott frowned. "We lost one today, didn't we." he murmured.

Charles happened to look overhead...and smiled. "Maybe not." he whispered.

Tabitha walked to the nearest bus stop, completely alone; there was no-one else on the street. She hugged her arms around herself, as she sat on the bench, pondering her next move.

Where could she go, now? There sure weren't any homes for pyrotechnic mutants, anywhere nearby. There wasn't any safe-house that would want her, not after they learned what she could do. The only place left was the Brotherhood...

"Hey."

Tabitha groaned as Superman floated down, sitting on the bench next to her. "Look, just go away!" she said, fighting tears. "Don't try to talk me out of it! You were right, okay?! I don't belong there!!"

Superman arched an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?" he asked. "_I_ sure don't!"

Tabitha sniffled. "I just...I'm not the right kind of person who can be there, okay?!" she wailed. "I'm not like _you!!_ My Dad's a total sleazeball, and my Mom is in alcohol rehab! My family values have been shot to _hell!!_ I'm the _last_ one you want on your team!!"

Superman just smiled gently. "Tabitha, for four years before the Professor found me, I learned from a computer designed by my father, Jor-El." he said. "One of his lessons was, '_Though you live among them, you are not one of them._' If I had let my father's teaching limit me – no matter how well-intentioned it was – I would never have met everyone at the Institute. Your parents can only _guide_ you, Tabitha...but where your life goes is up to _you_."

Tabitha lightly sniffled. "Well, I don't _know_ where my life is going." she said. "I'm just too messed-up to know!"

Superman lightly smiled. "Tabitha, _no-one_ knows where their life is going!" he said. "_Everyone_ has problems, Tabitha; everybody has a story, has something that's hurt them in their lives. And everyone has a choice; you can choose to let it keep you down, and then it becomes your excuse, your reason for why everything goes wrong in your life."

"Or you can choose to rise _above_ it, and then it makes you _stronger_."

Those words made Tabitha stop crying, as she looked up at him. "R-Really?" she murmured.

Superman nodded. "That choice is _yours_, Tabitha." he said. "I can't make it for you, and neither can Professor Xavier; only _you_ can." He stood up. "Whatever you choose, I hope it makes you happy." Then, with that, he flew off.

Tabitha was alone once more, as she saw the bus driving up to her, with Superman's words echoing in her mind. The bus stopped, and the doors opened.

Tabitha stood up...and made her choice.

Kurt was just sitting on the balcony in his room by the time the Professor and Scott got back; he'd been put on vehicle-cleaning detail for a month as punishment. He figured he'd gotten off relatively light.

"Hey."

Kurt half-smiled as Superman touched down on the balcony next to him. "Hey." Kurt greeted. "So...vat happened?"

Superman sighed. "It's her decision, now, Kurt." he said. "If she's going to come back, she has to _want_ to come back. We've done all we can."

Kurt sighed. "Zhanks, Big Blue." he said. Smiling, he added, "How do you know so much about girls?"

Superman laughed. "I _don't!_" he said. "There have only been – at most – two girls I've really known when I was around your age. The first was Lana Lang, and I was _crazy_ about her, but I never told her about...my secret. To this day, I still wonder what might have happened between the two of us if I had told her." He chuckled. "And the other was my slightly younger neighbor, who came to visit Smallville with her aunt during summer. I think she may have had a crush on me, but I never picked up on it." He smiled at Kurt. "Believe me, Kurt, I'm just as clueless as any guy when it comes to girls."

Kurt chuckled. "Vell, I have to go clean zhe Blackbird, now." he said. "Zhanks for zhe talk, Big Blue."

Superman smiled. "Any time, Little Blue." he replied. "And I've got patrol, now." Then, Kurt headed off, as Superman took to the sky.

Within the hour, Kurt was in the vehicle hangar, cleaning the massive Blackbird stealth-jet that the X-Men used...when he heard the door open.

"Hey, Blue."

Looking down, Kurt saw Tabitha standing next to the ladder he was using. He hopped down. "Hey." he replied. "I didn't know if you vere going to come back."

Tabitha smiled weakly. "Superman had a talk with me." she said. "He really knows how to inspire people."

Kurt smiled. "Zat he does."

Tabitha's expression became sad. "Oh, _God_, Blue, I am _so sorry._" she said. "For _everything_." She lightly smiled. "Friends?"

Kurt grinned. "_Sure!_"

Tabitha smiled. "Need any help with that plane?"

Kurt chuckled. "Tabitha, I zhink I'm going to need a _miracle!_"

Tabitha laughed. "Sorry; can't help ya there!" she said. "All I've got is good ol'-fashioned elbow-grease!"

Kurt smiled. "Close enough!" he said. "Pull up a ladder, und let's _clean_ zhis plane!" With that, the two friends got to work.

_Coming Soon:_

_Some of you knew what was going to happen._

_But you **all** knew it had to happen._

_The Man of Steel's future love interest makes her Evolution debut._

_Be there when it happens, in the next chapter, which cannot be named without giving her identity away, coming to your computer soon..._


	7. Bedazzled

CHAPTER SIX: BEDAZZLED

_Xavier Institute, October 11, 2007_

It was evening at the Xavier Institute, and Kitty, in her regular clothes, sat in her room, next to her phone. Her eyes were narrowed in determination, as she picked up the phone, dialing the number, and hoping to God that she'd timed this right...

"_Hi, this is Dynamo D at the Triple-B, your main event, and you are lucky Caller #8! Anything you'd like to say?_"

Kitty let out a soft squeal, before she answered, "I'm Kitty Pryde, and the Triple-B is the bomb that rocks the country!"

"_Hey, that's the phrase that pays, Kitty Pryde!_" Dynamo D answered. "_I hope you've cleared your Saturday schedule, because tomorrow, you and two lucky friends are going to be hanging backstage with the one and only Alison Blaire! Drop by the main office of Dynamite Recording Studios with photo I.D. tomorrow, and you'll be set to hang with Alison! Peace out!_" With that, Dynamo D hung up.

"_OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!_" Kitty squealed jumping up and down. She _had_ to tell everyone! Brimming with excitement, she practically _bounced_ down the stairs, to tell the others.

It was just after sunset when Superman returned from his evening patrol. After donning his street clothes in his room, Clark headed down to the living room where everyone else had gathered. Scott and Jean were watching a movie on the TV, sitting on the couch, Scott's arm looped around Jean's shoulders. Evan was just walking in after skateboarding outside for the past hour. Rogue was sitting in a chair, reading a novel. Lance was in another chair, absently strumming his guitar. Ororo was watering her indoor flowers with mini rain-clouds. And Remy was sitting at the table, playing poker with Logan, who was scowling. "You'd better not be cheatin', Gumbo."

Remy grinned. "Why, Wolvie', would Remy do a 'orrible t'ing like dat?"

"You want me to answer that?"

Clark chuckled. "Hey, Logan, any mail, today?"

"Yeah; it should be on the kitchen table, and I think there's something there for ya, Flyboy." Logan replied.

"Thanks." Clark replied, as he walked towards the kitchen...pausing to open the kitchen door _just_ enough to lift up the bucket of ice-water that had been placed above the door. He laughed. "Nice try, Bobby!" he called.

At that, Bobby, Ray, and Roberto peered out from behind the corner. "How did you know?" Bobby asked.

Clark grinned, pointing to his eyes. "X-Ray vision, remember?" he chuckled, as he set the bucket down, walked into the kitchen, and picked up the letter addressed to him; it was from the University. He opened the letter, read it...and sighed.

He'd been assigned to intern at the Daily Planet. He'd visited the Planet last year, and made a few friends, like Peter Parker and Robbie Robertson...but it meant that, for the rest of the year, his boss would be J. Jonah Jameson.

'_Won't __**that**__ be fun._' Clark thought. '_Well, it says here that I have to check in with ol' JJ before I start in one week; I guess I can do that tomorrow..._'

"_OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!_"

Clark winced as he – along with the _rest_ of the Institute – heard Kitty's squeal, as she bounced down the stairs, overjoyed. "_I won!_" she squealed. "_I actually won!_"

Remy looked up. "Won what, _Petite?_" he inquired.

"_I won three backstage passes to meet __**Alison Blaire**__!_" Kitty squealed.

"_Whoa!_" Ray exclaimed. "You mean, teenage pop-diva, swimsuit-model-gorgeous, girl-of-my-dreams _Alison Blaire?_"

Clark blinked. "_Who?_"

Kitty stared at him as if he'd grown two heads. "_Hello?!_" she cried. "_Alison Blaire?!_ The most talented, nicest teenage singer _ever?!_ The girl whose first CD sold over ten million copies on the first day it was released?!" She held out a CD for emphasis.

Remy stood up and took a look, as Clark walked over. Remy whistled. "_Merde_...no 'ffence, chere, but Remy got t' admit: dat be one _belle femme_."

Clark had to agree as he looked at the photo of the smiling, slender, curvaceous blond-haired young woman in a pink tank-top and blue jeans. "Wow, she's a _doll_, all right." he said, and there was something..._familiar_ about her...

'_No. It couldn't be __**her**__..._' Clark thought.

"So, Kit, who's going with you?" Scott asked.

Smiling sheepishly, Kitty looked to Rogue. "Rogue..?"

"_Hell. __**No**__._"

"Oh, _please_, Rogue?!" Kitty begged. "I can't ask anyone else! Scott and Jean have plans for tomorrow; Evan, Lance, and Remy don't like her enough; Kurt's still on probation, and so is Tabitha; I can't ask any of those hormone-crazed New Mutant boys; and the New Mutant girls are just as fanatic about her as _I_ am! I need some who can keep cool, and keep me from gushing too much! _Please_, Rogue!"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "_Fahne._" she muttered. "But ya still need one more, and ya just said that there's no-one else!"

Kitty smiled slyly. "Not _quite_." she said. She put on her sweetest smile...as she turned to Clark. "Clark..?"

"_No_, Kitty." Clark said firmly. "I need to go check in with the boss of the newspaper I'm interning at, tomorrow. Ask someone else." Kitty's expression saddened...and Clark knew what was coming next.

Whenever Kitty ever asked him to do something he wasn't fussy about, she always managed to "guilt" him into it with her "puppy-dog eyes." Recently, Clark had finally developed an immunity to that tactic, and he'd thought his problems were over...

...until Kitty had developed a new trick...which she was using _now_.

The "Puppy-Dog-Eye-Lower-Lip-Quiver-Sniffle Combo." Her face now looked like she was ready to burst into _tears_ at even the slightest _hint_ of refusal.

And _that_ – other than Kryptonite – was Clark's weakness: he _hated_ it when girls cried. He'd been that way for as long as he could remember; every time he heard that sound, he would _say_ anything, _do_ anything, just to make them _stop_.

"Kitty, you do _not_ fight _fair_." Clark muttered. Kitty's sniffling started to increase in frequency. "Okay, okay!" Clark cried. "I'll go!"

"Oh, _thank you!_" Kitty squealed, her expression becoming joyful again, as she hugged him. Then, she hugged Rogue, too. "Thank you both so much! You won't regret it!"

"Too late." Rogue muttered. "Ah'm gonna spend tomorrow talkin' to another run-of-the-mill, curvaceous, blond, leggy diva. What fun."

Just then, Clark's hearing picked up a transmission on the emergency channel. "_Uh-oh._"

By now, everyone knew what that meant. "Uh-oh."

"France. Cargo ship in distress." Clark said. "Gotta go, guys; duty calls."

Rogue grinned. "Hopefully, it'll call tomorrow, too."

Clark chuckled, as he darted to his room, donning his uniform, and ran for the nearest window, opening it and flying out, heading for France at top speed.

It looked like another job for Superman.

_Dynamite Recording Studios, New York City, October 12, 2007_

"I'm afraid that ten million just _won't_ be enough, my friend. Alison's talent is worth _far_ more than that; if you insist on wasting my time and hers, there are _plenty_ more studios who would be interested..."

17-year-old pop-sensation Alison Blaire sighed to herself, laying her head on the office table as her agent, Tom Petersen, and the studio-manager kept on negotiating the terms of her recording contract. Alison was fairly tall, and slender, with a delicate, willowy frame, with ample curves, and long, shimmery, wavy strawberry-blond hair, which reached the middle of her back, as well as sapphire-blue eyes, and light, peach-creamy skin, with the lightest hint of a tan. She wore her favorite sleeveless pink tank-top, which accentuated her curves tastefully and showed her toned midriff, and slim blue jeans, which accentuated her slender legs. Alison had always tried to keep her image cleaner than some of the other singers in the business.

Tom and the manager had been negotiating for the past few hours, now, and it was past lunchtime, as Alison's cranky stomach was starting to inform her. She'd been up at 5:00 AM for the recording of her next CD, and she hadn't had time to eat. After that, she'd done her yoga and Pilates lessons, and then Tom had dragged her into this.

Tom, a lanky 40-something-year-old man, with slick brown hair, shaded eyes and a too-professional suit – the ever-sneaky talent-agent – was not her favorite person. So far, all he'd mentioned was the money involved in her contract; he hadn't even _mentioned_ the most _important_ issue!

"Tom?" Alison asked. "What about me writing my _own_ songs?"

Tom just smiled condescendingly. "You just let _me_ worry about that, Alison, darling." he said too-smoothly. "I'm getting to it."

He'd said that three _hours_ ago.

Finally, Alison had enough. "That's it! Tom, we've been here for over three _hours!_ I am _starving!_" Alison said angrily. "I am _getting_ some lunch!" With that, Alison stormed out, heading for her dressing-room.

As Alison entered her dressing-room, she sat down at her mirror, feeling utterly glum. Tom _never_ listened to her; she wanted so _much_ to sing the songs _she_ wrote. Not only that, lately she'd been feeling a bit homesick; she missed her family...

Just then, Alison's beloved Aunt Bridget – her manager – walked in, just hanging up her cell-phone. Bridget Blaire was a delightfully irreverent-yet-loving British lady in her late forties, with long brown hair and green eyes, wearing her usual blue jeans and grey sweater. Aunt Bridget and her family had "adopted" Alison ever since her father hadn't approved of her singing career, prompting Alison to simply walk out. Bridget had also been home-schooling Alison, making sure her "gorgeous and talented niece didn't neglect her academic life."

Bridget smiled at Alison. "Than was Jenny!" she said, in her British accent. "She said that Gadget keeps trying to eat the blankets in your room!"

The mention of her younger cousin and the family cat was too much for Alison, as she burst into tears, from a combination of hunger, frustration, and exhaustion. Bridget instantly was at her side, her hands on Alison's shoulders. "Honey, what's the matter?"

"_I miss Gadget!_" Alison sobbed.

Bridget smiled. "Oh, I know, sweetie. Jenny says that he just isn't the same without you."

Alison sobbed again. "_And...and I miss Jenny and Uncle Mike!_"

"And they miss _you_, sweetheart." Bridget said softly. "Jenny keeps saying that she wants to be just like you!"

That made Alison smile, her tears slowing. Her sapphire eyes narrowed. "And I _hate_ Tom!"

Bridget chuckled. "Now _that_ I can understand!" she said. "What's he done, now?"

"Ignoring me, as _usual!_" Alison exclaimed. "I keep saying that I want to do my own songs, but does _he_ listen? _No!_"

Bridget frowned. "Sounds like I need to talk to him, again." she said. She smiled, and added, "Honey, if you're tired of all this, just tell me, and you can go back to school for a while; if anything, you're _ahead_ of your grade-level! It's all doable!"

Alison smiled. "I know." she said. "But this kind of chance is hard to come by! I mean, how many girls my age get to live their dreams? I'm so _lucky!_"

Bridget smiled. "Okay, sweetie." she said. Grinning, she added, "Now, I'll go talk to Tom." She turned to go...

Then, Alison remembered something. "Aunt Bridget?" she called, and her Aunt stopped. "There's...something I need to show you. Do you...remember the past three concerts? The ones were it looked like the lights kept overloading, but they hadn't?"

Bridget nodded; in each of those concerts, Alison had been on stage singing, when a flash of light seemed to surround her. "Why, yes, honey." she replied. "We never found out what caused it..."

"_I_ found out." Alison whispered. She reached over to her radio, and switched it on, turning the volume up high. As the music played, Alison felt a kind of energy just building up inside her, in tune with the beat of the music – just like at the concerts. She concentrated, controlling the flow...and formed a small sphere of white light on her palm.

"Aunt Bridget...it was _me_."

Bridget looked astonished. "How..?"

"I don't know." Alison whispered. "Aunt Bridget...is something..._wrong_ with me..?"

"_No._" Bridget said firmly. "No matter what, sweetheart, there is absolutely _nothing_ wrong with you; if anything, this...ability, or whatever it is...it just makes you even _more_ special." She smiled. "You can be sure that your Auntie Bridget will be right there to help you figure this out." she promised.

Alison smiled, and hugged her Aunt. "I love you, Aunt Bridget." she murmured. Tears came to her eyes. "Oh, I'm so glad I didn't lose you on that plane, last month." Alison had been terrified when news of a plane about to crash in the Atlantic had reached her...and had been overjoyed to hear that it had been saved, somehow.

Bridget smiled. "Oh, I love you, too, honey." she replied. Then, as the hug ended, Bridget grinned, rolling up her sleeves. "Now, you just let old "Battlin'" Bridget Blaire, the toughest talent-manager in the business, get in there and play some hard-ball with that wanker, Tom!" With that, she headed out, as Alison laughed at the comment.

Alison really had been lucky. Her childhood had been relatively happy, though her parents, the gruff lawyer Carter Blaire and the free-spirited performer Katherine Blaire, had argued a bit more than occasionally. Her family had often traveled with Aunt Bridget and her family to spend summers in Smallville, to visit their friends, Mr. And Mrs. Kent...as well as their adopted son, who the young Alison had an _immense_ crush on. In later years, even after her mother had walked out, her father had never so much as laid a finger on her, though he had frowned on her dreams of becoming a singer.

Then, at the age of 16, Alison's career had started. She'd auditioned for the American Idol competition; an incredibly nervous Alison had given the performance of her life at the try-outs, before nervously awaiting the judges' reactions, softly inquiring if they had liked it.

Simon Cowell – the brutally honest "Grim Reaper" of the contest – had been so moved, he'd actually gotten up and _hugged_ her, before giving her the name of a talent agency, along with a reference that was so glowing, she'd been surprised she hadn't contracted radiation sickness.

That reference had been her proverbial "Golden Ticket." She'd been taken in for a recording...and Alison's talent did the rest. With her ever-supportive Aunt Bridget as her manager, Alison had signed a recording contract, marking the start of her career, quickly soaring to become the Number One pop singer in the States, showing no sign of slowing down, with the royalties from her CDs and the money from her concerts being tucked away in a trust fund until she was 18, the legal age of adulthood; Alison was planning on using it for university...while still recording CDs and doing concerts, of course.

Her father had not been impressed. He expressly forbade her to sing, saying that she was "throwing her life away." Alison had tried to get him to listen, but his mind was made up. Alison wasn't about to give up her chance for her dream to become reality, so she'd left, to live with her Aunt Bridget and Uncle Mike, who'd welcomed her, as had her adoring younger cousin Jenny.

Alison had almost wanted to visit Smallville during the past summer with her new surrogate family, but decided against it in the end; when she'd been twelve, her childhood crush, Clark, then fifteen, had simply _vanished_ close to the start of fall, shortly after his father had died. Alison had cried herself to _sleep_, the night she'd found out. Going back would simply bring back those sad memories.

Though her professional life was going well, her personal life _stank_. She'd gone on a few dates after her career had gotten started, but she quickly learned that 99 percent of the guys in the teen-singer crowd were _jerks_, and the few that weren't were either spoken for, or just didn't interest her.

The reason for that was likely due to the fact that Alison hadn't _entirely_ given up on one day finding her childhood crush, again.

Her stroll down Memory Lane complete, Alison walked to her computer, to check her e-mail. She quickly brought up MSN Messenger, and logged in. She didn't see any new messages...

_Lila-Singer has signed in._

Alison smiled as she saw the IM address of one of her best friends, Lila Cheney, who was a very sweet girl, and a promising rising star in the music business. She quickly started an online conversation.

_Care-Blaire says: Hi!_

_ Lila-Singer says: What's up?_

_ Care-Blaire says: Not much. Tom's being a jerk. Again. lol_

_ Lila-Singer says: Yu should SO fire him._

_ Care-Blaire says: Very tempting. What's up with yu?_

_ Lila-Singer says: Not a whole lot, but did yu hear? There was another Superman sighting!_

That surprised Alison a tiny bit. Even among the stars of music, movie and TV, the topic of Superman was becoming increasingly popular for gossip.

_Care-Blaire says: Where?_

_ Lila-Singer says: In some African country: Wabanla, or Walkana, or something._

_ Care-Blaire says: I know of a country named Wakanda. Is that it?_

_ Lila-Singer says: Yeah, that's it! _

_ Lila-Singer says: Anyway, there was some big forest-fire in part of the rain forest, but then the country's radar picks up something near it just before the fire just goes right out!_

_ Care-Blaire says: Wow. Hey, do yu remember that day, a few months ago? My 17__th__ B-Day?_

_ Lila-Singer says: Yeah. Those meteors. It HAD to be him._

Alison allowed her memory to take her back a few months. Back in May, Lila had convinced Alison to come to a party in New York City, to celebrate Alison's 17th birthday. Alison and Lila had just stepped out of the limo, heading for the club – the flashes from the cameras nearly blinding them both – when Alison had happened to look up...and spot a big, red meteor heading straight for the city. She – along with everyone else – had screamed...

But then she'd seen a red beam fire at the meteor, missing it. Then, she'd seen another. And another, only this one hit it. And then there was another, which blasted it into dust, as _something_ flew overhead, leaving a sonic boom in its wake.

_Care-Blaire says: He saved us, that day. He saved the WORLD._

_ Lila-Singer says: I heard that Paris has put up a big billboard with her number, telling him to call her._

Alison nearly burst out laughing; leave it to the ultra-spoiled Hilton heiress to find another way to draw attention to herself. Alison wasn't exactly friends with the girl, and vice-versa.

_Care-Blaire says: OMG are you SERIOUS?_

_ Lila-Singer says: Oh yeah. She didn't get him, but she sure got a lot of calls, that night. lol_

_ Care-Blaire says: lol. Yeah, like he'd stop in the middle of catching airplanes just because Paris Hilton wants him to call her._

Then, Alison remembered that she had a music video to do, and after that, three fans were supposed to hang with her after winning a contest.

_Care-Blaire says: Sorry. Got to go; music video, plus I'm meeting three fans._

_ Lila-Singer says: Ok. Later._

_ Lila-Singer has signed out._

After signing out of MSN, Alison simply waited for the make-up people to just do a light touch-up for the video. Before long, they'd arrived, and had just applied a light coat of makeup, perfectly accentuating and complementing Alison's own beauty. Ready for the video, Alison headed for the main recording room.

It was mid-afternoon by the time Clark, Rogue, and Kitty had arrived at Dynamite Recording Studios; the studio had contacted Kitty about when they could drop by.

Clark had to smile at how giddy Kitty was as they walked into the studio. "I can't believe it! I'm actually going to _meet_ Alison Blaire!" she squealed.

Ever-stoic Rogue just sighed. "_Ah_ can't believe ya dragged the _both_ of us _with_ ya."

By then, the receptionist had verified their ID's. "Go right in!" she said. The three of them promptly headed in.

As they walked, Clark thought he heard a familiar voice, as a brown-haired lady in her forties – arguing with some guy in a suit – passed ahead of them, not noticing them, going off in a perpendicular direction. "Hey...who was that?" Clark asked.

"Oh, that was Alison's Aunt, and her manager, Bridget Blaire." Kitty said.

Clark's eyes widened. '_No way...it __**is**__ her!_' he thought.

By then, they had reached Alison's dressing room, where they were to meet the young pop sensation. Kitty zipped in first, joyfully gushing, dragging Rogue with her. Clark stayed outside for a moment, listening...

And then he heard her voice...and he knew.

It _was_ her.

Clark took a deep breath, and walked in.

After her video, Alison returned to her dressing room, flushed yet exhilarated, like she always felt after a performance. She'd felt that the video had gone well. She'd never had any real problems with the dance moves involved in music videos; several years of ballet and dance lessons tended to give a girl pretty good coordination.

As she sat down, Alison checked her watch, and smiled; it was time to meet her three fans. She clicked on the room's PA system. "Okay, I'm ready! Send them in!" she said.

A minute or so later, two girls about a year younger than her came in. The first was a bit shorter than her, with chestnut hair in a ponytail and blue eyes, in a white t-shirt under a pink hooded sweater, and blue capri jeans. The other girl was closer to Alison's height, with Goth-style makeup, her auburn hair mid-length, with a white streak in the middle, and green eyes, clad in a black tank-top under a green semi-transparent blouse, with a black miniskirt and black leggings, with gloves on her hands.

"_Oh my God!_" the ponytail girl squealed, zipping in. "I-I'm so glad to meet you! I'm, like, your biggest fan! I'm Kitty Pryde, and this is Rogue!"

Alison smiled. "Hey, you made the winning call, right?" she asked. "It's nice to meet you!"

The other girl – Rogue – was a lot calmer. "Yeah, and she had ta drag meh along with her." she said, in a Southern accent. Looking slightly apologetic, she added, "No offence. Ah mean, yer music is nahce and all, but it's just...not mah tahpe of music."

Alison shrugged, smiling. "No problem." she said. "To each, their own." Then, she paused. "Hang on...wasn't there _three_ of you supposed to be here?"

Kitty smiled. "Oh, yeah; he'll be right in." she said. Her smile became sheepish. "I kinda had to 'guilt' him into coming, but he works _way_ too hard! He _really_ needed a day off, Alison!"

Alison smiled. "Glad I could help!" she said. "Oh, and my friends call me..."

"_Aly?_"

Alison stopped as she heard that voice; it sounded so terribly _familiar_. She looked to the door, and stopped as she beheld a _seriously_ handsome guy, who looked about 20, wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt, with a black jacket over it. He was _tall_, with a _serious_ amount of muscle to him, from the look of his frame, yet he was clearly agile and athletic from the way he moved. His hair was short, and black, a few tendrils spiking over his forehead, and his face blended the best of any male model with the rugged good looks of a movie action-hero. And his _eyes_...his eyes were the clearest sky-blue Alison had ever seen...

She _knew_ those eyes.

Alison gasped, her hands clasping over her mouth...as she realized that she was looking into the eyes of her childhood crush.

"_Clarkie?!_" Alison cried, overjoyed. The guy's smile confirmed it. "Oh my _God_, I don't _believe_ it!" Alison ran to Clark, and gave him the biggest hug she had, smiling happily as he returned it. "I _missed_ you so _much!_"

"I missed you, too, Aly." Clark said softly.

Kitty froze. "Clark...do you and Alison..._know_ each other?"

Clark grinned. "Alison was my neighbor back in Smallville; she visited Smallville every summer." he explained.

Alison savored their hug for a few seconds longer, before she stepped back to appraise him...blushing _fiercely_ as she realized what a total _hottie_ her crush had grown into. "_Wow_..." she murmured, "...Clark, have you been working _out?_"

Clark grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Sort of."

Alison smiled shyly. "So...what are you up to?"

Clark smiled back. "Oh, I'm working on a Journalism degree at Bayville University." he replied. "I'd gotten an internship at the Daily Bugle; it starts in a week."

"Wow! That's _great!_" Alison exclaimed.

"Thanks." Clark replied. Laughing, he added, "I was _going_ to report in with my boss...until Little Miss Puppy-Dog-Eyes here guilts me into coming!" Smiling, he finished, "But I'm glad she did...because I got to see you, again, Aly."

Now Alison's face felt like it was on _fire_. Then, she paused. "Clark?" she whispered. "You just..._vanished_, five years ago. Where _were_ you?" Then, she stopped. "I-I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to..."

"No, it's okay, Aly." Clark assured her. His expression became so terribly sad. "I had...things...to take care of."

Alison looked at him. "About...your birth-family?" she guessed.

"Yeah."

"Did you...meet your birth-parents?" Alison asked.

"They're dead." Clark said softly.

Alison gasped. "Oh my God...Clarkie, I'm so _sorry_..."

"It's okay, Aly." Clark said, lightly smiling. "You didn't know."

Suddenly, Clark paused, his expression taking on a kind of far-away look.

Alison had seen it once before.

"Alison," Clark began, "I'm sorry, but I have to go. There's...something I have to take care of."

"Oh." Alison said softly...while her insides were twisting into knots; her childhood crush was about to leave...and she might never see him again...

"_Wait!_" Alison cried, before Clark left. Taking a pen, she walked over, took Clark's hand, and wrote her cell-phone number on his palm. "When you get a chance...just call me, okay?" she asked. "I really want to talk to you, again, Clark."

Clark looked surprised...and then smiled. "Okay, Alison." he replied. "I will."

Alison smiled. "Promise?" she asked.

Clark grinned. "Aly, I _never_ lie!" he said, and with that, he raced off.

As Clark left, Alison smiled, her heart racing, as she turned around...to face the grin of Kitty. "Ali, we _have_ to talk!" she exclaimed.

Alison smiled. "Why don't we all just grab a soda? My treat!" she said. Kitty and Rogue nodded in agreement, and Alison headed towards the cafeteria, the other two girls following.

'_X-Men, report to my office immediately._'

Scott and the rest of the X-Men ran to the Professor's office at their Mentor's telepathic request. "What's wrong, Professor?" Scott asked.

"Cerebro has detected a new mutant signature." the Professor said. "This mutant has been a blip on our radar for the past few weeks; her power had only been activated very briefly – the only reason we detected her is because she _consciously_ used her powers." He paused. "This mutant...is Miss Alison Blaire."

_That_ threw everyone for a loop. "Zhe pop-singer?!" Kurt exclaimed.

"You're _kidding_." Evan said.

"I assure you, Miss Blaire is a mutant." the Professor said. "Her power is that of phono-photic transmutation."

"_Huh?_" Lance said.

"She can convert sonic vibrations into light energy, and she can re-convert it at will, storing the energy within her." the Professor explained. "Based on Cerebro's readings, she appears to have no natural limitation on the amount of energy she can convert and absorb, and thus she may very well be – potentially – one of the most powerful mutants on Earth."

The Professor looked worried. "X-Men, it is imperative that you find Miss Blaire at once; it is very likely that Magneto knows about her as well, and may try to compel her to join his cause – Alison may be in grave danger!"

"We're on it, Professor!" Scott declared. "All right, guys; suit up and head to the X-Van! We'd better contact Kitty, Rogue, and Clark, and tell them to be on guard!" With that, the X-Men hurried off, to help a potential new recruit.

_Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House_

It was Saturday, and Todd and Fred were just watching TV. There was still no word from Siryn...other than Pietro swallowing his pride and asking Siryn for a loan. There wasn't much going on...

"_THANK YOU! THERE __**IS**__ A GOD!_"

Todd and Fred looked on in confusion as Pietro zipped downstairs, switching off the TV. "Get ready, guys! We're going on a recruitment drive!" he exclaimed. "Pops just called, and you will never _guess_ who's a mutant!"

Fred blinked. "I give up."

"_Alison Blaire!_" Pietro exclaimed. "The hottest chick in the _country!_ Maybe the _planet!_" He grinned. "And it's up to _us_ to recruit her!" Smiling smugly, he ran his hand through his hair in what he thought was a suave gesture. "_After_, of course, I zip over and woo her with my charm."

Todd chuckled. "So, the plan is to make her _retch_ until she joins us?"

"Har dee har har." Pietro said flatly. "Well, we'll just see who's laughing _after_ you losers see me making out with ultra-hottie Alison Blaire. Come on, let's _go!_" With that, the three of them grabbed their gear, and headed out, to catch the bus to New York City.

Alison spent a little while showing Kitty and Rogue around the studio, before leading them to the cafeteria, which was empty, save for them. They each got a soda from a vending machine, and sat down at a nearby table.

All the while, Kitty had been smiling – ever since the revelation that she had known Clark, as a child. She took that opportunity to pounce. "_So_, Aly, how do you know Clark?" she inquired, smiling.

The mention of her crush's name made Alison's face go slightly pink. "Well, he...kinda _told_ you." she replied. "We were kids, and my family always spent the summer in Smallville."

"How did you meet?" Kitty asked.

Alison smiled, as she remembered her first meeting with him. "I was about five at the time..." she began, as the memory filled her mind...

_After getting out of their car, 5-year-old Alison Blaire, in her light blue-and-white dress, her hair in pigtails, looked around at the vast fields in front of the little house. "Mommy, where are we?" she asked._

_ Her mother, a tall, elegantly built lady in her thirties, with long, golden hair and blue eyes, wearing a white blouse and a slim skirt, smiled at her. "We're at the farm of our friends, the Kent family, sweetheart." she said._

_ "Oh." Alison said. "Isn't Auntie Bridget coming?"_

_ "Of course, honey; she'll probably be here, soon." her mother replied. "Now, you just play while we go say hello to Mr. And Mrs. Kent; I think their son should be around here – maybe you can find him!" With that, her parents headed towards the house, to say hello._

_ Her curious child-mind sparked, Alison started to look around, trying to find the Kent's son. She was so busy looking around, she didn't notice where she was walking, until she tripped, and fell onto the ground, skinning her knee. Alison immediately burst into tears, erupting in loud wails, hoping her mother and father would come and make everything better..._

_ "Hey, don't cry!"_

_ Alison's wails lessened at that kind voice, as she looked up...and saw an 8-year-old boy, who was pretty tall for that age, with short black hair, and sky-blue eyes, wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts. "What happened?" he asked._

_ "I skinned my knee!" Alison bawled. "It really hurts!"_

_ The boy smiled, and knelt by Alison. "Hey, it's okay." he said softly. "Are you Mr. And Mrs. Blaire's daughter? My Ma and Pa said you were coming!" He smiled. "I'm Clark."_

_ Alison's tears slowed. "I'm...I'm Alison." she sniffled._

_ "Nice to meet you, Alison." Clark said. "Hey, I think my Ma keeps a First Aid kit in the house; she'll patch you right up!" He grinned. "I'll just give you a lift." He knelt down even more, his back facing her. "Hop on!"_

_ Alison was surprised. "O-Okay." she murmured, as she looped her arms around Clark's neck, as Clark looped his arms under her knees...and stood up, as if she were as light as a feather. 'Wow...he's really strong...' Alison thought, lightly blushing, as Clark started to walk towards the house._

_ As Clark and Alison drew near the house, her parents, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Kent, ran out to meet them. "Clark, what happened?" Mr. Kent asked._

_ "Alison tripped and skinned her knee." Clark said. "I don't think it's too bad."_

_ "Oh, my poor baby!" Alison's mother cried, as she rushed to her daughter's side, picking her up._

_ "Jonathan, go get the First Aid kit; I think it's next to the stove." Mrs. Kent instructed, before she looked to Alison. "Oh, you poor little thing..."_

_ As her mother took her inside, Alison smiled at Clark. "Thank you, Clarkie." she said, her blush returning._

_ Clark smiled. "You're welcome, Aly." he replied. Then, Alison's mother took her inside, as Mr. Kent got the First Aid kit ready._

"Oh, that's so _sweet!_" Kitty exclaimed. "Even back then, he was a total _sweetheart!_"

Rogue chuckled. "Looks lahke Wonder-Boy hasn't changed a _bit_."

Alison blinked. "Why do you call him that?"

Rogue froze. "Oh...because he's always helpin' everyone." she said.

Alison smiled at that. "That's Clarkie." she said. "He'd help the whole _world_, if he could."

Kitty and Rogue softly chuckled at that. Then, Kitty spoke up. "You _like_ him, don't you?"

Alison froze, her face red. "Uh..."

"You _do!_" Kitty squealed. "You _so_ totally _do!_ I _knew_ it!"

Alison smiled. "Okay, okay; _yes_, I have a crush on him. _Please_ don't tell him!"

"Okay, but you _so_ should ask him out!" Kitty exclaimed. "You'd be _crazy_ not to! He is _so_ crushable! I don't _blame_ you for liking him!" Her expression saddened. "Clark _needs_ a little fun; he's really busy, with his school-work, and his...'job.' He's so serious, most of the time; he _needs_ to have more fun."

Alison nodded; she'd thought she'd seen traces of sadness, of weariness in Clark's eyes. "I think you're right." she agreed. "It looked as if he had the weight of the whole _world_ on his shoulders." Then, she smiled, as she remembered the strength, the purpose she'd seen in his movements; as if he were made of solid rock, or something _stronger_, that you could chip and scratch, but _never_ crack. "But if there are _any_ shoulders capable of holding it up, it's _his!_"

Kitty giggled. "Alison," she said, "you have _no_ idea how _right_ you _are!_"

Just then, both Kitty and Rogue froze, as if they were listening to something. Kitty looked worried. "Um...Aly?" she asked. "Maybe we should go somewhere _crowded_..."

Suddenly, a 16-year-old guy, in an aqua-green bodysuit, with silver chest armor and boots, zipped up, sitting in the chair next to Alison. "Hey, gorgeous." he said smoothly. "Want to jet out of here and go somewhere _fun?_"

Alison rolled her eyes; how many times had she heard _that_ from all the jerks who'd wanted to date her? "Get lost, creep." she said. "I'm _trying_ to talk to my friends."

The guy just smiled. "Trust me, gorgeous; with me, you'll have _loads_ more fun." he said. "Ever wanted to move at Mach Two? I can make it happen."

"Alison said to get _lost_, Pietro!" Kitty yelled. "So _get __**lost**__!_"

Alison paused. "You _know_ this jerk?"

Kitty looked guilty. "He's a mutant...like we are...and like _you_ are, Alison." she murmured.

'_A...mutant?_' Alison thought, looking at her hands. '_Is that what I am?_' She felt a little freaked-out...but, somehow, it just...made a kind of _sense_...

"These losers are trying to recruit you into their little do-gooder band." the jerk – Pietro – sneered. "Stick with us, Alison, and we'll have some _real_ fun."

Alison had had _enough_. She took her soda and poured it over Pietro. "Yeah, just like every _other_ jerk I've met!" she snapped. "Now, _beat_ it!"

Pietro looked angry. "Fine! You wanna do it the hard way, babe? _Fine by me!_" With that, he whistled, and two other guys – one really large guy in dark pants and a vest, and a kind of frog-like guy in a green bodysuit and hunch-backed armor – stepped into view. "_Toad!_" Pietro yelled. The frog-guy – Toad – took aim, and fired a slimy glob at Alison, who raised her arms in defense...

_Ping!_

Alison was amazed as the glob simply impacted her skin and slid off, not even leaving a trace. She looked at her hands...and saw that her skin was _sparkling_..._no_, there was a layer of energy formed _over_ her skin, which had blocked that slime. Then, the energy-layer simply faded. "Whoa..." Alison murmured.

"Alison, we've got to go!" Kitty cried. With that, she grabbed Rogue and Alison's hands...and ran towards the _wall_. Then, before Alison could cry out...they went right _through_ it.

"_Wow!_" Alison exclaimed. "How did you _do_ that?"

Kitty smiled. "Corporeal intangibility." she explained. "I can phase through solid matter, like walls."

Rogue half-smiled. "Ah can absorb lahfe-energy from anyone Ah touch; if Ah touch a mutant, Ah can copy their powers." she said. "Ah can't control it, which is whah Ah'm all covered up."

"And we've just gotten a message from our friend Jean – a telepath and a telekinetic – that the rest of our friends – the X-Men – are on their way!" Kitty said. "Our teacher, Professor Xavier, has just figured out that you're a mutant, Ali; you can change sound energy into light energy!"

"That is so _cool!_" Alison exclaimed, smiling. She looked at her hands. "No _wonder_ I caused those light-flashes at my concerts; with all that music, my powers got _supercharged!_" She looked to Kitty. "You guys sound pretty cool; not like that Pietro creep!"

Rogue chuckled. "Yeah, he's probably the biggest player in Bayville...well, except maybe for Swamp-Rat."

"Oh, come _on_, Rogue! Remy's only interested in _you!_" Kitty laughed. To Alison, she added, "Our friends are heading for a studio on the ground floor, Aly; they're coming in through the back."

"I know that place; it's shut down for repairs!" Alison exclaimed. "Follow me!" With that, Alison hurried off with her new friends.

Before long, Alison and her friends had reached the studio, with the metal scaffolding still in place...and there, she saw six people, all about her age, in variants of the same basic black bodysuit. "Are you...Kitty and Rogue's friends? The X-Men?" Alison asked.

The guy with the visor smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Blaire." he said.

The redheaded girl next to him smiled. "We must be a pretty big shock to you..." she added.

Alison chuckled. "Actually, it's not _that_ big a shock. There have been some amazing things happening in the world, lately; mutants just seem to be par for the course!" she said.

The red-eyed guy in the trenchcoat smiled at Rogue. "Looks like y' made a new friend, chere."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "_Gawd_, Swamp-Rat, don't ya eva _quit?_"

Alison chuckled. "I'm guessing you're Remy."

Remy nodded. "_Gambit, pour mes amis._" he replied.

Kitty then gestured to each of her friends, introducing each one. "And this is Scott, Jean, Lance, Kurt, and Evan."

Just the, Pietro and his friends burst in. "Oh, _great!_" Toad muttered. "The X-Geeks are here!"

Pietro's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, but their powerhouse isn't." he sneered. "We can take 'em."

Kitty looked to Scott. "Any word from...You-Know-Who?"

Scott nodded. "We contacted him in Europe; he's on his way." he said. "We should be able to hold the Brotherhood off until backup arrives."

'_They came here to help me._' Alison thought. She _had_ to do something...and then she saw the switch for the audio-system on stage...and remembered that it was still working.

_Her powers ran on sound._

"Jean? You can move things with your mind, right?" Alison asked. Jean nodded. "See that switch up on stage? Can you turn it on?"

Jean just smiled...and the switch flipped on, sending music echoing through the studio. Alison instantly felt the familiar energy start building within her, as the energy-layer coated her entire body, making her skin seem to _sparkle_, as she now felt _supercharged_.

Pietro and his pals – the Brotherhood – had messed with the _wrong_ girl.

As the big guy lumbered towards them, Jean concentrated, levitating him a few feet off the ground, as Scott clicked his visor, firing a red force-beam at him, and Ali focused her energy to her hands, firing twin off-white beams from her hands, in tandem with Scott's attack, sending him flying a good twenty feet. As he tried to get up, Lance concentrated, and the earth _shook_...causing a sandbag to fall from the ceiling, knocking the big guy out.

Pietro was zipping to and fro, as Kurt – the blue furry guy – kept vanishing and reappearing, trying to attack, but Pietro was just too fast. Focusing energy in her hands, Alison let it out in a small flash, momentarily blinding him, giving Kurt enough time to kick him, sending him stumbling away. Kitty then tackled Pietro, sinking into the floor, trapping his feet, before she rose up from the floor...as Remy walked towards Pietro, shuffling a deck of playing cards. "Up fo' a li'l game o' Five-Card Draw?" Remy asked, as he drew five cards. Instantly, the cards began to glow fiercely, as Remy flicked them at Pietro...as they exploded, sending him flying.

"_Non?_ Mus' been a bad hand, den."

Toad was hopping towards Evan and Rogue, firing one of those gross slime-globs. Alison raised her hand, sending energy between the glob and her new friends; instantly, a shimmery wall appeared in front of them, repelling the glob. As Alison lowered her barrier, Rogue removed her gloves, lightly tapping Evan's hand. Then, both mutants fired bony spikes from their forearms, pinning Toad to the wall.

Kitty smiled as the last of the Brotherhood went down. "Alison, you _rock!_" she exclaimed.

Alison smiled, her sparkling layer fading. "Thanks!"

Just then, the Brotherhood started to recover, picking themselves up. Alison frowned, ready to unleash a flare that would send them _packing_...

...when she heard a creaking to her side.

Alison turned, her eyes widening in horror as she saw the nearby scaffolding start to collapse towards her; it had come loose in the fight. The others noticed it, too. "_Ali!_" Kitty cried, trying to run and phase her out of danger, but it was too late. None of her friends could reach her in time...

Suddenly, a sonic boom shook the air, as a blue-and-crimson blur swept her up at mind-warping speeds, setting her down a safe distance from the scaffolding. Alison was confused...until she looked up at her savior.

He was tall, with an incredibly powerful frame: the physique of a Greek _god_. He wore a blue bodysuit with tight red shorts, a yellow belt, red boots, a long red cape...

...and a stylized red 'S' on the suit's chest, within a red-outlined yellow diamond.

Alison couldn't believe it; he was _here_. She took him in, nearly _swooning_ at how ridiculously handsome he was. His face was _perfect_, combining the features of a movie action-hero with the looks of a male model; a ruggedly handsome, _heroic_ face, with a smile that told her that everything would be alright. His hair was black, a few tufts arcing over his forehead, only _enhancing_ his good looks, and his eyes were the most perfect sky-blue, as if an endless sky had been carved into his face...

_Wait a minute._

Alison's eyes widened. She _knew_ those eyes. '_Oh my God..._'

Superman smiled, as he set her down. "Are you alright, Miss?" he asked politely.

Alison could barely speak. "Y-Yes, I'm fine." she stammered.

Superman's smile grew. "I'm glad." he said. Then, his expression became determined. "Stay back, Miss." he added. Glancing to the X-Men, he smiled. "Sorry I'm late, guys. There was a train in Spain that needed help."

Scott grinned. "No problem, Big Blue."

Superman then looked to the Brotherhood. "I think I can handle this, guys."

"Sure thing, big guy!" Evan laughed.

Alison could only watch. She didn't know what was more amazing: watching Superman kick bad-guy butt...

...or what she'd just discovered.

Superman's eyes narrowed as the Brotherhood turned to him, Quicksilver looking especially ticked. "So now Magneto is _kidnapping_ recruits?" Superman asked. "That's a _new_ low, Pietro."

"Stay out of this, Super-Dork!" Quicksilver yelled. "This is none of your business!"

Superman sighed. "Pietro, after all this, I really thought you'd know me better than that." he quipped.

Snarling in fury, Quicksilver ran at him, ready to punch him...but Superman simply caught his fist, like a patient adult catching the fist of a spoiled child throwing a temper-tantrum. He then simply reached for Quicksilver, releasing his fist, and just _flicked_ him with his pointer finger...which sent him flying to the far side of the studio, landing hard on the ground.

Toad hopped towards him, firing a slime-glob, but Superman fired his eye-rays, incinerating the glob, before unleashing his gale-breath, blowing Toad over to where Pietro had landed.

Only Blob remained. Roaring, Blob charged at Superman, who simply inhaled, unleashing his freeze-breath, _literally_ stopping Blob _cold_, before he flew at Blob at high speeds, slamming him with a punch that echoed like thunder, sending him flying thirty feet...towards his pals.

Quicksilver and Toad had only enough time to look up as Blob's impressive shadow loomed over them...

"_AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!_"

...and then Blob landed, sitting on them, their arms and legs flailing from under him. "Huh?" Blob murmured. "Guys? Where'd you go?"

Pietro managed to poke out his head from under Blob's girth. "_Get your big, fat butt offa me, Fred!_" he yelled. Quickly – for him, at least – Blob got up, allowing his partially-squished teammates to get up. "This..." Pietro snarled, "...is _not_ over, Super-Dork!"

"It never _is_, with you." Superman replied firmly, folding his arms. "Now, get out of here...before I get _angry_." At that, Toad and Blob ran away as fast as they could, while Quicksilver glowered at Superman, before fleeing, as well.

Nightcrawler laughed. "Zhere's nothing like vatching zhe Man of Steel kick bad-guy butt!" he joked.

Superman chuckled. "All in a day's work." he quipped, as he turned to make sure Alison was okay.

Alison simply looked at him, her mouth open in an awed expression...before she smiled, looking him over. "Red and blue...a cape...shorts and boots...a belt and an 'S.'" she appraised, smiling. "Very inspirational..._Clarkie_."

Superman _froze_, as the X-Men gasped. "_W-What?!_" he exclaimed.

Alison giggled. "That uniform doesn't do much to conceal your identity, though."

Superman blinked. "But I was using my..." he began, and then he slapped his forehead. "Oh, _dang_ it! I forgot my inducer _again!_" He smiled sheepishly; no sense denying it. "Hey...the uniform's worked for me, so far."

Alison nodded. "I guess I'm just smart enough to figure it out." she teased, smiling.

Superman smiled. "I'm glad...you're taking everything so well, Aly."

Alison grinned. "Are you _kidding?_ This is so _cool!_" she exclaimed. She smiled shyly. "And that was _before_ finding out about you, Clark." Her smile became a bit guilty. "Besides...I kinda...had a notion, beforehand." she admitted. "Clark...do you remember that day, five years ago? That car-crash?" She took a deep breath. "It was...the day your dad died."

Superman closed his eyes. "I remember." he whispered. When he'd been fifteen, he'd been walking home from an errand...with a twelve-year-old Ali following him. His hearing had been active in bursts at that point; he'd suddenly heard a car crashing, and he knew that someone was going to get hurt. He'd told Alison to get an ambulance, before he'd raced off, running at top speed, finding the crashed car a few feet ahead. He'd gotten two people – a man and a woman – out, and then saw their daughter, still in the car, banging her tiny fists against the windshield. Clark had ripped the windshield off and carried her out...seconds before the car blew.

Alison lightly blushed. "I...kinda followed you." she whispered. "I saw you save those people." She smiled. "When I first heard about 'Superman'...I just..._knew_...that it _had_ to be _you_."

Superman lightly smiled. "Well...you were right." he said.

Alison's expression became a bit sad. "Is...this why...you had to leave?" she asked.

At that, Cyclops said, "Clark, we'll just...be in the X-Van, okay?"

"Sure." Superman replied. Once the X-Men had left, he sighed. "Yes. This is why I had to leave, Aly."

Alison looked sad. "But...why didn't this 'Professor Xavier' guy come find you? Nobody knew what happened, Clark! You just..._disappeared_." She looked stricken. "I-I'm so sorry...I mean, you must have been confused, finding out you were a mutant..."

Superman closed his eyes. "Aly, I'm _not_ a mutant. I'm something else."

Alison looked confused. "Okay...what are you, then?"

Superman had _no_ idea how to break this to her. "That...has to do with where I'm from, Aly." he said. "I'm from..._really_ far away."

Alison blinked. "How far?"

"_Far._"

"You mean, you're from somewhere like Asia, or the Middle East..?" Alison hazarded.

Superman shook his head. "_Farther_." he said. He had to tell her. "Aly...I'm from _Krypton_."

Alison looked confused. "'Krypton'?" she repeated. "I...I've never heard of it...where on Earth..?"

"It _isn't_ on Earth, Alison." Superman said, closing his eyes. "Krypton...was the third planet of the Xerius Galaxy."

Alison's eyes widened. "The...third...planet..." she stammered. "You're...you're..."

"...an alien." Superman finished.

Alison's hands clasped over her mouth. "_Oh my God..._"

Superman lowered his head, as his father's words came rushing back to him.

_You are not one of them._

Never before had that lesson hurt so much...

"..._that is __**so COOL**__!_"

Superman looked up, his eyes widening in surprise at Alison's amazed smile. "Oh my _God_, that is the coolest thing _ever!_" she exclaimed. "You've changed _everything_ just by _being_ here, on this planet! Oh my God – _talk!_ How did you find this out? How did you _get_ here?!"

Superman laughed. Alison hadn't changed at _all_. She was still so spirited, so full of _energy_, making her so amazingly _adorable_ when she was younger...and utterly _enchanting_, now.

"Well, when I was about eight, after you'd left, one day I was about to jump into Pa's arms...and ended up jumping over the whole _house_." Superman said. "Ma and Pa just took me up to the old barn...and showed me the ship they'd found me in."

"Wow, you have a _ship?_" Alison exclaimed. "How did it land here?"

"It landed during that meteor shower 20 years ago." Superman said. "After that, I knew I'd come from space, but that was it. It was just after Pa died...that I started to get curious." His mind began to wander, back to that sad day...

_15-year-old Clark Kent ran from his home in tears, after his Ma had come home, with only four words._

_ "Clark...I'm so sorry..."_

_ He ran for the old barn, in the middle of the night, too hurt and angry at the world to care who saw him. He ran inside, and tore open the crate that held the ship. "Why?!" he screamed at it. "Why did you send me here?!" He got no answer._

_ Breaking down, he knelt in front of it, weeping into the metal, absently pounding his fist with every word. "Why?! Why?! Why?!" The hull simply absorbed the impact, which could have shattered stone. He simply placed his hand on the hull. "Why..." he whimpered._

_ Suddenly, the metal felt warm. He looked up, and saw a glowing crest within the metal._

_ The crest of a stylized 'S', within a diamond._

_ Then, a hidden panel opened, and two crystals extended out from the ship; one was long, slim, and the other was flat, almost diamond-like. They were for him._

_ Clark took the crystals, and something just...woke up, within him. He then turned around, heading home._

Alison looked horrified. "That...that must have been _awful_..."

Superman nodded. "After I found those crystals, I just...had to go." he said. "I decided to stay until Pa's funeral, and then I would leave." He sighed. "Ma wasn't too thrilled..."

_"What do you mean, you're leaving?!" Martha Kent cried, in tears. "Clark, you can't leave!"_

_ "Ma...I have to." Clark whispered._

_ Martha started to cry. "Who...who'll feed you?!" she cried. "Who'll be there when you're sad?! Who'll look after you?!"_

_ "Ma..." Clark said, his eyes stinging, "...I can't stay here, anymore..."_

_ Martha walked over and hugged him. "You listen to me, boy..." she whimpered, "...I don't care who you really are, or where you come from...you'll always be Clark Kent, my son...and your Ma is going to love you without end, no matter what."_

_ Clark started to sniffle. "I love you, too, Ma..."_

_ Martha weakly smiled, releasing her son. "Go on, Clark." she whispered. "Go on...find your destiny." Clark smiled weakly, giving his Ma one last hug, before he walked out the door, cringing as he heard his Ma burst into tears._

Alison looked ready to cry at that. "That must have been so hard..."

Superman nodded. "After I left, I headed north...all the way to the North Pole." he said. "Those crystals formed a massive crystalline sanctuary in the snow – my 'Fortress of Solitude.' I spent four years there, learning about Krypton, about my people, about my powers...and about why my parents sent me here."

"Why did they?" Alison asked. Then, she was struck with a thought. "Wait...why did you say that Krypton _was_ the third planet of the Xerius Galaxy?"

Superman closed his eyes. "Those questions have the same answer." he whispered. "Thirty years ago...Krypton was destroyed. My parents' last act was to use that ship to send me here, to safety, leaving those crystals to teach me about who I was." He paused. "Aly...I am the sole survivor of the Kryptonian race...the Last Son of Krypton."

Alison didn't speak at that...and then she walked over and hugged him. "Oh my God...Clarkie, I am _so, so sorry_." she whispered.

Superman was surprised at that...and then smiled, gently returning the hug. "Thanks, Ali." he replied.

After Alison released him from her hug, she smiled. "So, you said those crystals told you who you were." she said.

Superman smiled back. "Yes; they carried all the knowledge of Krypton and all the worlds it had contact with." he said. "The Knowledge Chamber in the Fortress allowed me to absorb that information directly – it helped me learn very quickly."

Alison giggled. "So that Chamber basically replaced high school."

Superman chuckled. "Basically." he agreed. "But the crystals also carried messages from my father, Jor-El; they included several lessons about living on Earth, and about using my powers."

"'Jor-El'?" Alison repeated, smiling. "Do _you_ have a...Kryptonian name?"

Superman grinned. "I am Kal-El." he said. "I prefer to use my Earth name, though."

"_Wow_, just when I thought you couldn't get any _cooler!_" Alison said, smiling.

Superman smiled. "You're taking this really well, Aly." he said. "I was afraid that you'd...well...freak out when you found out that I was an alien."

Alison smiled. "To be honest, the whole 'alien' thing is more believable than the whole 'selfless hero' thing." she admitted. "You just...drop out of the sky and start saving people, while taking _zero_ credit for it. That's _amazing!_" Then, she smiled shyly, before she walked over, leaned up, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Superman felt his face start to heat up. "Not that I mind, but what was that for?"

"For saving Aunt Bridget." Alison replied, blushing. "She was on the plane you saved, last month. If it hadn't been for you...I would have lost my Auntie." She looked into his eyes. "_Thank you._"

Superman smiled. "Hey...it's what I do."

Alison giggled. "So, what's the scoop on the X-Men and this Xavier guy?" she asked. "Did he help you learn to control your powers?"

Superman chuckled. "Actually, Aly, I had pretty much already mastered my powers when the Professor found me." he said. "But the Institute became my home, a place where I could fit in, and be _myself_...and it can be the same for _you_. I _know_ the Professor can help you with your powers."

Alison smiled. "Sounds good." she said. "I guess I'd better tell Aunt Bridget; it's a good thing that I was in the middle of negotiating my recording contract." She chuckled. "Tom will probably have a _fit_ when he hears that I'll want to attend school as well as doing my recordings and concerts!"

Superman chuckled. "I can imagine."

Alison smiled. "I'll just let my Aunt know what's going on." she said. "She can handle the contract negotiations. So...could I...go check out the Institute?"

Superman smiled. "_Sure._" he replied. With that, he walked towards the door the X-Men had used, with Alison following him, as she took out her cell-phone, calling her Aunt. She then hopped in the X-Van with the others, after getting the okay from her Aunt, and the X-Men drove off, heading for the Institute, as Superman took to the air, heading for home.

It was evening by the time that a sore, humiliated, and – in Pietro's case, royally _pissed_ – Brotherhood got back to the boarding house, expecting to simply watch TV and wallow in their defeat.

They'd been sorely mistaken.

They had just stepped through the door...and _froze_ as they saw a cross-looking Anita standing there, arms folded, tapping her foot. "Well?" she asked. "Whose _brilliant_ idea _was_ that little...'excursion'?"

Todd and Fred both pointed to Pietro.

Anita's eyes narrowed. "I might've known."

"Hey," Pietro snapped, "Pops said to go get Alison..!"

"_No_, Pietro." Anita hissed. "Your father said to inform _me_, and _then_ we would go get Alison. But your _hormones_ got the better of you. Now, because of your colossal _idiocy_, the X-Men are now one recruit _stronger_."

Todd chuckled. "Yeah; one recruit who's got a thing for Super-Dork."

Anita whirled on Todd. "_What?_" she snapped.

Todd gulped. "Uh...well...I mean, I'm only guessing..." he stammered, "...but...it kinda looked like...Alison kinda..._liked_ Superman."

Pietro scowled at that.

Anita, though, looked _royally_ pissed. "I see." she muttered. "I will have to continue my research."

"What are you researching, anyway?!" Pietro snapped. "Maybe if you hadn't had your nose stuck in a..."

"_Silence!_" Anita yelled, and they all shut up. "I am _researching_, Maximoff, a way to increase my magical power, enough to _utterly_ enchant Kal-El." She turned away. "And now, I must do so _faster_." With that, she simply snapped her fingers, disappearing before their eyes, leaving them alone, to wallow in defeat.

After arriving at the Institute, Alison got the grand tour of the place...by Clark, she noted with a smile; once Clark had donned his regular clothes, he'd shown her around. Professor Xavier had seemed really nice, as had Miss Munroe. Mr. Logan seemed a little grumpy, though.

After the tour ended, Clark led Alison back to the main hall, where the Professor and Aunt Bridget had been talking; her Aunt had been ecstatic to see Clark, and had given him a hug, after she'd finished gushing over "how handsome he was," and "how proud his mother must be at what he was doing with his abilities," much to a mortified Alison's chagrin.

"It's all worked out, Alison." Bridget said, smiling. "I managed to work it out so that you can attend the Institute, as well as Bayville High School, in addition to your concerts and CD recordings," she smiled, "and you can use your own songs."

Alison hugged her Aunt. "Thank you so much, Aunt Bridget!" she exclaimed.

Bridget smiled. "You're quite welcome, sweetie." she said. "Now, you just behave yourself."

Alison giggled. "I will." she promised.

Professor Xavier smiled. "We'll take good care of Alison, Mrs. Blaire." he assured her. "She's in good hands."

Bridget smiled. "Thank you." she said. To Alison, she added, "I'll be by to pick you up for your concerts and recordings, honey."

Alison nodded, as she took her suitcases from her Aunt, before giving her a hug. "I'll miss you, Auntie."

"I'll miss you, too, sweetie." Bridget replied. She glanced to Clark, grinning, as she added, "Now, you look after my niece, mister, or, Man of Steel or not, you'll answer to _me!_"

Clark laughed. "_Yes, Ma'am!_" Laughing, Bridget headed out, leaving Alison with her new family.

With her Aunt gone, the other students, both the X-Men and the New Mutants, came to greet her. "Welcome to the family, Alison." Scott greeted.

"We hope you enjoy it, here." Jean added.

"Oh my _God!_ This is so _cool!_" Jubilee – one of the New Mutants – squealed. "It's so _awesome_ that you're here!"

Alison smiled. "Thanks." she replied. She cast a shy glance at Clark. "I think I'll like it here."

Clark smiled...and then his expression changed, as closed his eyes, _listening_. "_Uh-oh._"

Everyone else knew what that meant. "Uh-oh."

Alison had a pretty good idea what it meant. "Trouble?"

"Australia. There's a plane in trouble." Clark said.

Kitty chuckled. "Looks like another job for Superman!"

Alison smiled. "Does this happen often?"

"Oh, yeah." Lance said.

Clark smiled apologetically. "I guess we'll have to talk later, Aly."

Alison smiled. "You could always call me." she said.

Clark smiled. "I will." he said. Then, with that, he darted off, dashing upstairs, donning his uniform, before running to the nearest window, opening it, and flying off, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

"Wow..." Alison murmured. She still couldn't believe it; her childhood crush...had grown up to be the Man of Steel.

Kitty smiled. "Yeah...that's pretty much the coolest thing on the planet."

"Well, Alison, we'd best help you get settled in." the Professor said, smiling.

Alison smiled, and then she remembered the Professor mention that the other students had chosen code-names. "Thanks." she said. "Oh, and by the way..."

"...call me..._Dazzler_."

_Author's Note: And here she is. Alison Blaire. I hope you like her! And I hope I got the MSN abbreviations right; I think "lol" is "laughs out loud" and "OMG" is "Oh My God."_

_Coming soon:_

_Alison "Dazzler" Blaire. The newest member of the New Mutants._

_How will she handle life as an Institute student?_

_Will her friendship with Clark be the start of something more?_

_And how will Siryn handle the fact that she now has competition for the Man of Steel?_

_Find out, in "Fitting In," coming to your computer soon..._


	8. Fitting In

CHAPTER SEVEN: FITTING IN

_New York, October 18, 2007_

It was late at night in her hotel room, and Anita, in her long, emerald-green bathrobe, sat on her bed, poring over her spell-tome. Frowning, she closed it, putting it aside as she picked up another book of ancient magic, and started to scan through that.

This was the second "all-nighter" she'd pulled, this week. So far, she hadn't found anything that could amplify her power enough to bespell Kal-El. Her emerald eyes started to droop with fatigue, but she quickly shook it off, remembering her discipline. There _was_ a solution; she just had to...

Anita stopped over one section, reading it...and then darted to her computer, doing a search on the Internet...

"_Yes!_" Anita squealed, spinning in her computer chair. She quickly picked up her phone, calling one of her friends; Anita _knew_ that she would be up at this hour.

"_Hello?_" came the reply.

Anita smiled. "Hey, 'licia." she greeted her best friend.

"_Annie?_" came the smiling reply. "_Hey, girl! What's up?_"

"Oh, not much." Anita replied. "I was just wondering; can I talk to you, tomorrow? Say around lunchtime?"

"_Sure! See you then!_" her friend replied. "_Bye!_" Then, she hung up.

Anita smiled to herself. '_Kal-El, you'll be __**mine**__._' she thought. She scowled to herself. '_And no little blond __**twit**__ is going to get in my way!_'

_Xavier Institute_

It was late at night at the Xavier Institute, as a handful of shadows tiptoed towards the elevator to the lower levels. The elevator opened for them, taking them down to the vehicle hangar.

"This is gonna be _great!_" Jubilee exclaimed.

"_Sshh!_ You'll get us _caught!_" Ray muttered.

"Um...what are we doing, again?" Jamie asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Ray, Bobby, Jubilee, Jamie, and Roberto had all donned their street clothes as they headed for the vehicle hangar; they'd formulated their little plan while their leader was off on one of his patrols...out of his hearing range.

"Oh, we're just gonna take the X-Van for a little spin." Ray said, grinning. "It can't be too much harder than driving Lance's van."

"That was _you?_" Jamie exclaimed. "I heard Lance saying that he found a scratch on it! If he finds out..!"

"He _won't_." Ray assured him. "Clark hasn't caught on yet, has he? As long as we're careful, we can be out and back before he realizes what's happened!"

"How come we didn't ask Aly?" Jubilee asked. "And what about Sam, Amara, Rahne, or Tabby?"

Bobby chuckled. "Tabs' still on probation; no _way_ she'd agree. And Amara can't come because Tabs' a light sleeper. Rahne and Sam both sleep like _logs_; we couldn't wake 'em if we _tried_. And Aly's been Clark's friend since they were _kids_, and she _likes_ him. No _way_ she'll not tell him about our 'outings.'"

Roberto frowned. "Okay, first he's got that Siryn girl chasing after him, and _then_ he scores the digits of ultra-hottie Alison Blaire?" he muttered.

"I _hear_ ya, Roberto; we gotta start taking _notes_ around him." Bobby said.

Ray grinned. "He is one _lucky_ alien; Alison _definitely_ meets the 'Three-B' criteria of hotness."

Roberto, Bobby, and Ray chuckled, and spoke as one: "'Blue-eyed,' 'Blond,' and '_Built_'!"

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "_Boys._" she muttered.

The conversation was lost on Jamie. "I don't get it..."

Bobby grinned, ruffling the younger kid's hair. "You _will_, Jamie."

By then, the elevator had reached the garage level, and the little band walked out. "Hey...do you think we can check out Clark's spaceship?" Jamie asked, excited.

Ray grinned. "Why not, squirt? I'm sure he won't mind..."

They rounded a corner as Ray spoke...and stopped dead in their tracks.

"Actually, I _would._"

The five didn't dare speak as Superman stood in front of them, his eyes narrowed crossly, his arms folded. "Oh...uh...h-hi, Clark!" Jubilee stammered.

Superman's expression didn't change. "A word of advice, Ray; _never_ assume I'm out of range – you'd be surprised what I can hear from the other side of the planet." he said. "I am _very_ disappointed in you guys."

The five lowered their heads in shame.

"What if any of you had gotten _hurt?_" Superman continued. "Rescuing people from car accidents is worrisome enough; I _don't_ want to have to do it for any of _you!_" His eyes narrowed. "You all have extra afternoon-sessions for a _week_, effective _immediately_. And _you_, Ray, will help Lance repair the scratch you left in his jeep..._after_ you tell him what you did." He was about to walk off, when he turned back, glaring at Ray, Roberto, and Bobby. "And one _more_ thing: Alison is a member of this team, and you _will_ talk about her and treat her with the respect she deserves. Understood?"

The three guys nodded.

"Good." Superman said. "Now, get back to bed." With that, he walked away, heading for the elevator.

Jubilee smiled. "Oh, he _so_ likes her!" she whispered.

"I _heard_ that!"

Quickly, the five hurried to the elevator, getting on with their irritated leader, before heading back to their rooms.

It was about 5:45 in the morning when Alison woke up; she'd given herself _just_ enough time to get to her Danger-Room session. She quickly got out of bed, changing out of her slim, short, silvery nightgown, and into her new uniform, identical to the one that all the other New Mutants wore, before clipping her CD player to her belt, looping her headphones around her neck; her use of music had been allowed because her powers, she'd learned, were best fueled by _rhythmic_ sound – namely, music.

She'd had several training sessions in the past week, which had helped her get a handle on how to use her powers; she thought she'd done pretty well, despite the Danger Room being on only a fairly low setting. Today, however, the Danger Room would be on the setting that the _rest_ of the New Mutants used. Not only that, the Professor, the instructors, the rest of the New Mutants, and the X-Men would all be watching this assessment of her powers...

...including Clark.

Alison – "Dazzler" – lightly blushed at the thought of her crush. Being around him had brought back her long-held feelings for him, her admiration only enhanced by the knowledge that her Clarkie had grown into Superman.

'_And now, if I make a total fool of myself, Clark will see it._' Dazzler thought sadly, only adding to the nervousness she felt around him. She took a deep breath, and headed out of her room, taking the elevator down to the control room.

By the time Dazzler reached the control room, everyone was already there. '_So much for being early, Aly._' Dazzler berated herself.

Clark – in his uniform, looking heroic, as usual, Dazzler thought with a blush – smiled as she came in. "Right on time, Aly." he greeted.

Dazzler smiled. "Hey, I try!" she replied, trying to fight the rosy tint that was creeping across her face.

Smiling at her for a moment more, Superman turned back to the Professor. "As I was saying, Professor, I thought that extra training sessions for a week would be punishment enough."

Berzerker, Jubilee, Sunspot, Multiple, and Iceman all looked grim at that.

The Professor nodded. "I think that's fair, Superman."

Wolverine grinned darkly. "A couple sessions with _me_ ought to set 'em right."

Superman chuckled. "Just don't go overboard, Logan. Remember, they haven't done anything to deserve the _death_ penalty."

Avalanche frowned. "And what about my jeep?"

Superman looked to Berzerker. "Ray will fix that." he said.

Avalanche smiled. "Now that I think about it, my jeep could use an oil change...right, Ray?"

Ray looked horrified. "Clark..!"

Superman looked to Avalanche. "I'm sure he's willing to _help_ with that, Lance...but asking him to do the whole _thing_ is a bit much...which could damage your jeep, in the long run."

Avalanche shrugged. "Yeah, you're right." he admitted.

Ray breathed a relieved sigh.

Dazzler then frowned as she noticed Sunspot staring at her dazedly; her uniform not only _itched_, but it clearly defined her curves. She didn't mind outfits that weren't _too_ revealing, like her uniform; she'd had to wear several outfits in her videos that showed off her curves, but they had always been tasteful.

But she wasn't exactly fussy about being stared at.

Superman noticed. "_Roberto._" he said firmly. Instantly, Sunspot froze, gulping.

Dazzler lightly smiled, trying to suppress that rosy tint, again. "Well...I guess I'm up!" she said.

"Remember, Alison, the Danger Room is going to be on a higher setting; if you get overwhelmed, the simulation will stop." Cyclops said.

The Professor smiled. "This session is only to determine how far you've progressed with your powers since you came here." he assured her. "Just do your best."

That calmed Alison, somewhat. "I will." she said, smiling. Then, at a nod from her new mentor, she took the elevator down, and entered the Danger Room. As she stepped in, she put on her earphones, and turned on her music, keeping it at a noise-level so that she could still hear the Professor. As the music filled her senses, she felt the energy rush into her, as the sparkling layer covered her skin, making it seem to sparkle, as she tapped into the seemingly boundless confidence that she used whenever she was on stage. She was ready.

The second she thought that, the Danger Room started up. Five robotic drones rolled out of panels in the walls, firing low-power lasers at her...which bounced off of her sparkling shield, though she felt its energy-level drop somewhat as it absorbed the shots. She channeled her energy into her hands, firing twin sweeping energy-beams, which demolished the robots almost instantly.

Dazzler then looked around...just in time to duck as a larger laser-cannon fired at her. Dazzler rolled away from additional shots, and fired her beams at it...which impacted on it, harmlessly; its armor was too thick. She was going to have to switch it off, manually...but if she tried to get close, it would shoot her.

Dazzler smiled as an idea came to her; she quickly spun on her heel, her hands generating a glimmering haze around her, creating a sparkling fog that shrouded her completely. The cannon paused, trying to track her. Slowly, the fog faded away...

...revealing _six_ Dazzlers. The six smiled, and ran at the cannon. The cannon fired at one Dazzler, and hit...causing the Dazzler to simply fizzle out; it was a hard-light hologram – a projection that looked and felt real, but was not.

The cannon kept firing, taking out the remaining four holograms...allowing the _real_ Dazzler to zip behind the cannon and switch it off.

Suddenly, Dazzler shrieked in surprise as the floor she was standing on suddenly rose up, rotating 90 degrees, sending her toppling to the floor...as a section of the wall started moving towards her, to crush her between the wall and the risen section. Dazzler quickly recovered, and generated a hard-light force-field between herself and the wall, stopping its progression, giving her enough time to simply run out the side.

As she ran out, Dazzler came face-to-face with _dozens_ of robotic drones, all armed. Quickly generating a hard-light dome around herself, Dazzler found herself pinned down as the drones repeatedly fired on her. Quickly, she turned up the volume on her music as high as she could; the music _supercharged_ her, causing her entire body to glow with light, before she unleashed it in one blast, taking out every single drone, before she fell back on her rear, exhausted.

"_Simulation complete._"

Dazzler breathed a sigh of relief as she heard that. She picked herself up, walking towards the elevator, as the rest of the New Mutants hurried over to her. "Aly, that was _awesome!_" Jubilee exclaimed.

"Girl, your powers _rock!_" Boom-Boom added.

Dazzler smiled. "Thanks!" she replied.

Just then, Superman and the X-Men came down, as well. "You did great, Aly." he said, smiling.

Dazzler smiled. "Thanks, Clark." she replied, glad to have not made a fool of herself.

Cyclops nodded. "Well done, Dazzler." he agreed.

"Your session-score was the highest of _any_ of the New Mutants, so far." Jean added. "Keep this up, and you might make X-Man fairly soon!"

Dazzler was amazed to hear that. "_Really?_"

Superman nodded. "Really."

Just then, Wolverine's voice echoed over the speaker. "_Okay, Diva, you're done for now. Ice-Cube, you're up, next._"

Iceman groaned. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

Superman chuckled. "You'll be fine, Bobby." he said. Suddenly, he froze, listening. "_Uh-oh._ Sorry, guys; I've gotta go – trouble." With that, he bolted off, taking the elevator to the top floor, to fly off from the nearest window.

As their leader left, Alison and the rest of the New Mutants headed back to the control room, leaving Iceman to his session. Once they were back in the control room, Alison asked Jean, "So, what exactly do you have to do to make X-Man?"

"Well, first you have to get a pretty high score in your sessions to even be _considered_." Jean replied. "After that, you have to pass a special Danger Room test-session; the X-Men Qualifying Exam. Pass that, and you're on the team."

"Oh." Dazzler said. "What's the score you have to get to be considered?"

"About 100,000 points." Jean answered.

Dazzler gulped. "And...what did _I_ get?"

"30,000."

Dazzler groaned. "I've still got a long way to go, I see."

"Hey, it's closer than what _we've_ ever gotten." Berzerker said.

"Yeah! Most of us haven't even gotten over 20,000!" Jubilee exclaimed. "30,000 is pretty awesome, Ali!"

Jamie looked sad. "I haven't even gotten 10,000." he muttered.

Alison smiled, and knelt down to her younger teammate. "Hey, I'll bet you'll do it in _no_ time!" she assured him.

"Really?" Jamie smiled. "Thanks, Ali!" His smile grew. "But I probably won't even get _close_ to _Clark's_ score!"

Cyclops laughed at that. "Jamie, so far, none of _us_ have gotten close to Clark's score!"

Nightcrawler laughed, as well. "Hey, vat do you expect from zhe guy who _broke_ zhe Danger Room zhe first time he used it?" he joked.

Gambit chuckled. "Dat story _nev'r_ gets old!" he laughed.

"Huh?" Dazzler asked.

Shadowcat smiled. "Scott and Jean once told us that, the first time Clark used the Danger Room, they had no _idea_ how powerful he really was." she explained. "He kinda...well..._broke_ it! He was just too powerful for the Room to handle!"

Wolverine scowled. "Hey, _you_ try cleaning up after a wreck like that, and see if _you_ find it funny, Half-Pint!"

Spyke chuckled. "Good thing that CK only ever uses – on average – about ten percent of his full power!"

Dazzler smiled as she listened to her new friends...though she felt glum on hearing them talk about Clark.

In the first few days that she'd been here, her friends – mostly Kitty – had regaled her with stories about some of Clark's exploits...and it had really _dawned_ on her.

Her crush was _Superman_.

He'd defused nuclear _reactors_.

He caught _airplanes_.

He'd helped Spider-Man with crime-fighting.

He'd once fixed the _Fantastic Four's_ space-station.

He'd _met_ his childhood hero, Captain America, _and_ helped him save the entire _country_ from a shipment of missiles that could have all-too-easily gotten into terrorist hands.

He'd _saved_ the _world_ from a megalomaniacal mutant with an arsenal of meteors, _after_ getting dosed with deadly radiation from the 'Kryptonite' that the lunatic had – Alison had been _royally_ steamed at that nutcase, after she'd learned what he had wanted Clark to do, and what he'd tried to _do_ to Clark to make him comply.

He was a _superhero_.

And all Alison did was sing.

She couldn't help but be somewhat intimidated; his reputation was nothing less than _amazing_.

And as a result, every time Alison had tried to talk to him, she just _froze_. Even on the occasions that her voice managed to _work_ around him, the most she ever got were basic sentences, like she had when he'd congratulated her.

By the time she'd finished her sad introspection, Iceman's session was done, and so were the morning sessions. With morning training complete, all the students headed back up to their rooms, donning their regular clothes. After they'd changed, most of the students headed to the kitchen, but Alison remained in her room for a few extra minutes...

...working on a uniform of her own.

She'd brought her issues with her uniform irritating her skin to the Professor, who hadn't been able to do anything for her. She'd then suggested that she design her own, and shown him the design she had in mind; one that was functional _and_ stylish.

He'd approved.

And now, it was just about done. '_Thank God that I watched those costume designers in the studios._' Alison thought to herself, with a smile. She quickly made a few adjustments to her uniform, before she hurried off, to get breakfast, before she got a lift with Scott and Jean to school.

_Daily Bugle, New York City_

Standing outside the Daily Bugle's main office, Clark – in his clumsy, nervous, "country boy" persona, his image-inducer active – took a deep breath. After assisting the cargo ship on its way to France, he had come back to get breakfast; by then, the others had gone to school, including Aly.

Clark frowned sadly to himself. Lately, Aly had seemed really shy around him. Maybe it was just taking her a while to get used to Institute life...

...or maybe being around an alien made her nervous, after all.

Focusing on the task at hand, Clark opened the door, walking into the main office. He had taken a few steps when he was greeted by the Editor-In-Chief, Robert "Robbie" Robertson. Robbie was a tall, calm, soft-spoken African-American man, in his forties, with short brown hair, dark eyes, and a white button-up shirt and blue jeans. He was the polar opposite of J. Jonah Jameson, the owner of the paper.

"Hey, Clark! Great to have you back!" Robbie greeted.

Clark smiled. "It's great to be back, Mr. Robertson!"

"Oh, just call me Robbie, son; everyone does!" Robbie assured him.

"Okay." Clark said. "So, when should I go talk to Mr. Jameson?"

"_KENT! Get in here!_"

Robbie chuckled. "Probably right about now." he said, as Clark scrambled to talk to the boss.

Clark quickly zipped into Mr. Jameson's office. "Uh, y-you wanted to see me, sir?"

J. Jonah Jameson – or "JJ" – was in his early fifties, tall, and lean, with short, greying brown hair, brown eyes, and a "Hitler-style" moustache, clad in a white button-up shirt and black pants. "Kent, where the hell have you been?!" JJ barked.

Clark tried his best to look sheepish. "Oh, you know traffic, sir!"

"Kent, if I wanted to hear wisecracks, I'd talk to Parker!" JJ said. "Now, you're only an intern here, so I won't tolerate any monkey-business!"

Clark shook his head. "N-No, _sir!_"

" 'No sir.' That's good. I like that." JJ said, before he handed Clark a stack of paperwork. "Come talk to me when you fill these out, Kent; your desk is around the corner on the right. Welcome to the Daily Bugle." With that, he turned his chair around to look out the window, as Clark took the papers to his desk.

After sitting down in his cubicle-enclosed desk, Clark started to take a look at the papers he'd been stuck with. '_Hmm...nothing too serious._' he thought; he should be able to get through them pretty quickly...but not _too_ quickly, or else he'd make ol' JJ suspicious. Taking out his pen, he began to go through the papers.

After a few hours, Clark had finished; he'd been working at a leisurely pace – which would have been the equivalent pace of a human being hard at work. The papers filled out, Clark piled them into his arms, and headed back to Mr. Jameson's office. "All done, sir!" he reported cheerfully, laying the papers on the owner's desk.

JJ looked up from his work, incredulous. "_Already?_" he asked. His expression turned suspicious. "Let me see those." He took the papers, and started to look through them. After a few minutes, he nodded. "Not bad, kiddo." he admitted, as he handed Clark a sheet of paper. "I think you might be ready for your first bit of field work. I've got a few stories that will need articles written; nothing major, now – something for you to cut your teeth on. You're going to need a photographer, though." Then, he yelled out, "_Parker! PARKER!_"

A few seconds later, 16-year-old Peter Parker, the Bugle's freelance photographer, and one of Clark's pals from his last visit, walked in. Peter was fairly tall, with a lean frame, with short, messy brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans, as well as a brown jacket, his camera looped over his shoulder. "Yes, Mr. Jameson?" he asked.

"From now on, you're partnered with Kent, here, until his internship is done in June." JJ said. "And while you're here, where the _hell_ are those Superman pictures I've been asking you to get?!"

Peter looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, sir; the guy just moves too _fast!_" he said.

"Dammit, Parker, whoever this guy is, he _can't_ stay a myth for much longer! I want the words 'Superman' and 'Daily Bugle' to go together, like...Abbot and Costello! Peanut butter and jelly! Politics and corruption!"

Clark piped up. "I'm not sure if I agree with that last one, sir."

JJ just stared at him. "Son, if you're going to be in this business, you'd better drop that naivete pretty quick."

"Yes, sir." Clark agreed.

"Well, what are you two standing around for? A pat on the back? Get _going!_" JJ barked. At that, Clark and Peter both darted out the door.

Once they'd left, Peter chuckled. "Welcome back, Clark; as you can see, ol' JJ is as scary as ever!" he quipped.

Clark smiled. "I noticed." he said. "So, how have you been, Peter?"

"Oh, pretty good, I guess. Today's a school workshop day, so I got the day off...until JJ got word of it and called me in to work." Peter said.

"Ouch."

"Yeah." Peter agreed. "So, what's on the schedule?"

Clark looked at the paper that Mr. Jameson had given him. "Well, let's see...first, we have to cover the local animal shelter...and then there's a new museum exhibit that opened, today."

"Basic stuff." Peter said. He chuckled. "I guess you can't land an interview with Spider-Man on your first day!"

Clark laughed. "I guess not!" he agreed. "Well, let's get going; no sense in making JJ any madder than he already is!"

Peter grinned. "Oh, yeah, Clark; you're gonna fit right in!" he laughed. With that, they both headed out.

The animal-shelter story didn't take too long to cover, and once Peter had taken a few pictures, they were on their way to the New York Museum. After a few hours of listening to the museum officials talk about the historical significance of the exhibit, and after a few pictures from Peter, Clark had enough to do the articles. "Wow, that didn't take too long." Clark observed, checking his watch; it was almost lunchtime.

"Yeah; these cookie-cutter assignments never take too long if you're any good." Peter said, as he checked his own watch. "Hey, I was going to meet my Aunt and my girlfriend for lunch; you want to tag along?"

"Okay." Clark agreed. "Is your Aunt visiting?"

Peter looked a bit sad at that. "No. My parents died when I was a kid; I've lived with my Aunt May and Uncle Ben, ever since. My Uncle Ben...passed away...fairly recently." he said.

Clark froze. "I'm...I'm so sorry..." he said.

Peter lightly smiled. "Hey, it's okay; you didn't know." he replied. "Anyway, I'm _starving!_ Let's go!" With that, Peter headed off, and Clark followed.

Clark followed Peter to a restaurant, where Peter sat down at a table next to a 16-year-old young woman, around his height, and of slender frame, with long, ruby-red hair and green eyes, wearing a white tank-top, accentuating her curves with perfect modesty, and slim blue jeans. Across from Peter sat an elder lady, in her sixties, her kindly face lightly wrinkled, around Peter's height, and of slim frame, with short, white hair, and blue eyes, wearing simple cream-colored slacks and a blue sweater. She made Clark think of his Ma, except this lady was a bit more frail.

"Hey, MJ." Peter greeted the young woman, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

The girl – "MJ" – smiled, as she cuddled into Peter's embrace. "Hey, Tiger."

"Oh, Clark, this is my girlfriend, Mary-Jane Watson," Peter said, gesturing to the young woman, "and this is my Aunt, May Parker." he gestured to the elder lady. "MJ, Aunt May, this is Clark Kent, the Bugle's new intern, from Bayville University."

"It's nice to meet you both." Clark greeted. He chuckled. "Old JJ stuck Peter with babysitting me for the rest of the year."

May looked sympathetic. "That man can be just _horrible_, sometimes!" she exclaimed.

Peter nodded. "Don't I know it."

"So, Clark, where are you from?" Mary-Jane inquired.

"Smallville, Kansas." Clark replied.

"Goodness! You're certainly far from home!" May said.

Clark smiled. "Oh, I'm only a short flight away." he replied.

"And how _did_ you get stuck working at the Bugle?" Peter asked, grinning.

Clark chuckled. "Well, Pete, the intern positions were to be assigned to the students who scored the highest on a Journalism assignment. I was one of them." he replied. "Lucky me."

Mary-Jane smiled slyly. "So...got a girlfriend?" she asked.

Clark smiled, shaking his head. "Nope. I'm married to my work." he answered. "I've kinda got a job..._other_ than working at the Bugle. It doesn't leave much time for a social life."

"You poor dear." May said.

"Anyone _close?_" Mary-Jane asked.

Clark was about to say no...but he remembered Alison. "Well..._maybe_." he admitted.

Mary-Jane's smile grew. "'Maybe'?"

Peter laughed. "Hey, leave the poor guy alone, MJ!"

"No _way_, Tiger! Now I _have_ to know!" Mary-Jane giggled. "_Well?_"

"Well...I don't know." Clark admitted, sighing. "I think I might like her, but I'm not sure if she likes _me_." His expression saddened, as he remembered how nervous he seemed to make Ali. "I just don't know." Even if Alison _did_ have a crush on him as a child, no-one could hold a torch _that_ long...

..._could_ they?

In a café on a Wall Street corner, Anita, in her usual street outfit, sat sipping cappuccino with her friend. She'd met her here for lunch to talk, leaving herself enough time to teleport back to school. "So, 'licia, can you help me out?"

Felicia Hardy smiled as she sipped her own mocha. "_Sure_, Annie." she replied. Felicia was tall, and curvaceously configured, a 19-year-old head-turner, with long, platinum-blond hair, almost _white_, with hazel eyes, and creamy skin, wearing her favorite silver halter-top and black miniskirt. Felicia was Anita's best friend, and she was an heiress, like herself...and she was the only human that Anita had ever trusted with the secret of her abilities and family.

That was because Felicia had her _own_ secret; she was, in reality, the "Black Cat," a highly talented professional thief.

Felicia smiled her mischievous feline grin. "So, how's old steel-pants doing?"

Anita frowned. "Felicia, you _know_ that I don't like it when you – or _anyone_ – insults Papa."

"Sorry, sorry; couldn't resist!" Felicia relented. "So, what do you need help with?"

"I need to get into the New York Museum." Anita said. "There's something that I need in the new exhibit."

"Why, honey, you're in luck! I was going to drop by there, _tonight!_" Felicia said. "Just tell me, and I'll pick it up, for you!"

Anita shook her head. "Sorry, but I'll have to go _with_ you, Felicia." she said. "What I need is the Stone of Arkanas, in the Ancient Antiquities exhibit. I have to handle it, _myself_. I need to use the proper incantations to activate it, or it won't work."

"Okay." Felicia said. "What does it do?"

Anita smiled. "When activated, it augments the magical abilities of its holder a _thousandfold_." she answered. "With it, my magic will be _infinitely_ stronger...enough to bespell a certain cape-clad _hunk_ I've had my eye on."

Felicia smiled. "_Oh_, so the infamous heartbreaker Anita LeRoux has _finally_ made her choice!" she said. "Who is it?"

Anita smiled, and gestured to the newspaper on the table...pointing to a partial-photo of Superman.

Felicia's eyes widened. "You're _kidding_." she murmured. "He's _real?_"

"As real as Spider-Man is."

Felicia smiled. "_He's_ the guy you're after?" she said. "_Damn_, girl, you _definitely_ know how to aim high! Of _course_ I'll help you out!"

At that, Anita smiled. "Thanks, 'licia." she said. Then, she listened, as her best friend started to outline her plan.

_Bayville High_

As lunch hour came around, Alison sat with her friends, the X-Men, ignoring the soft whispers and murmurs as she passed by other tables.

On her first day at Bayville High, she'd caused quite a ruckus. Between classes, she'd nearly been _swamped_ by other students – her fans – who had wanted autographs. Luckily, her friends had been there to keep things from getting _too_ out-of-hand. Now, things had calmed down, though her presence still created quite a buzz.

The most annoying part _had_ to be the fact that all the school jerks – most notably Pietro – had all-too-often tried to ask her out. Most got the hint after the first time she'd blown them off, but some – including, again, Pietro – didn't seem to get the message.

Like _now_.

Alison sighed to herself as she saw Jean's ex-boyfriend, Duncan Matthews, walk towards her, smirking. "Hey, Alison," he greeted, "I was planning on having a party, tonight, at my place. Want to come?"

"No, thanks." Alison said flatly, as she tried to walk around him.

Duncan darted in front of her. "Aw, come on." he said smoothly. "It'll be a good time, trust me."

Alison frowned. '_What did Jean __**see**__ in this jerk?_' she thought. "Last time I checked, Duncan," she said, "going on dates with little boys was _illegal._" With that, she walked away, heading for her friends' table.

She'd seen _far_ too many guys like Duncan, before; they were arrogant, self-centered, and utterly immature – little boys in grown-up bodies. They just...

...weren't like Clark.

Alison smiled as she sat with her friends. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Alison." Scott greeted, his arm around Jean's shoulders.

Jean smiled. "I heard what you said to Duncan! _Priceless!_" she laughed. "Why didn't _I_ think of something like that when I dumped him?"

Scott chuckled. "Hey, 'lughead' worked pretty well, too, Red."

Alison smiled, before she sighed. "I had a few dates with jerks like him, before." she admitted. "Thankfully, I realized they _were_ jerks before the dates ended."

"Smart move, Aly!" Kitty agreed. "You can do _so_ much better!" She giggled. "Like a certain 'frequent flier'?" she whispered.

Alison lightly blushed. "_Kitty!_" she exclaimed. Then, she noticed something. "Hey, where's Rogue?"

Remy tipped his head towards a table. "De chere be over dere, wit' her new _amie_, Risty." he said. Alison looked to where he'd pointed; sure enough, there was Rogue, sitting next to another Goth-style girl, around her own height and age, with mid-length dark hair with violet streaks, and dark eyes, clad in a light brown tank-top, and black khaki pants.

"Hey, it's good zat Rogue is making friends." Kurt said.

"So, anyone else around here giving you trouble, Dazzle?" Evan asked.

Alison chuckled at the nickname that the rest of her friends often used. "No, nothing major." she replied. Then, she remembered. "Oh, _darn_ it! I forgot my Biology textbook; I left it in the classroom!" She sighed. "I'd better go get it. I'll be right back, guys." With that, Alison got up, and headed for her classroom.

It didn't take Alison long to reach the classroom. She headed in, and found her textbook exactly where she'd left it. She picked it up, and walked out the door...

_CLUNK!_

Something collided head-on with Alison, sending her sprawling. Groaning, Alison gathered her things, as she looked at the culprit...

"_Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!_" the 16-year-old African-American girl cried, utterly horrified. She was a bit shorter than Alison, with long, brown hair, dark eyes, and chocolate-toned skin, clad in a black, shoulder-baring t-shirt, and red jeans. "I-I didn't mean to knock you over, Alison!"

"No, it's okay." Alison assured her. "Accidents happen." Then, she took a closer look at the girl. "Hey, wait a minute..." she said, as she remembered seeing a girl always looking over at their table. "...you're that girl who's always looking at us!"

The girl's face went beet-red. "N-No, I'm not!" she stammered. Alison calmly folded her arms. "Okay, okay!" the girl cried. "I _am!_ The reason I'm always looking at your table is because _Kurt_ always sits with all of you!"

Alison smiled. "You _like_ Kurt!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you _say_ so? I can just introduce you..."

"_No!_" the girl yelped. "W-What if he doesn't like me back?!"

Alison sighed; _she_ had the _exact_ same problem as this girl. "What's your name?"

"Amanda. Amanda Sefton." she replied. Amanda lowered her head. "God, you must think I'm a total _loser_..."

Alison sighed. "No more than _I_ am." she said. "Amanda, _I_ have a crush on a guy, too...and _I_ can't work up the courage to talk to him, _either_."

Amanda looked amazed. "But...but you're _Alison Blaire!_" she exclaimed.

Alison sighed. "I'm still just a regular girl, Amanda...and boys are _just_ as much a mystery to me as any other girl."

Amanda nodded...and then lightly smiled. "Would I know him?"

Alison shook her head. "He doesn't go to this school."

"Is he cute?"

Alison blushed. "Amanda, they'd have to develop a new _word_ to describe how utterly _gorgeous_ he is!" she exclaimed. "Not only that, he's kind, _brilliant_, and a perfect _gentleman!_"

"_Wow..._" Amanda murmured, smiling, "...Alison, what are you _waiting_ for?"

Alison sighed. "I don't know..." she murmured, "...it's just that he does a lot of...charity work..." which was the closest thing that came to describing Clark's 'job' "...and I don't know how I can measure up, after all the good he does..."

"Alison, you are the prettiest, coolest, _nicest_ girl on the _planet!_" Amanda exclaimed. "He'd have to be _nuts_ to not want to go out with you! I bet he _does_!"

Alison smiled. "Thanks, Amanda." she replied. "And I'll bet _Kurt_ wants to go out with you, too."

Now it was Amanda's turn to blush. "Um...Alison?" she asked. "I...I know you probably hear this a lot, but...can I have your autograph?"

Alison smiled. "_Sure._" she said. She took out a pen and paper, and wrote her name on a sheet, and handed the sheet to Amanda.

Amanda smiled. "Thanks!" she exclaimed, and then she hurried off. Smiling, Alison started to walk away, about to turn a corner...

...and stopped as she heard the voices of the Brotherhood. She stayed out of sight, listening.

"...so, what did Siryn want?" Alison heard Todd ask.

"She called to tell us that she found a way to boost her power enough to enchant Super-Dork." Pietro said. Alison's eyes widened in horror as she heard that. Anita LeRoux – Siryn – was the Brotherhood's new leader, and her magic powers were currently a real threat to Superman...though Anita was more interested in making Superman her boy-toy, Alison thought with a frown.

"So, does she want us to come?" Fred asked.

"No; apparently, Little Miss Boss-Around doesn't want us screwing things up." Pietro said. "She's got her own help."

"Hey, fine by me, yo!" Todd declared. "That lady creeps me out! The only thing that could _possibly_ creep me out more is her old man!"

Pietro shuddered. "Hey, can't argue with ya, there, Tolansky." he agreed. "That 'Doom' guy is one scary mother. Be thankful he's over in _Europe_." Then, the Brotherhood walked off.

Alison peered around the corner, making sure they were gone...before she ran towards the cafeteria.

She _had_ to tell her friends what she'd heard.

Peter, Clark, Mary-Jane, and Aunt May had just finished their lunch, paid their bill, and were on their way out when they overheard a radio bulletin.

"_...reports are coming in of a bank robbery having occurred, recently! Police indicate that the criminal known as the Rhino and his gang are responsible; Rhino and his gang are currently making their escape via the inter-city train, and have taken the entire train hostage! The hijacked train is currently heading north..._" Then, the restaurant owner changed radio stations.

Peter glanced to MJ; Mary-Jane nodded, silently agreeing that she'd get Aunt May home while he went after Rhino – he was _so_ glad that she knew about his web-slinging. "Uh...I just remembered – I have to pick up some more film!" Peter said.

"That's fine." Clark said. "I need to take care of a few errands before I head back to the Bugle."

"That's fine, Peter; I can bring Aunt May back home." Mary-Jane said.

"Be careful, Peter." Aunt May said. Peter nodded, and then darted off, as Clark zipped off in another direction.

Peter darted into a dark alley, and shed his street clothes, revealing his Spider-Man suit underneath, before putting on his mask. He gathered up his clothes, and crawled up the wall, before creating a web-pocket on the wall, stashing his clothes in it. Spider-Man then leapt from wall-to-wall, before leaping out into open air, firing a web-line and swinging off, heading north.

Before too long, Spider-Man had sighted the hijacked train, as well as Rhino and his goons. Rhino himself was a _big_ guy, all muscle, wearing a massive armored suit, with a rhinoceros-like horn on its helmet – hence his name. There were five armed thugs in the lead car with him, with the driver held at gunpoint, with three cars of passengers being towed behind.

As he swung near it, Spider-Man fired a web-line at the train, and pulled himself onto the roof of one of the cars. As he did, he heard a sonic boom echoing overhead, seconds before Superman flew down, standing on the roof next to him. "Hey, Big Blue! Nice timing!" Spider-Man quipped.

"Hey, I was just in the neighborhood, and I thought I could lend a hand!" Superman replied, smiling. His expression turned serious. "I saw a switch up ahead, Spider-Man; trigger that, and the train will head into a dead-end. I'll cut these passenger cars loose."

"Got it!" Spider-Man said. With that, he ran to the front of the train, as Superman darted to the end of the car, using his eye-rays to cut through the lock that held the passenger cars to the main car. Once he had, he grabbed the top of the car, staying out of sight, and pushed on the cars, slowing them, and then stopping them.

As he reached the front of the car, Spider-Man watched, as his spider-sense started to get antsy, warning him that the switch was getting closer; it was certainly a handy thing to have. Then, he saw it up ahead, and he took aim, firing a condensed ball of webbing, impacting the switch and triggering it.

Instantly, the track changed, and the train headed into a tunnel, ending up in an old, abandoned station – a dead end, like Superman had said. As the train ground to a halt, Rhino and his goons started piling out. Spider-Man quickly took aim at the few lights hanging above their heads, and coated their bulbs in web, blanketing the area in darkness. As the crooks cursed and strained to see, Spider-Man hopped down and started to take down the goons, disarming and knocking them out. He got one with a foot-sweep and a punch to the face, and took out a second with a flip-kick...and managed to see a blue blur dart to and from the remaining three, snatching their weapons and knocking them out cleanly, sending them flying with only a tap. Spider-Man took that opportunity to check on the driver; he'd passed out, but was otherwise fine.

By then, the Rhino had managed to spy him. "You stupid little wall-crawler!" he roared. "You ain't gonna mess my plans up, _this_ time!" He started to charge at Spider-Man...

...and was sent flying by that same blue blur; Superman slammed into Rhino, sending him sprawling at least forty feet. "_Nice_ one, Big Blue!" Spider-Man crowed.

Slowly, Rhino picked himself up. "What the..?!" he bellowed as he saw Superman. "So da boss was _right!_ You _are_ real!"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "So you've worked for Fisk, before." he muttered. Spider-Man knew who he meant: Wilson "The Kingpin" Fisk, the guy who ran practically _all_ the dirty business in New York, and _then_ some. "But he didn't put you up to this, did he?" Spider-Man remembered that Superman had once actually _confronted_ Fisk, for the purpose of learning what he sounded like, so his super-hearing could pick up his cell-phone calls. From what he'd heard, Fisk was _not_ happy about having all his business dealings wrecked by the Man of Steel, _or_ by the police, from Superman's anonymous tips.

Rhino grinned. "_Nope!_" he said. "All dis is my _own_ plan! But I bet da boss'll be happy when I get rid of da top two on his hit-list!" With that, he charged straight at them.

Spider-Man fired a web-line and zoomed straight up as Superman darted aside, causing the Rhino to get his horn stuck in the wall. "Hear that, Big Blue?" Spider-Man laughed. "You're _official_, now! You've made the big guy's hit-parade!"

Superman chuckled. "So, Little Red, any ideas on how to stop a charging rhino?"

"Well, normally, I'd suggest taking away his credit-card, but I'm betting that this rocket-scientist doesn't even have a _driver's license!_" Spider-Man quipped.

With a loud roar, Rhino broke free, and charged at Superman...who grabbed him by the horn, the momentum of his charge forcing him back a few feet...until he dug in his heels, stopping Rhino in his tracks. "Well, then," Superman said, "I guess we'll have to _improvise!_" With that, he started to spin on his heel, whirling the hapless Rhino around and around, before letting him go, sending him flying, to land hard.

As Rhino started to get up, Spider-Man dropped down, firing a web-shot at him, covering his eyes. Rhino howled in anger, trying to get the webbing off...giving Spider-Man enough time to dart at Rhino, rolling forward into a somersault-kick, knocking the big lug into the air. Superman followed his attack with an aerial haymaker punch, slamming him into the ground, cratering it, knocking him out.

"Well, I guess we'd best clear out." Superman suggested.

"No argument, here!" Spider-Man agreed, and he fired his web-line, swinging back out into open air, as Superman flew out of the tunnel after him.

Spider-Man touched down on a rooftop, as Superman landed silently next to him, both watching as the police quickly rounded up Rhino and his gang. "Well, that's that." Superman said.

"Yep." Spider-Man agreed. "We make a pretty good team, Big Blue."

"That we do." Superman agreed. "So, Little Red, any word on anything else happening?"

"Hmm..." Spider-Man thought, recalling what he'd once heard from some of the small-time crooks he'd busted a while ago "...now that you mention it, word on the street is that something's going down at the museum, tonight."

Superman nodded...and then his belt-buckle started beeping. He quickly unclipped it from his belt, and opened it into a communicator. "Superman here." he said.

"_Superman, it's Cyclops. Alison told us that she overheard the Brotherhood mention that Siryn is planning on stealing something from the New York Museum, tonight._"

"Thanks, Cyclops." Superman replied. "I'll get back to you, on that. Superman out." With that, he shut off the link, folding up the communicator, putting it back on his belt.

Spider-Man arched an eyebrow behind his mask. "Sounds like we're workin' the same case." he said.

Superman nodded. "I'd better get back to my friends; meet us on the roof next to the Museum, tonight. We're going to set up a little stake-out." he said. With that, he took to the air, flying off, and Spider-Man shot out a web-line, swinging off.

Hopefully, he still had enough time to meet MJ.

As the curtain of night fell over the Institute, Alison sat on the edge of her bed in her room. Superman and the X-Men had gone off, to stake out the Museum that Siryn was going to steal something from.

Something that she thought could increase her power enough to enchant Superman.

That was still bugging Alison. '_What could be at that museum that she would want to steal?_' she thought. Alison quickly moved to her computer, and brought up the web page for the New York Museum. She clicked on the link for the new exhibit, acting on a hunch...

'_There's nothing here..._' she thought, '_...nothing that Siryn would want to...wait a minute._'

She clicked on the file for the Stone of Arkanas. "_The Stone of Arkanas, circa 2010 B.C._" the file read. "_Used in arcane rituals, the Stone was rumored to enhance the mystical prowess of its holder over a thousandfold._"

Alison's eyes widened in utter horror. If Siryn got her hands on that Stone...

She _had_ to help.

'_Professor Xavier, tell Storm or Wolverine to get the X-Copter ready! The others are in danger!_' Alison mentally cried. She quickly turned to her new uniform; she'd just finished it, tonight.

She hoped she was up for this.

She grabbed her new uniform, and ran out of her room, to head for the hangar level.

Her friends needed her.

_New York Museum_

Siryn and Black Cat met on the roof of the Museum after night had fallen, next to a large skylight. Siryn had donned her uniform, and Felicia now wore her own costume: a skin-tight black bodysuit, with a plunging v-neckline outlined in white fur, as well as gloves with cat-like claws, and a silver tool-belt, and a mask that covered her eyes, leaving the lower half of her face exposed, and resembling the eyes and ears of a cat.

"Okay, Annie," Black Cat said, "you just 'port yourself in there and shut off the security system, and then I'll just open the skylight and hop in."

"Understood." Siryn agreed. With that, she snapped her fingers, vanishing in a puff of green smoke...and reappeared inside the museum, under the skylight, hovering above the floor. She looked around...and spied the fuse-box for the security system. With a wave of her hand, she sent sparks crackling from her fingertips, shorting it out.

At that, Black Cat opened the skylight and hopped down, landing on her feet. "Well, that was easy!" she said. "But we'd better do this fast, before the night watchman makes his rounds."

Siryn smiled. "No need." she said. Then, she chanted, "_Narculis!_" Her spell sent a wave of violet energy through the museum. "The guard just decided to take a little nap."

Black Cat grinned. "You _are_ handy to have around!" she said. "Let's go!" With that, they both headed for the exhibit.

Superman and the X-Men met up with Spider-Man on the rooftop next to the Museum as planned...and saw the open skylight. "Siryn must already be inside." Superman said. "There's no time to lose!" At that, they ran towards the open skylight, leaping to the Museum rooftop, before descending through the skylight. Superman closed his eyes, listening...

"_Hang on, there, Annie. This thing has its own pressure-sensitive security system. Give me a second..._"

"_This_ way!" Superman said, pointing towards a corridor. "Siryn and her accomplice are fairly close, so stay quiet." With that, they headed down the corridor.

Superman and the others stopped at a balcony overlooking the new exhibit...where Siryn and her accomplice were standing in front of a glass case housing a fairly large, aquamarine stone. "Black Cat." Spider-Man muttered. "Terrific."

"You know her?" Superman asked.

"Yep." Spider-Man replied. "What that 'Siryn' chick is to _you_, Cat is to _me_."

"Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, you two handle Black Cat. The rest of us will handle Siryn." Cyclops instructed.

"_Jawohl!_"

"Okay!"

"Just one second, Chief." Spider-Man said. "Just give me a few seconds before you guys drop in, and I'll get their attention, giving you guys the opening you need to _really_ stick it to 'em."

Gambit arched an eyebrow. "'ow y' gon' do dat?"

Spider-Man grinned under his mask. "The same way I always do – by bugging the _hell_ out of 'em!"

Superman nodded, before he clicked on the Sonic Wave-Neutralizer in his belt. "Go for it, Little Red."

Instantly, Spider-Man shot out a web-line to the ceiling, reeling himself in to stick to the ceiling over Siryn and Black Cat. By then, Black Cat had opened the glass case, switching the stone for a figurine of a black cat. She handed the stone to Siryn...as Spider-Man shot out a web-line, yanking the stone out of her grasp.

Siryn's eyes widened in surprise. "_What?!_"

"Ya know, this thing _really_ doesn't match that outfit of yours." Spider-Man quipped, as he reeled in the stone. "And here I thought that _all_ girls knew about color-coordination. Live and learn."

Black Cat smiled. "Hello, again, Spider." she purred. Frowning, she added, "I'm not interested in playing, this time."

Siryn looked utterly _livid_. "Give that _back_, you miserable insect!" she hissed. "_Raekis Shriker Pyror!_" With that, she sent a bolt of flame at Spider-Man...

...who easily saw it coming with his spider-sense, darting to another spot on the ceiling. "Look, 'Ryn...can I call you 'Ryn?" he asked, before dodging another spell. "Anyway, 'Ryn, technically it's 'arachnid,' not 'insect.' If you're gonna insult somebody, do it _right_." He dodged away from another fire-bolt, and then attached a web-line to the ceiling, lowering himself to stare Siryn in the face. "Has anyone ever told you that you're so _cute_ when you're _stupid?_"

Siryn screeched in fury as Spider-Man darted back up to the ceiling. "_Give me that stone, this __**instant**__!_"

Spider-Man laughed. "And why would I do a thing like _that?_"

Siryn froze. "Wait...if you're resisting my commands...that must mean..."

"Don't worry, Annie; I've got this." Black Cat said. She took a grapnel from her belt, and fired it, starting to pull herself towards Spider-Man...

...and then Superman fired an eye-ray, slicing through the grapnel-line, causing Black Cat to fall flat on her rear, as Spider-Man's wise-cracking distraction had given him and the X-Men time to surround Siryn and Black Cat. Shadowcat quickly zipped over to the fallen thief, and phased her feet into the ground, trapping her.

"Give it up, Siryn." Superman said. "We've got you surrounded _and_ outnumbered."

Siryn smiled at him. "How delightful to see you again, Kal-El." she cooed. Then, she frowned at the X-Men. "Though I would have _preferred_ our meeting to be a _private_ affair."

She smiled slyly. "I'll just have to _fix_ that." she added. She looked to Spider-Man. "_Levitateus!_"

Instantly, the stone floated out of Spider-Man's hands, and into Siryn's, as she began to utter an incantation over it. In seconds, the stone flared to life, glowing bright blue. "_Exilus!_" she snapped, and instantly, before anyone could stop her spell, the X-Men and Spider-Man all vanished.

Superman glared at her. "_What did you do to them?!_" he demanded.

"Oh, don't worry." Siryn cooed. "They're just in a pocket-dimension; they're perfectly safe. I'll bring them back, if you want..."

She smiled flirtatiously. "..._after_, of course, I'm through with you."

By then, Black Cat had recovered. "_Damn_, Anita, I can _see_ why you're hot for him! I mean, me-_yow!_" she exclaimed. Her expression turned sheepish. "So...mind getting my feet unstuck?"

"In a minute, Cat." Siryn said. "Hubby and I have a long-overdue reunion."

Superman's eyes narrowed. "My answer hasn't changed, Siryn."

"Oh, but it _will_." Siryn purred. With that, she conjured a cloud of deep blue mist, which engulfed Superman.

After trying to see through the mist, Superman inhaled, and unleashed his gale-breath...to no avail, as the mist just flowed back around him. Siryn's voice giggled. "_That won't work, this time, Kal-El._" she cooed. "_The Stone of Arkanas makes my powers strong enough to hold you, here._" Then, a Siryn-phantom appeared before him, wrapping herself around him, nuzzling her head into his chest. "_And there's no __**way**__ I'm letting you go, this time._"

Superman shook off the phantom, but his head was getting fuzzy, as if his brain had been packed with cotton; Siryn's magic _was_ stronger. "Release my friends, Siryn." he demanded. "Holding them isn't going to change my mind."

Siryn laughed, as another phantom embraced him. "_Oh, my darling Kal-El, I'd be happy to free them...once you accept me, my love._" her voice purred. "_Why do you resist me? Am I so repulsive to you? Do you not find me attractive?_"

Superman shook her off, trying to clear his head. "Beauty is only skin-deep, Siryn." he said, getting drowsy. "I can see what you _really_ are."

Siryn was as much a monster as her father. She was after his very _soul_.

And her spell was making it harder to resist.

"_Kal-El, I don't __**have**__ to be what you think I am._" Siryn pouted, her phantom whispering into his ear. "_You have no __**idea**__ what I can do for you, my beloved. With me beside you, there will be __**nothing**__ that we cannot do. You can rule the entire world; you are a living __**god**__, my darling. With you leading them, the mutant race will take its rightful place as the new dominant people of this planet. And with you leading them, they can be whatever you wish: peaceful, wise, caring...all the things that __**you**__ are._" Her voice was soft, teasing. "_And at the end of every day, you can return to a wife who will love you __**forever**__._"

Superman gritted his teeth, gathering every ounce of his willpower to shake off the phantom. "Siryn, you don't know the _meaning_ of the word." he said. Siryn cared for nothing but _herself_.

But her words were so easy to believe; they had such _power_...

Then, Superman thought he could hear helicopter blades over the Museum...and then another set of footsteps approaching...

Siryn's voice giggled. "_Kal-El, you cannot resist me._" she cooed, as yet another phantom appeared before him, her hands gliding across his face. "_I can give you the __**world**__...and all I want in return...is __**you**__..._" With that, she started to lean towards him, to kiss him...and Superman's willpower was at its limits. He didn't know if he could resist much longer...

Suddenly, a blinding flash of light blazed through the mist, startling Siryn and disrupting her spell.

"You heard him, witch. _Beat_ it."

That voice was a sharp contrast to Siryn's devilish whispers and promises – a command issued directly from Heaven's gates. Superman looked away from a now-solid Siryn, still holding the stone, who was trying to kiss him, to see..."_Dazzler?_"

Alison smiled, looking just as angelic as she sounded. "Sorry I'm late." she cooed. She was now in a different uniform than the one she'd used in training. This uniform was made of a bright white, almost silvery material. It consisted of skin-tight silvery pants, with built-in boots similar to those of her previous uniform, as well as an upper-part with the center section missing, revealing the middle of her flat, perfectly trim abdomen, and partially exposing the sides of her curves. Her shoulders were left bare, with a "collar" of silvery material around her neck, as the upper part of her uniform completely covered her back, and wrapped around her front, with its zipper running down her back. Around her waist was a silvery belt, with a silver X-crest on the buckle...and it looked like an MP3 player had been built into the buckle, the ear-phones built into the suit itself, as they rested in her ears, held there securely by the ear-holders that had been built in. She also wore long, silvery gloves, ending at her upper arm and completely covering her hands, with a light-purple stone built into them over the backs of her hands. Her skin was lightly sparkling.

Superman tried to fight off the spell, to warn Dazzler of how powerful Siryn was. He had to help her...

Dazzler took a deep breath as a very angry Siryn glared at her. "How _dare_ you?!" she screeched. "You just mind your own _business_, wench!"

Dazzler laughed. "_I'm_ a wench?" she shot back. "Look who's talking, Little Miss Can't-Take-A-Hint! He said _no_, so _get__** lost**__!_"

Siryn's eyes narrowed in fury. "_Raekis Shriker Glacis!_" she hissed, casting ice at her...but Dazzler just turned up the volume on her music, and generated a hard-light barrier, easily repelling the spell.

It looked like Superman was starting to shake off the spell, but she had to get the Stone away from Siryn.

As Siryn readied another spell, Dazzler dropped her barrier, running behind a stone column...and then ran back out. Shrieking in utter fury, Siryn let it fly, striking Dazzler...and causing her to fizzle into nothingness.

Siryn was startled; that wasn't supposed to happen. "What..?"

"They're called _holograms_, Einstein!" the real Dazzler laughed, as she ran out from the _other_ side of the column, firing an energy-beam that sent Siryn flying, and sending the Stone skittering across the floor...

The instant it left her hand, Superman came to his senses...

"_Levitateus!_" Siryn screeched, recovering the stone...causing Superman to become dazed, again, though he was clearly starting to recover. Siryn glared at her opponent...only to find _seven_ Dazzlers in front of her. Then, the Dazzlers started to run at her.

Siryn blasted one Dazzler with a fire-spell; only a hologram. She took out another two with a wall of ice; likewise, only holograms. She got _another_ two with a wave of lightning; both fake. The last two were too close; she could only get one...so she blasted the one on the left with fire.

"_Wrong choice!_" the real Dazzler yelled, as she wound up and punched Siryn in the face.

_CRACKLE-ZAP!_

Dazzler's punch unleashed a massive electric charge, sending Siryn flying, though she still held onto the Stone...but her hair was frizzed something _awful_. Dazzler smiled. "Ever hear of the piezoelectric effect, LeRoux?" she asked. "It's just simple physics. A quartz stone," she pointed to the stone in her glove, "plus sonic vibrations...equals you _getting knocked flat on your ass!_"

Siryn was utterly _furious_. She stood up, took a deep breath...and unleashed the deadliest sonic-scream that she'd _ever_ let loose. The scream's force sent Dazzler flying back a good fifty feet. "Kal-El is _mine_, you little _twit!_" Siryn screamed, walking over to finish Dazzler off...

...but she stopped, as Dazzler stood up, her natural sparkling now a radiant _glow_. "That was really, really _stupid_, LeRoux." Dazzler said. "Don't you _remember_ how my power _works?_"

Siryn's eyes widened in utter horror, as she realized what she'd just done...

Dazzler unleashed a flare of light brighter than a _supernova_, in a blast that sent Siryn flying over _seventy_ feet, sending the Stone skittering away. Siryn ran towards it, trying to grab it...

...and then a recovered Superman picked it up. Siryn froze as he glared at her. "I think," Superman said firmly, "that this thing has caused _enough_ trouble." With that, he clapped it between his hands, reducing it to nothing but dust.

"_**NOOOOOOO!**_" Siryn screamed.

Instantly, the X-Men and Spider-Man reappeared. "Wha...what happened?" Avalanche said.

"I think we just took a trip to the Twilight Zone." Spider-Man groaned.

Siryn looked at Superman...before she smiled. "This is but a minor setback, Kal-El." she cooed. "I _will_ have you."

Then, she glared at Dazzler. "And as for _you_, you little wench...I will _not_ forget this!" she hissed. With that, she snapped her fingers, vanishing in a cloud of green haze.

Superman sighed. "They _never_ forget." he groaned.

Dazzler giggled. "That chick has a _serious_ problem."

By then, the other X-Men noticed Dazzler. "_Aly?!_" Shadowcat exclaimed.

Dazzler smiled. "I thought you guys could use some backup." she said. "I figured that Siryn was after the Stone of Arkanas...but I didn't get here in time to warn you."

Cyclops smiled. "Thanks for your help, Alison." he said. "Well, at least we can ask Black Cat about what Siryn told her about her plans."

Spider-Man looked to where Black Cat had been trapped...and groaned. "Don't be too sure, guys." he said, as he gestured to the empty pair of boots stuck in the floor. "Cat's a shifty lady; I can't even _tell_ you how many times she's gotten away from me."

Superman nodded. "You'll catch her, eventually, Little Red."

By then, Kitty had taken notice of Dazzler's new uniform. "Oh my gosh, Aly, I absolutely _love_ your uniform!"

Alison smiled. "Thanks; I made it myself." she said. "The material is supposed to conduct sound more easily. My MP3 player is built into the belt, and my gloves have quartz stones in them."

Superman smiled. "The piezoelectric effect...Aly, that's _brilliant!_"

Dazzler smiled, lightly blushing. "Thanks." she murmured.

"We'd better get out of here, before the police arrive." Cyclops said.

"Good idea." Superman agreed, and they all headed back to the skylight. Jean simply levitated herself and Scott out of the museum, as Spider-Man created a web-rope, enabling himself and others to simply climb out.

Shadowcat chuckled as she walked towards the robe, next to Rogue. "So, Rogue, has your opinion about Aly changed? Do you still think she's a 'run-of-the-mill, curvaceous, blond, leggy, diva'?"

Dazzler arched an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked, smiling. "You think that about me?"

"Yep." Rogue said, grinning. "Except _now_ Ah think ye're a curvaceous, blond, leggy diva with _attitude_. Ye're gonna be just _fahne_."

Dazzler smiled. "Thanks...I _think_." she replied.

By then, the others, except Superman, had climbed out. Shadowcat and Rogue started to climb out, and Dazzler was about to follow...when Superman stepped in front of her. "That's okay, Ali." he said, smiling. "I'll help." He held out his hand.

Dazzler paused, as she felt her face start to heat up. "O-Okay." she said, as she took his hand. As she did, Superman began to float upwards, taking her with him; in seconds, they had touched down on the rooftop, where Storm was waiting in the X-Copter, the stealth helicopter that the X-Men sometimes used.

Superman turned to Spider-Man. "Thanks for the assist, Spider-Man." he said, extending his hand.

Spider-Man shook his hand. "Any time, Big Blue!" he replied. "Later, guys!" With that, he leapt out into open air, firing a web line, and swinging off. Then, Dazzler and the X-Men started to make their way back down to the X-Van parked in an alley, as Storm took off in the X-Copter and Superman took to the sky.

Soon, the X-Van had pulled into the Institute's driveway, where Superman was waiting. As the X-Men headed into the Institute, Dazzler was about to follow them...

"Aly?"

Alison stopped, turning to Superman. "Yes, Clark?" she asked.

Superman looked concerned. "Aly, ever since you came here...we haven't talked much." he said. "Every time we try to talk..."

"I...I know, Clark." Alison replied.

Superman's expression turned sad. "Aly...are you afraid of me?" he whispered. "Because I'm...not from around here..?"

Alison's eyes widened. "Am I...oh, _no_, Clark! Oh, _God_, no!" she cried. "I'm not _scared_ of you, Clark." She lowered her eyes. "I'm just...a little intimidated."

Superman looked confused. "_Why?_"

"Because of what you do!" Alison cried. "Clark, you do so many amazing things! You catch airplanes! You've patched sinking boats! Clark, you even saved the _world!_ Everything you do is just _incredible!_" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "How can I possibly measure up to that?" she murmured. "How can I be your friend like before...when you're so high above everyone else?"

Superman's eyes widened. "Aly..." he said softly, "...I'm not any better or worse than _anyone_, here. We each have our own unique gifts." He smiled. "Mine just happen to come from the fact that my Kryptonian physiology lets me absorb solar power." His smile grew. "Alison, yours come from your _voice_; your songs touch people's lives all over the world, in ways that I can't. That's _amazing_, Aly."

Alison smiled. "Really?"

Superman nodded. "_No-one_ ever has to be afraid or intimidated by me..." he said, "..._especially_ not you, Aly."

Alison could feel her face starting to get rosy at that. "Thanks, Clark." she said. "I've just...never been friends with a superhero, before."

Superman smiled. "Well, if it helps any, _I've_ never been friends with a pop-star, before."

Alison giggled at that. She smiled mischievously. "So, Clarkie...ever used those eyes of yours to peek into the girls' locker room?"

Superman's face went red. "_Never!_" he cried.

Alison laughed. "I'm sorry! I'm only teasing!" she said. "I know you'd never do anything like that, Clark."

Clark chuckled. "Good." he said. Then, he froze. "_Uh-oh._"

Alison giggled. "Duty calls, I guess."

Superman smiled. "Tell the others that I'll be a little late, okay, Aly?" he asked, and Alison nodded. With that, Superman took to the sky, flying off at top speed, a sonic boom echoing in his wake.

Alison smiled as Superman flew off. '_I hope we can be more than friends, Clark._' she thought. Then, she headed inside.

Siryn was _not_ in a good mood after she'd 'ported herself back to her hotel room. '_How did that little wench ever get the best of me?_' she mentally fumed.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"_It has come to my understanding that there was a debacle at the Museum, just now._"

Anita froze. "Papa...I can explain..."

"_You attempted to obtain the Stone of Arkanas._" he father said. "_Anita...why did you not consult with me in this matter? There were easier ways to obtain it._"

Anita lowered her head in shame. "I...I thought I could handle it, myself, Father." she said.

"_Anita, my child, there is no shame in utilizing all the resources available to you._" her father chastised. "_That was foolishness._"

Anita lowered her head. "Yes, Father."

"_Though even the greatest must experience failure, my child, there must still be consequences._" her father continued. "_For the remainder of this month, your shopping privileges are revoked._"

At that, her credit cards floated out of her purse and vanished. Anita lightly gasped, before she went silent.

Her father heard her. "_You will accept your punishment and you will learn something from it._" he said sternly.

Anita nodded dutifully. "Yes, Father."

"_Anita, my dear, I believe that you are going about this the wrong way; trying to enchant Kal-El as if he were like any other man simply will not work._" her Papa said. "_Instead, you should appeal to his virtues; convince him that he can do more allied with you than he can alone._"

"I understand, Papa." Anita replied.

"_I know, my dear. Good-bye._"

"Good-bye, Papa." Anita said, as she hung up. '_Kal-El, you will find that I do not give up, easily._' she thought with a smile. Then, her eyes narrowed. '_And __**you**__, Alison Blaire, will regret __**ever**__ crossing me!_'

_Coming Soon:_

_When the adults are away, the kids will play…_

_As an emergency calls the Professor and the instructors away, the X-Kids decide to have a party._

_But will an uninvited guest spell trouble for our heroes?_

_And one of the DC universe's most famous – or infamous – characters makes his Evolution debut._

_Be there when it happens, in "Friends Indeed," coming soon to your computer… _


	9. Friends Indeed

CHAPTER EIGHT: FRIENDS INDEED

_Xavier Institute, October 25, 2007_

It was early Friday morning at the Institute, the sun not yet risen, its faint orange glow only starting to appear at the edges of the horizon. No human being with any sense would be up at this hour.

'_Which makes it the perfect time for training in the Scott Summers universe._' Dazzler thought, smiling. She and the rest of the New Mutants, all in uniform, were in the control room, with the exception of their leader, with the X-Men present, as well as Wolverine and Storm. Their own training drills were complete, and Superman was currently running his own training session, with the X-Men set to go next.

Dazzler had to smile as she watched Clark, flying through the holographic city; his every movement was perfect, utterly precise. He was absolutely _amazing_...

Dazzler lowered her face, to conceal her blush. She had it _bad_ for him.

A few feet away, Cannonball said to Sunspot, "Twenty bucks says he finishes in fahve minutes or less."

Sunspot grinned. "You're on."

Next to her, Jubilee chuckled. "What is it with guys and betting?"

Dazzler shrugged. "Beats me." she said, her gaze never leaving Superman.

Boom-Boom grinned. "Watching your man in action?"

Dazzler blushed fiercely. "W-We're just friends, Tabby." she said. She smiled. "Very _good_ friends." The past week had been better for her and Clark; they both exchanged banter similar to the kind they had as children, but now it had blossomed into a playful flirtation, which both she and Clark enjoyed _immensely_.

She hoped it was the start of something _more_.

Jubilee giggled. "Oh, come _on_, Aly! It's so _obvious_ that you both like each other!" she exclaimed.

Dazzler smiled. "Clarkie and I are just getting to know each other, again."

Boom-Boom smiled, arching an eyebrow. "'_Clarkie_'?" she repeated.

"Hey, I think Clark's gonna set a new high score!" Multiple exclaimed. Dazzler had to smile; Jamie's hero-worship of Clark was just so cute.

Dazzler turned to look back to Superman, just as he rescued a child from drowning in the ocean, depositing him back on the beach with his parents, before returning to the sky...and just dodging the laser-blast of a giant robot that had just appeared, stomping through the city.

Shadowcat frowned, looking at Nightcrawler. "_Kurt_..!"

"Hey, it vasn't me, zhis time!" Nightcrawler protested.

Wolverine grinned. "Sorry, Half-Pint, but the Elf's clean on this one. I figured I'd keep that thing in the program after the first time Elf put it in; just to keep Flyboy on his toes."

Dazzler looked nervous as the massive machine swiped at Superman...who effortlessly evaded its punches, and then fired a surgically precise eye-ray into its torso; the robot locked up as if it had just had a fatal heart-attack, sagging, becoming motionless.

"_Simulation complete._"

"He did it!" Multiple exclaimed.

Cyclops smiled, shaking his head. "Clark never ceases to amaze." he said.

Dazzler could only smile, as Superman headed up to the control room.

He really amazed her.

Superman smiled to himself as he entered the control room, still exhilarated from his training session. He lightly smiled to Wolverine. "Giant robots _again?_" he quipped.

"Hey, ya need to expect the unexpected, Flyboy!" Wolverine replied.

Superman chuckled. "Well, okay..." he laughed, "...but when are we going to see _giant robots_ stomping through New York?"

"Clark, that was _awesome!_" Multiple exclaimed. "You set a new record!"

Superman smiled. "Thanks, Jamie." he said.

Cannonball grinned, turning to Sunspot. "Pay up!"

Sunspot scowled. "_Jeez_, Clark, you couldn't have just taken a few seconds to beat up that robot?" he muttered.

Jubilee laughed. "Hey, it serves you right for betting!" she teased.

Dazzler giggled. "Not to _mention_ for betting against Clark."

Superman smiled at Alison, his mood instantly lightening at the sight of her. "Thanks, Aly."

Iceman chuckled. "Alison's right; never bet against the guy in blue!"

Magma arched an eyebrow. "Hey, why do Clark and Alison get their own uniforms?" she inquired. "Can't we have our own, too?"

Superman half-smiled. "Well, to be fair, I made my uniform myself, and Alison did the same for hers." he said. "I suppose you can have your own uniforms...provided you make them yourselves."

None of the New Mutants said anything.

Dazzler giggled. "Nice save." she said. She smiled mischievously. "You came up with your uniform yourself? Not bad!"

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Actually, this is a variant of the uniform of the Kryptonian Defense Force." he admitted.

Alison smiled. "Oh. Of _course!_" she said. "I...didn't really base my new uniform on anything like that. I just...thought it looked cool!"

Superman smiled. "Well, it _does_." he agreed. The silvery-white uniform suited Dazzler _perfectly_, especially when she used her powers, and it hugged her slim figure perfectly. "You look...really pretty, Aly." he said softly.

Alison smiled, her lovely face going rosy. "_T-Thank you!_" she said.

Superman could only smile. Things between them had been going much better...enough for him to realize that there might be something more to their friendship.

Suddenly, Dazzler – along with everyone else – paused. Superman was confused...and then he understood. "Professor Xavier wants to see us." he stated. His immunity to the X-Gene prevented him from hearing their mentor's telepathic summons.

Wolverine nodded in confirmation. "Let's go, Flyboy. You and Diva can flirt _later_." With that, they all headed to the Professor's office, as Superman and Dazzler tried to control their blushing...and then, as they passed, Superman noticed a dazed-looking Berzerker staring at Dazzler's rear.

"_Ray!_" Superman barked; instantly, Berzerker froze, looking nervous, before he followed the rest of them.

The Professor met them all outside his office...and his expression was grave. "Students," he said, "I'm afraid that the other instructors and I have to go away for a few days."

"Why, Professor?" Scott inquired.

"I just received a call from General Fury." the Professor answered.

Iceman arched an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Brigadier General Nicholas Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D." Wolverine said.

Dazzler looked confused. "'S.H.I.E.L.D.'?" she said. "I've never heard of it..."

"And that's the way they like it, Alison." Superman explained. "S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for 'Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate'. It's a highly classified, top-secret organization dedicated to keeping the peace around the world. Captain America and the Avengers are part of it."

"So, Chuck, what's old Iron Pants want?" Wolverine asked.

The Professor looked worried. "There's been a problem with Cain's containment-tank."

The X-Men gasped. "_Juggernaut's_ loose?!" Jean cried.

"No, no; the security personnel caught it in time." the Professor assured them. "However, to repair the damage, they need to completely take the containment system off-line...meaning that, for thirty seconds, Cain will be conscious."

"So they need you to keep him out." Wolverine said.

The Professor nodded. "We will be out of touch for a few days, so Scott and Jean are in charge in our absence, understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good." the Professor said, smiling. "Now, I suggest you all get ready; morning sessions are concluded." With that, the Institute students dispersed, to get ready for breakfast.

After donning his school-clothes, which he also wore to work at the Bugle, Clark walked out of his room, heading for the kitchen...

"So, when y' gon' ask de _fille_ out?"

Clark stopped to turn to Remy; his roommate was calmly leaning against the wall next to the stairs, absently shuffling his deck of cards. Clark chuckled. "And since when is my personal life of pressing concern to anyone, Remy?"

Remy shrugged. "Prob'ly since dere's a bettin' pool wit' de others on when y' gon' ask Mademoiselle Blaire out." he said. "For Remy, though, he's just curious 'bout what' de holdup is. Y' like her, and she _definit'ly_ likes y'; what y' waitin' for?"

Clark arched an eyebrow, smiling. "Why do you think she likes me?"

Remy simply gave him a look that said, '_I'm __**not**__ stupid, you know._' "For de moment, Remy ain' gon' mention de fact dat y' _both_ been flirtin' wit' each other for de past week, _or_ de fact dat de _femme_ been makin' moon-eyes at y' for de week 'fore _dat_. All Remy gon' mention is de fact dat de day y' both _met_, she gave y' her _cell-phone number_." he said. "What y' need, _homme?_ An engrav'd _invitation?_ Y' like de _femme_, don' y'?"

Remy's words made Clark stop and think; he _did_ like Alison – she was smart, nice, funny, and fun to be around and talk to. She always managed to lift his spirit, just by being there.

And that wasn't even _mentioning_ how breathtaking she was.

Clark arched an eyebrow. "You picked _today_ in that betting pool, didn't you?"

Remy grinned. "Maybe, maybe not, but dat's not de important t'ing, _mon ami_." he said. "De important t'ing is dat y' _ask her out_. Trust Remy; he knows dese t'ings." Chuckling, he added, "If Remy jus' _happens_ t' get some extra cash 'cause he helped y', dat's jus' a bonus, den!"

Clark chuckled. "Naturally."

"Clark?"

Remy's grin grew. "What did Remy tell y'?" he said, before he walked off.

Clark smiled as Alison, in her street clothes, walked up to him, smiling. "Hey, Aly." Clark greeted.

"Hey." Alison replied. "What were you and Remy talking about?"

Clark chuckled. "Oh...just guy stuff."

"Okay." Alison said, smiling. "So, what's on your schedule, today? Usually, you're off saving the day, by now!"

Clark chuckled. "I know; today must be a slow day...which is the best kind of day, in this business!" he quipped.

Alison giggled. "Yeah, I guess you're right!" she agreed.

"Anyway, I just have to go into the Bugle today; another day of listening to old JJ." Clark sighed.

Alison looked sympathetic. "I hear that guy's an absolute _jerk_." she said.

"Yeah...that moustache isn't the _only_ thing 'Hitler-esque' about him."

Alison lightly smiled. "I know you can handle it." she said softly, lightly blushing. "There's _nothing_ you can't do, Clark."

Clark felt his face starting to redden. "Thanks, Aly."

Alison's blush grew, her lovely face rosy. "I just...wanted to thank you for this morning, for sticking up for me." she said. "You know, when Ray was staring."

Clark nodded, frowning as he remembered Ray's antics...as well as the fact that he'd caught the other male New Mutants staring at her, several other times. "It's no problem, Aly." he said. "Ray and the other boys need to remember to check their hormones at the door."

Alison giggled. "As much as I'm not fussy about being stared at, I guess they _are_ teenage boys." she chuckled. "Girls are on their minds pretty much 100 percent of the time. I suppose I shouldn't be _entirely_ surprised."

Clark shook his head. "That's no excuse, Alison. You are a member of the team, and you deserve their respect." he said. "You're smart, funny, and nice, and I don't think that all your qualities should be ignored simply because you're beautiful!"

Alison froze. "You...think I'm beautiful?"

Clark didn't move. '_Oh, could I have __**sounded**__ any dumber?_' he thought. "I...I'm so sorry, Aly...I didn't mean to offend you..."

"Oh, _no!_" Alison said, her rosy tint returning. "It's just...I didn't know you really thought I was _beautiful_, Clark...let _alone_ those other things, too..."

Clark smiled. "How can you _doubt_ it?"

Alison smiled radiantly. "You're so sweet, Clarkie." she cooed. "Thank you!"

That smile alone could have erased any sadness that Clark might have felt later in the day. He took a deep breath, fighting his own anxiety. "Aly...I just wanted to ask you something..."

Just then, Alison's cell-phone started ringing. Alison took it out, and opened it. "Hello?" she asked. She smiled. "Hi, Aunt Bridget!" Her expression fell. "They want to do the recording _today?!_" she cried. "The whole CD?!" She sighed. "Okay. I'll meet you in an hour. Bye." She hung up. "That was Aunt Bridget; my CD recording has been moved to _today_, and they want to get _all_ the songs for the CD recorded today; I'll be there all day, and I probably won't get back until _tomorrow_." she sighed.

"Oh." Clark said.

Alison smiled weakly. "That means I have to go soon; Aunt Bridget is picking me up." she added. "So...what did you want to ask me?"

Clark froze. "Uh...well...it can probably wait until after your recording, when you have more time." he said. "I...I don't want to distract you; I'll ask tomorrow."

"Okay." Alison said, smiling. "I'd better get ready; I have to ask the others if they'll get my notes for the classes I'll miss, today."

Just then, Clark's hearing picked up a transmission on the emergency channel. "And it looks like I spoke too soon about today being slow; there's an airplane in distress over India." he said.

Alison smiled. "Duty calls." she cooed. "Good luck, Clarkie."

Clark smiled. "You, too, Aly." he replied, before he bolted off, shedding his disguise and revealing his uniform underneath, before opening a window and flying off at top speed, a sonic boom echoing after him.

As he flew, Superman sighed. '_I can catch airplanes, save sinking ships, and blast meteors as they fall...but I can't ask Alison out._'

_Bayville High_

As the class bell rang, Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, and Evan headed for class. They were about to head in, when a girl, around Rogue's age and height, with mid-length hair dyed purple, clad in a light brown tank-top and black khaki pants. Rogue smiled. "Hey, Risty."

"Hey, girl." Risty replied, in a light British accent. "Are these your friends?"

"Yeah." Rogue said. "Everyone, this is Risty Wilde. Ris', these are mah friends, Kitty, Kurt, and Evan."

"Hi! It's nice to meet you!" Kitty said.

"Thanks!" Risty replied, smiling. "So, what are you all up to, this weekend?"

"Not much." Evan said.

Risty sighed. "Shame there aren't any parties on the go."

Kurt grinned. "Guys...are you thinking vat I'm thinking?"

Kitty grinned. "The Professor wouldn't mind us throwing just a _little_ party, right?"

Rogue snorted. "Reality check, people." she said. "Scott and Jean will _never_ agree to it, and neither will You-Know-Who!"

"Agree to what?" Lance asked, as he walked up.

"We were thinking about throwing a party tonight, but Scott and Jean will _never_ agree." Kitty said.

Lance grinned. "A party sounds fun." he said. "So we'll just need to keep Fearless and Red _occupied_." His grin became sly. "And I have the _perfect_ idea..." With that, he let the others in on his idea.

As the afternoon class bell rang, Scott was about to head to his last class of the day. Jean had to stay late for soccer practice, and she'd told him that she'd just get a lift home with Taryn.

Thinking of her instantly brought a smile to Scott's face. Their relationship, though fairly new, was going well. They'd been on quite a few dates, now, and Scott couldn't remember ever being this happy. And recently, a question was starting to pop up frequently in his mind.

'_Do I...love her?_'

He'd been wondering about that for the longest time, now. Jean made his heart soar, made his mood instantly lighten with just a smile...and he wanted to be with her _forever_...

Scott smiled to himself. '_Well, that answers that question._' he thought. '_But...how do I tell her?_'

"Hey, Scott!"

Scott turned as Kurt ran up to him. "Jean said that she wanted to meet you up at zhe cliff on the vest side of town, zhe one zat overlooks all of Bayville." he said.

Scott smiled. '_Ask, and ye shall receive._' he thought; it was a _perfect_ opportunity to tell his girlfriend how he felt about her. "Thanks, Kurt." he replied. Then, they both headed to their respective classes.

_Daily Bugle, New York_

"_KENT! PARKER! GET IN HERE!_"

Clark and Peter both groaned in exasperation at their boss' demand. After Clark had arrived, he'd had paperwork to do, since Peter was still in school. Once school had let out, Peter had dropped by just as Clark was finishing his break...just in time to catch JJ's bellows.

Clark and Peter promptly hurried into the boss' office. "Yes, Mr. Jameson?" Clark asked.

JJ scowled. "How'd you do it, Kent?!" he demanded.

Clark blinked. "Do what, sir?"

"I just got a call from the New York LexCorp Headquarters." JJ snapped. "Kent, why the _hell_ didn't you tell me you _knew_ Lex Luthor?! Do you know how _long_ we've tried to get an interview with him?! How long _any_ newspaper has?!"

"Whoa! Clark, you _know_ Lex Luthor?!" Peter exclaimed. "He's practically the richest guy on the _planet!_"

"Well...we were friends since back when we were kids." Clark admitted. "But we haven't seen each other for five years."

"Well, Kent, it looks like your 'old pal' decided to look you up!" JJ said. "He just called here _personally_ and requested an interview...but _only_ if _you_ did it!"

Clark froze. "How did he know I was here?" he exclaimed.

"Kent, the guy's filthy stinkin' rich! He can look _anybody_ up! Hell, he probably can look up _Superman's_ real name and address!" JJ said. "Now, I want you and Parker to get your asses down to LexCorp HQ, and get that interview! And, for God's sake, _don't blow it!_" He paused. "Why are you both still here?! _Move_ it!" At that, Clark and Peter quickly darted out of their boss' office, headed out of the building, and caught a taxi to LexCorp HQ.

Within twenty minutes, Clark and Peter had arrived at the massive Headquarters of LexCorp New York; it was an immensely tall building, second only to the Empire State Building, with the stylized 'LC' insignia on the front. "So, Clark," Peter asked, as they both walked into the impressive building, which was just as awe-inspiring on the inside as it was outside, "just _how_ do you know the richest guy since Bill Gates?"

"Well, it's just like I said, Pete; we were pals since childhood, back in Smallville." Clark replied. "I honestly didn't think Lex would remember me, let alone look me up." He was curious as to why his old friend wanted to see him, all of a sudden.

By then, they were in front of the receptionist's desk. "Clark Kent and Peter Parker, Daily Bugle." Clark said.

"Oh, yes! Mr. Luthor's been expecting you!" the receptionist – a young woman in her twenties – replied. She flipped on the PA. "Mr. Luthor, sir? The reporters are here to see you!"

"_Thank you, Mercy. Send them up._"

The receptionist – Mercy – gestured towards the elevator. "Go right up!" she said, smiling. "It's the top floor!"

"Thanks." Clark said, as he and Peter entered the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor, letting the elevator take them there. As they got out, Clark saw that they were standing before a large, ornate glass door. Clark opened it, and they both headed in.

The office before them was large, and spacious, with a fine desk at the back, in front of the large window looking over the rest of the city. And there, looking out through that window, was Alexander "Lex" Luthor. Lex, 20, was fairly tall, though not as tall as Clark, and of a lean frame, with bright green eyes, clad in a casual black suit. His head was completely bald.

As a child, Lex had suffered from a very rare form of cancer; the treatment that the doctors had used to treat it had left the young son of Lionel Luthor completely bald and terribly frail for years after. Clark was glad to see that his old friend looked well, although the baldness was likely to be permanent.

Upon hearing them, Lex turned around, his expression neutral. "So...you're back, Clark."

Clark lightly smiled. "It's...good to see you again, Lex." he greeted.

Lex scowled. "Buster, you've got a lot of nerve, disappearing for five years and then just showing up in New York like nothing happened!" he snapped.

Clark froze, shocked that his old pal would say such a thing. Lex just glared at him...

...and then, he just burst out laughing.

"Oh, _man_, Clark, the _look_ on your face! _Priceless!_" Lex laughed.

Clark smiled. "Same old Lex!" he laughed. "You haven't changed a _bit!_"

"Hey, come here, you old Boy Scout! It's _great_ to see you!" Lex exclaimed, as he walked over, and the two old friends hugged.

"It's great to see you, too, Lex!" Clark replied. "How've you been?"

"_Me?_ How've _you_ been?" Lex laughed, their hug ending. "Where did you _go?_ You just dropped off the face of the planet, Clark!"

Clark shrugged. "I had...things...to take care of."

"Ah. Say no more." Lex said.

Clark then gestured to Peter. "Oh, sorry. Lex, this is my partner at the Bugle, Peter Parker. Pete, this is my old pal, Lex Luthor."

Lex smiled. "Nice to meet you, Peter." he greeted, extending his hand.

"L-Likewise, Mr. Luthor." Peter stammered.

Lex chuckled. "Peter, my _father_ was 'Mr. Luthor.' I'm Lex." he said.

Clark's expression saddened. "Lex, I'm...so sorry about your dad." he said.

Lex scowled. "_Don't_ be." he said. "Leaving me majority stock was just about the only decent thing that old bastard did."

Clark was horrified. "Lex...you shouldn't say that about your dad..."

Lex chuckled. "Clark, only _you_ would defend him." he said. "Believe me, if you knew Lionel Luthor as well as I and the rest of the Luthor clan did, you would _dance on his grave!_" He smiled. "But enough about that."

Peter chuckled. "Well...Lex, from your initial reaction, I kinda thought that you..._hated_ Clark."

"_Hated_ him? Why, Peter, this guy once saved my _life!_" Lex exclaimed. "It was when we were both five; my parents had taken me to swim at the local pond – which was the only pool around – and they only told me to go out a little ways, since I had only just finished the recovery from my bout with cancer."

Peter's eyes widened. "You had cancer? As a _kid?_"

Lex nodded. "It was a rare, infantile form of leukemia." he said. "It could only have been caused by a series of spontaneous mutations in one of my white blood-cells; I once looked it up – the probability of it happening was 0.000000001." He snorted. "Lucky me." He resumed his story. "Anyway, I had just swam out, and I figured that a few more feet couldn't hurt, so I could have a little fun..."

"By 'fun,' you mean, 'pinch people's toes and pretend to be a shark.'" Clark said, grinning.

"Hey, whose story is this?" Lex laughed. "Anyway, I had decided to go out further...and then my foot gets caught in something – maybe some old wire – and it starts to pull me under. I had figured that I was gonna drown...when Clark here just darts out, gets my foot free, and swims to shore with me on his back!" He smiled. "And from then on, we were best pals; Clark was always getting us out of trouble!"

Clark laughed. "And _you_ were always getting us _into_ it!" he said. "I'm surprised we weren't in _more_ trouble, with those pranks of yours!"

"Hey, _when_ were they not funny?" Lex laughed. "So, I guess you guys will need an official interview, right?"

Clark smiled. "If you don't mind."

"Old JJ will be _mightily_ ticked if we screw this up." Peter said. "And it's generally not a good idea to tick off a guy with a personality to match his moustache..._especially_ when he signs your paychecks."

Lex arched an eyebrow. "'A personality to match his moustache'?" he repeated.

"Believe me, Lex; when you meet him, you'll understand." Clark said.

Lex grinned. "Well, we can't have that." he said. "Ask away!"

Over the following hour, Clark interviewed Lex on a variety of issues, mostly those relating to LexCorp and its corporate performance, while Peter simply got a snapshot of the company's young owner. When the hour was done, Clark believed that he had enough to write a good article...

...and not a moment too soon, as his hearing started to pick up a distress call. "I'm sorry, Lex, but I have to get going; there's something I need to take care of."

Lex shrugged. "No problem, Clark." he said. "It was great seeing you again."

Clark smiled. "Same to you, Lex." he replied. To Peter, he added, "Hey, Pete, can you just head back and tell JJ that we got the interview, but I just had to run a few errands before I drop back?"

Peter nodded. "No problem." he said.

Clark smiled. "Thanks." he said, and then he headed out of the office, closing the door behind him, and then discreetly opening the elevator door, before flying up through the elevator shaft, shedding his clothes and tucking them away in a nook, to retrieve them later, now clad in his uniform. Superman flew up to the top of the elevator shaft, opening the hatch, and flying out into the open sky, soaring off towards the emergency at top speed.

As Superman flew off towards the horizon, someone in the city below was watching.

Siryn, in her uniform, sighed dreamily as she watched her blue-clad beau-to-be fly off to save the day once again, watching from atop a building. To be honest, she actually found his 'heroism' habit quite adorable; everyday, he used his incredible power for the good of an undeserving people. As misguided as it was, Siryn found it charming.

Trying to blatantly make him give it up had been a mistake.

For the past week, Siryn had been waiting for the opportunity to enact her revised plan to win Kal-El's favor. So far, she'd had no luck.

Just then, she happened to look down, watching several black vans pull into an alley, picking up several armed men...as well as a taller man clad in a trenchcoat, looking as if there was considerable bulk hidden beneath the coat...and she smiled.

Perhaps her chance had arrived.

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Maximum Security Detention Center #7, classified location_

As Charles rolled himself into the highest security section of the Center, he found the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. waiting for him.

Brigadier General Nicholas "Nick" Fury was tall and of athletic build, seemingly in his mid fifties, his short brown hair lightly streaked with grey, his one green eye sharp, his other eye covered by a black eyepatch. He wore black pants and a black jacket, with the eagle-insignia of S.H.I.E.L.D. emblazoned on the back.

"Professor." the General greeted simply.

"General." Charles replied.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Fury said. "I'm sure that the importance of keeping your brother under wraps needs no explanation."

"Of course, General." Charles agreed. "I trust the new security system will be more effective than the previous one?"

Fury's expression hardened. "I wanted to discuss that with you in private." he said. To the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel working in the background, he barked, "Clear this deck!"

"Yes, sir!" came the response, as the room was emptied, save for the both of them.

Fury looked at Charles. "What I am about to say _cannot_ leave this room, Xavier." he said. "You will discuss this with _no-one_."

"Of course, General."

Fury's eye narrowed. "I'm _deadly_ serious about this, Xavier. You do not mention it to _anyone_; not your students, not Logan, not Miss Munroe...not even your flying powerhouse. If I hear tell of this being leaked to _anyone_, I can and _will_ have you charged with _treason_."

"You have my word, General." Charles promised. "It will not leave this room."

Fury seemed satisfied with that. "The system we plan to install is an improvement...but it will still be possible to circumvent it."

Charles was confused. "But...what will prevent this from happening again?"

"_Nothing._"

Charles was confused. "I'm not following you."

Fury looked him right in the eye. "Professor, this is the _third_ time that Marko's cell's security system was breached. Your students fought him after the first time, and we stopped it the second time, and this is the _third_ time." he said. "There's an old Army saying: '_Once is chance; twice is coincidence; three times is enemy action._' It wasn't an accident. Someone _wanted_ Marko to escape."

"But...why would anyone want Cain to escape?" Charles asked.

"It's a known fact that Cain hates you, Xavier; if he ever got out, it's easy to figure out what he'll do." Fury said.

Charles froze. "Someone...wanted me dead?"

"That's the only explanation." Fury said. "The first time it happened, our records show a coded transmission just prior to the system failures that triggered the security system to shut down...at which point, Miss Darkholme dropped by."

Charles nodded. Raven Darkholme, A.K.A. "Mystique," Magneto's associate, a shape-shifter who could assume any form she so desired, and who could evade Charles' telepathy, even Cerebro; only Clark's X-Ray vision could successfully detect her.

"Someone wanted Mystique to free him."

Fury nodded. "Someone wanted you out of the way." he said. "And, apparently, they still do."

"But how does not fixing the problem help?" Charles asked.

"Whoever's responsible has to be working inside; S.H.I.E.L.D. has a leak." Fury said grimly. "I have reason to believe that whoever it is isn't too fond of mutants. There are a few operatives who have expressed...'concern' over keeping mutants' existence secret, but the guilty party has been covering his tracks _well_." He looked at Charles. "We believe that the culprit will try to free Marko in the future...and when he does, our system will track it...and we _nail_ him."

"I see." Charles replied.

Fury looked somewhat regretful. "I realize that this puts you in danger, Professor, but there is no other choice." he said. "This leak has to be plugged."

"I understand, General." Charles said.

"Good." Fury said. "Now, we need you to keep your brother under while we make the repairs." Charles nodded, and then turned to the large stasis-tank holding Juggernaut, _reaching_ out with his powers, grasping Cain's mind and keeping it dormant, as the General called his personnel back in, to begin the repairs.

Superman was flying back to New York when he'd heard the emergency police bulletin; someone had hijacked a shipment of arms as it was heading into the harbor. The police had been trying to intercept it, but to no avail.

Superman spied a familiar red-and-blue dot below, as he headed towards the ship, and he flew down, meeting Spider-Man on top of a rooftop near the waterfront. "Hey, Big Blue! _Great_ timing, as always!" Spider-Man greeted. "I've been trying to figure out a way to get over there; there's nothing for my webs to attach to, and that boat is too far out for me to slingshot out using a couple of flag-poles."

Superman grinned. "Sounds like you could use a lift." he said. "So, who exactly are we dealing with?"

"Beats me." Spider-Man said. "There's been no communication between the ship and the police. You think those super-peepers of yours can shed some light on the subject?"

"Let's find out." Superman replied. He looked towards the ship, his eyes flashing electric blue, as his eyes narrowed, looking inside the vessel. "There's nine armed men dotted around the ship; one on the bridge threatening the captain and the crew, two sharpshooters on the stern, two at the bow, and four guarding the weapons in the main cargo hold...and some guy in a red-and-yellow suit."

"Like a stitched quilt? Face-mask? Metal gauntlets?" Spider-Man asked.

"You know him?"

"_Shocker._" Spider-Man muttered. "Born Herman Schultz, he's a career crook-slash-assassin. He built his battle-suit from scratch in a prison workshop; it uses high-pressure air blasts, generating deadly shockwave vibrations, as well as enabling him to survive the deadly vibrations his suit generates. I _hate_ dealing with that guy."

"A hired gun." Superman confirmed. He hadn't heard Kingpin make any calls about him...which meant that he'd used electronic messaging, which the Fortress computer hadn't been instructed to look for. "Looks like Fisk's gotten somewhat smarter."

"Looks like it." Spider-Man agreed.

"We need to get that ship ashore." Superman said. "Can you get to the captain and take out the guy threatening him and the crew?"

"No problem; I can get those guys on deck while I'm at it." Spider-Man said. "What about Quilt-Face?"

"I'll handle him." Superman said. "You just make sure the captain and crew are safe."

"Got it!" Spider-Man agreed. "So...how about that lift?" Chuckling, Superman lifted up Spider-Man under his arms, and flew out to the ship, letting Spider-Man adhere to the hull, crawling along the hull towards where the two sharpshooters were watching the stern, as Superman silently flew up to the midship, unnoticed, finding the top hatch for the cargo bay and activating it.

The large hatch slowly opened, as the four confused gunmen walked over, looking up at the opening hatch...and were all sent flying by a gust of Superman's gale-breath, knocking them out, before he descended into the hold, looking the surprised Shocker square in the eye. Spider-Man's "Quilt-Face" quip hadn't been far off the mark; Shocker's red and yellow suit had quilt-like black lines running across it, even the full mask that covered his face, with narrow, white eye-slits, and silvery-metal gauntlets.

"Hi." Superman greeted flatly, his arms folding.

Behind his mask, Shocker arched an eyebrow. "I was expecting a _different_ guy in red and blue." he growled. "I have a _score_ to settle with that little insect."

"I'm afraid he's busy." Superman said. "I suggest you turn yourself in; this doesn't have to get violent."

Shocker laughed. "Not likely, Boy Scout!" he sneered. "Kingpin's put a fat bounty on whoever brings your head in, plus a _bonus_ if you're in one piece! This is my lucky day!"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't put your lucky rabbits' feet away, just yet; you have to _deal_ with me, _first_."

"My _pleasure!_" Shocker laughed, as he pointed his arms at Superman, his gauntlets starting to crackle...and he unleashed a massive shockwave, the air rippling as it roared towards him.

Superman crossed his arms in front of his face, digging in his heels as the blast hit him, pushing him back ten feet. As the blast faded, Superman glared at Shocker, unhurt. "I _won't_ ask you, again."

Shocker's expression was _comical_. "_What the..?!_"

"You never bothered to ask Kingpin about me, did you?" Superman said flatly. "Last chance."

Snarling, Shocker ran for one of the crates of weapons, picking up a high-powered laser rifle...and Superman was instantly next to him, taking it out of his hands and tossing it aside. "I tried to be reasonable, Schultz." he said. "But if you can't play nice with your toys..."

He grabbed Shocker's gauntlets and ripped them _clean off_.

"...you can't have them at _all_."

Shocker was _indignant_; he pulled his fist back, ready to swing...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..."

Shocker didn't listen.

"_YEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW!_" Shocker howled, clutching his fist.

"Don't worry. You didn't break anything." Superman said. "But if there's ever a next time, try _listening_." And with that, he unleashed a tiny fraction of his gale-breath, sending Shocker flying, to land ingloriously, out cold.

By then, Superman could feel the ship starting to come to a stop, and could hear police sirens in the distance. The situation was under control. At that moment, Superman's hearing picked up an emergency transmission. '_Spider-Man can handle things from here._' he thought, as he flew up through the cargo hatch, flying off.

After Superman had dropped him off, Spider-Man crawled along the hull to the stern, where two sharpshooters were watching the water. Spider-Man shot out two web-lines, snared the crooks, and yanked them into the water.

'_Two down, three to go._' Spider-Man thought, as he flipped up onto the deck, before firing a web-line, zipping up onto the bridge, spying the other two sharpshooters. He crawled along the bridge, peeking in through a porthole, finding the stooge threatening the crew...and noticing that the bridge door was wide open. Like lightning, he fired two web-lines; the first one stuck to the gun, letting Spider-Man yank it away, as the second one snared the gunman, and Spider-Man yanked him off his feet, hauling him towards him, where he booted the crook into the water with both feet.

"Hey, you guys mind turning this rig towards shore?" Spider-Man asked. "I think that guy was starting to get seasick!" The captain and crew quickly complied, turning the ship towards the harbor. Spider-Man silently crawled back on top of the bridge, firing a web-line to land behind the last two crooks. "Uh, excuse me? Is this the ferry to Manhattan?"

Snarling, the crooks took aim, but Spider-Man somersaulted over them, landing on the rail. "A simple 'no' would have sufficed!" Spider-Man quipped, as he snagged them with web-lines and tossed them overboard.

By then, the ship was in view of the shore, as the police quickly rounded up the crooks that Spider-Man had tossed, who were swimming to shore. Spider-Man quickly shot out a web-line, attaching it to a loading crane, and swung to shore. '_Well, our work here is done._' he thought, as he saw Superman fly out of the ship, unnoticed...likely off to help, somewhere else. Deciding to follow his pal's example, Spider-Man turned to swing away...

His spider-sense went off suddenly...seconds before a long, metal appendage snaked out, grabbed him, and pulled him down in mid-swing, slamming him against the ground. His vision going dark, Spider-Man managed to see the appendage trail back to a guy in a trenchcoat...and then, he passed out.

As night fell over the Institute, Evan, and Rogue had just finished setting up for the party, after Lance and Remy had picked up refreshments. "You're _sure_ Scott, Jean, and Clark are occupied?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, we're sure." Evan said. "Kit and Kurt should be making a few 'adjustments' to Scott's car, right now, and CK called to say that his boss is making him work late."

Just then, Kurt 'ported in, Kitty with him. "We're set!" Kitty exclaimed. "I 'borrowed' Jean's cell-phone and shorted out Scott's car-battery! They're stuck up there for a while!" She giggled. "The _best_ part of this plan is that we're kinda _helping_ them!"

Kurt chuckled. "I don't think zat Scott vill _mind_ being stranded vith Jean!"

Kitty smiled slyly. "Maybe we should try that with Clark and Aly!"

"Don't even _think_ about it, Kitty!" Lance laughed. "The rules of the betting pool state that _nobody_ can directly interfere; if anyone tries their hand at 'matchmaking' those two, all bets are _off!_"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Rogue walked over to open it...and smiled. "Hey, Ris'."

"Hey, girl." Risty replied, smiling. She looked around. "It looks like I'm the first guest."

Just then, several other cars started pulling up. Rogue chuckled. "Not by much." she quipped.

Remy grinned. "If y' will excuse Remy, he got work t' do." he said, as he walked over to the table he set up, sat down, and started shuffling his deck of cards.

Rogue frowned, as Risty chuckled. "Ya set up a _poker_ table, Swamp-Rat?" Rogue asked.

"If de students o' Bayville High want t' gamble away all de cash dey got...who is Remy t' say _non?_"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ye're _incorrigible_, Swamp-Rat!"

"_Merci_."

Risty laughed. "He's a real charmer, Rogue." she said. "Anyway, I just need to use the facilities."

"Oh, sure." Rogue replied. "Just take the stairs up and turn right."

"Thanks!" Risty said, and she walked off as the rest of the guests started to walk in.

Risty frowned sadly to herself as she walked upstairs. '_I'm so sorry that I have to deceive you like this, Rogue,_' she thought, before her face hardened, '_but sacrifices have to be made._'

Risty walked past the washroom, heading for the elevator that led to the Institute's lower levels, and took it down to the control room of the Danger Room. She walked into the high-tech control chamber...and began to change.

Her body shifted, growing taller, shedding the semi-awkwardness of a teenage girl for the elegant frame of a grown woman, her hair lengthening and turning blood-red, her clothes becoming a black leather halter-style top and short skirt...and her skin turning dark blue, her eyes going an eerie yellow.

Mystique smiled as she looked at the computer, before moving to it, easily infiltrating Xavier's database. The profiles on all of his students would be very useful to her and her agenda, especially since she was without the resources of Magneto and Doom, after going independent. All of Xavier's X-Men and new recruits – the "New Mutants" – were listed by code-name.

Mystique's smile grew as she spied Superman's profile, before scowling as she remembered the last time she'd met that alien face-to-face; she'd tried to frighten Rogue away from the X-Men...but Superman had _seen through_ her, and exposed her.

'_Well, now it's __**my**__ turn, alien._' Mystique thought. '_Let's see who you __**really**__ are._' She clicked on his profile...

...and all she got was a mess of unintelligible gibberish.

Mystique's eyes narrowed in annoyance, as she tried every hacking trick she knew...but all she got were the same alien characters; Superman must have _personally_ encrypted his file.

Mystique sighed to herself. '_I suppose I'll have to settle for everyone __**except**__ the alien._' she thought, as she inserted a blank CD, and started copying the other students' files; she frowned as she saw that it would take a while.

She hoped that party would keep running long enough for her to finish and escape.

Suddenly, the doors of the Danger Room opened, and Mystique darted out of sight as the New Mutants – minus Dazzler – walked in. "_Aw, man, it __**sucks**__ that we can't go to the party!_" Mystique heard the young Berzerker over the audio system.

"_Well, maybe we __**could**__ have gone, if you and Roberto hadn't dragged us all into trying to prank Superman!_" Jubilee exclaimed. "_You got __**Lance**__, instead! __**That's**__ why we're banned!_"

"_Hey, come on, guys!_" Iceman said. "_Let's just get a little practice in; maybe that'll change their minds._"

Mystique smiled slyly. '_Be careful what you wish for, Robert Drake._' she thought, as she tapped a few keys...starting up the Danger Room.

Scott arrived at the cliff early, as the sun was setting. He leaned against his car, waiting for Jean...and hoping that he could do this.

Minutes later, Taryn's car pulled up, dropping Jean off, clad in her light blue button-up shirt and dark blue skirt. She smiled at him. "Hi." she greeted.

Scott smiled. "Hi." he replied. Jean walked over, leaning against the car next to him, as Taryn drove off. "So...nice sunset." Scott commented.

"Yeah." Jean said, suddenly seeming a bit...sad. "It's...pretty."

Scott grinned. '_You're prettier._' he thought; the thought made her lightly blush, but her sadness persisted. "Jean," he began, "there's something I have to tell you..."

"I know, Scott."

Scott blinked. "You do?"

Jean nodded, suppressing tears. "Just...just get it over with."

'_Huh?_' Scott thought. "Jean...what are you talking about..?"

"What do you _think?!_" Jean cried. "You're here to break up with me!"

"_What?!_" Scott cried.

"Why else would we come up here?! I just want us to get it over with in private so we don't have to wreck our friendship!" Jean cried.

"Jean..." Scott murmured, "...do you _want_ to break up?"

"_No!_" Jean cried. "But all we've done these past few weeks is just go out, and we haven't gotten any farther, made any indication that there's a next level for this relationship..."

Scott promptly silenced her with a soft tender kiss, causing her to squeak in surprise...which transformed into a soft moan of contentment. "Jean," he said softly, as the kiss ended, "I didn't come here to break up with you."

"You...you didn't?"

Scott shook his head, smiling. "I've waited _forever_ to be with you, and I'd be _crazy_ to give you up." he said. "And I'm sorry if I haven't indicated I wanted to go further than just dates." He smiled sheepishly. "You know us Summers men; completely oblivious to our own feelings!"

Jean lightly giggled.

Scott took a deep breath. "That's...part of the reason I came here." he said. "Jean...the time we've been dating...it's been _wonderful_...and I want _more_ of it."

Jean froze. "How..._much_ more?" she asked.

Scott softly smiled. "As much as _possible_." he whispered. "I've never been good at waxing poetic...but what I'm trying to say is..." he took a deep breath.

"...I love you, Jean."

Jean didn't say a word at that, only stared at him. Scott was horrified at her silence; he'd said the wrong thing...

And then, Jean smiled radiantly, before she joyfully pounced on him, pinning him against the car's hood, kissing him with a passion that could have scalded every inch of body hair off of Duncan's body, had he been the one receiving it...but he _wouldn't_, now that Jean was _his_.

Jean mentally giggled. '_And you're a __**way**__ better kisser, Scott._' she sent to him. Scott chuckled; the interesting thing about having a telepathic girlfriend was the fact that she could contribute to his inner monologue.

'_I heard that, lover._' she mentally cooed.

'_Good to know, Red._' Scott thought, making her giggle enough to stop her silken assault enough to speak his mind. "I guess that means you feel the same."

Jean giggled. "Of _course!_" she cooed. Her gaze became utterly loving. "I love you, too, Scott."

No other words could have made Scott so happy. He grinned, before he snared Jean – the woman he _loved_ – in a powerful kiss, matching her passion, gently rolling her so that _she_ was pinned against the hood. Jean moaned blissfully as they kissed, their tongues playing a game of pure desire and love. Gently, Scott's hands glided down her side, savoring every inch of her, and loving the happy sighs that his touch produced in her. His hand gently brushed the side of her curve...

Jean gasped in surprise...and Scott mentally smacked himself. '_I'm so sorry..._'

'_**Don't**__ be._' Jean sent to him. She smiled. '_Scott, coming up here was the best idea you ever __**had**__._'

Scott blinked. "Jean...this was _your_ idea." he said.

Jean looked confused. "But...Kitty told me that you wanted me to meet you here..."

"Kurt told _me_ that _you_ wanted me to meet you." Scott replied.

They both had the same realization.

"Maybe I should call the Institute." Jean said warily, reaching for her cell-phone...and her eyes widening. "Kitty borrowed it after school; she never gave it back!"

"Okay, we'd better head back." Scott said, as he and Jean got in his car...but it wouldn't start.

Jean frowned. "I think we've been set up!" she said. "And I remember hearing about a _party_ somewhere, tonight!"

Scott frowned. "If I were a betting man, I'd bet that it's at the _Institute_." he said. Sighing, he added, "Well, we'd better start walking."

Jean nodded. "We'll have to hitchhike, I guess." she said. With that, they started to walk home, holding hands as they walked.

After returning to New York and discreetly retrieving his street clothes from LexCorp HQ, Clark returned to the Daily Bugle, to write the article from his interview with Lex...as well as handle the load of paperwork that Mr. Jameson had heaped on him. He'd called the Institute, letting his friends know that he would be working late.

After he'd gotten the report written and the paperwork done, he looked around; Peter hadn't come back to the Bugle, afterwards. Clark got up, and walked to Mr. Jameson's office, who was also working late. "Uh...Mr. Jameson?"

"Huh? Oh, it's you, Kent." JJ said, looking up from the report he was filling out. "What is it?"

"Uh, I was just wondering, sir...did Peter drop back to the Bugle after we interviewed Mr. Luthor?" Clark inquired.

"Yeah, he did; he stuck around for a few minutes before he left – said he had to head home early." JJ replied.

"Oh. I was just wondering." Clark said. "Thank you, sir." With that, he headed back to his desk...just in time to catch his phone ringing. He quickly picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Clark?_"

Clark smiled. "Hello, Mrs. Parker." he greeted. "How are you?"

"_Oh, I'm fine, dear; just a little worried._" May replied. "_Have you seen Peter?_"

Clark froze. "Isn't...he with you?"

"_No; he hasn't come back from work, yet._" May said, her voice getting anxious. "_Where could he be?_"

Clark thought fast. "Well...we did have a few leads on other stories that we were going to check out; maybe he's just getting a head start on them, and forgot to tell me." That _was_ the truth; they _did_ have a number of leads they were going to follow...but it wasn't like Peter to do this. "I'll be sure to check around."

"_Oh, thank you, honey; I'm so sorry to trouble you like this._"

"It's no trouble, Mrs. Parker. Partners look out for each other." Clark said. "Have a nice evening, Mrs. Parker. Good-bye."

"_Good-bye, Clark._" With that, Mrs. Parker hung up.

Clark was about to tell JJ that he was leaving for the night, when the phone rang again. Clark answered it. "Hello?"

"_Clark? It's Lex. I was wondering if we could meet; there's something I need to discuss with you._"

"I'm sorry, Lex, but it'll have to wait." Clark replied. "I have a bit of a crisis, here."

"_I'm sure you do._" Lex said. "_But I think you may have another one that requires attention._"

That made Clark pause. "What do you mean?"

"_Meet me at LexCorp HQ and I'll tell you._" Lex said, and he hung up.

Clark had to go look for Peter...but Lex's words had unnerved him. He _had_ to find out what his old friend was talking about. He gathered up the reports he'd filled out, and took them to JJ's office. "Sir, the reports are done, so I'm going to take off for the night, okay?"

"Sure, Kent." JJ said. "But be here bright and early tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." Clark said, as he grabbed his coat, and hurried off.

The taxi dropped him at LexCorp HQ, and the secretary ushered him right into the elevator, taking him right up to Lex's office. "What is it, Lex?" Clark asked. "I have a friend out there who may need my help!"

"I think you may have _another_ friend out there who needs help." Lex said. "And I'm going to help you find him, Superman."

Clark froze...and quickly laughed it off. "_Superman?! Me?!_" he laughed. "Lex, your sense of humor is getting kinda _weird!_"

Lex smiled wryly. "You know, a funny thing happened in Bayville this September – you go to university there, right?" he said. "There was supposed to be a televised pep rally for the high school girls' soccer team...but there was strange electromagnetic interference; the data stream went out, but all that most satellites got was static – the data was too corrupted."

"_LexCorp_ satellites, however, _aren't_ 'most satellites'."

Lex tapped a button on his desk, lowering a TV screen from the ceiling. "It took us this long for our supercomputers to recompile the data stream," he commented, "but what we found...was _this_." He tapped another button.

The screen showed part of the incident at the soccer field, with X-Men fighting the Brotherhood...and then the screen froze on an image of Superman – _him_ – helping the X-Men.

"Has...anyone else seen this?" Clark whispered.

"Only the scientists in my employ, and I pay them very well to keep quiet." Lex said. He glanced to the image. "Nice photo." he commented idly. "Look familiar?"

"Wow...he..._does_ look like me." Clark said. Grinning sheepishly, he added, "But...I'm a bit scrawnier."

"Amazing thing, holographic technology." Lex commented. "It completely disguises you, and can't be detected...unless you know _exactly_ what you're looking for." He smiled gently. "Even with all this, Clark, it would be impossible to draw a conclusion...but I _know_ you, Clark. Even if it were possible for a five-year-old to carry another five-year-old on his back and swim to shore – even one as scrawny as I was – it _still_ doesn't explain how a fifteen-year-old pulls a couple from a burning vehicle, and then rips off the windshield to save the couple's daughter." He chuckled. "Little Aly Blaire wasn't the _only_ one watching you, that day, Clark. Not only that...I hear stories every now and then; strange occurrences...people being born with strange abilities...plus, recently, people like Spider-Man showing up. What am I _supposed_ to think?"

"I don't know, Lex." Clark replied. "What _do_ you think?"

Lex looked him square in the eye. "I think that the best friend – and probably the _only_ friend – I've had since childhood _knows_ me." he said. "I think that you know me well enough to know that _any_ secret – no matter _how_ big or small – you tell me, I take with me to the _grave_."

Clark met his friend's gaze; Lex was being serious. He simply removed his glasses. "What do you want?"

"A man of my means has many sources of information." Lex said. He chuckled. "Some of which are less than reputable." His expression turned serious. "Word is that you and Spider-Man have become something of an unofficial crime-fighting team, around here...and Kingpin knows it."

Clark's eyes narrowed. "Does he."

Lex nodded. "Kingpin's a powerful enemy, Clark; even for someone who can fly." he said. "He owns half the city, and what he can't own, he destroys. Today, he hired a few...'unique' people to capture Spider-Man, to interrogate him about his new teammate."

Clark's fists clenched. "_Where?_"

"In an old warehouse on the south side." Lex said. "He's hired some of Spider-Man's enemies: Doctor Octopus and Hammerhead, plus he has his own lackey, Tombstone."

Clark had encountered Lonnie Lincoln – Tombstone – before, during his brief confrontation with Fisk, last year. The other two, he wasn't familiar with. "I see."

"They're hardcore criminals, Clark...but I don't think they're anything that a Man of Steel needs to worry about." Lex said, smiling wryly.

"Okay." Clark said, putting his glasses back on. "I'll...look into it." He turned to go.

"Clark?" Lex called out. Clark looked back. Lex smiled. "Godspeed."

Clark smiled at his old friend. "Thanks." he said, and he darted off, discreetly using the elevator shaft like before, flying out the top, heading south.

When Spider-Man came to, he had a _monster_ headache...but, judging from who was glaring at him, that was the _least_ of his problems.

Three figures were looming over him, and his arms were chained behind his back, pinning him to a wooden support beam, in an old warehouse. One was tall, of average frame, with short brown hair, his eyes covered by dark glasses, clad in a green and orange bodysuit...with four metal tentacles extending from his back. The second was a tall, strongly built guy, with dead-white skin, as hard as stone, Spider-Man knew, cold dark eyes, and sharp, pointed teeth, clad in a black t-shirt and black pants. The third was a fairly short, pug-faced guy, his head of black hair completely flat – from the adamantium-plated skull he'd gotten – clad in a 1920's style blue, black-striped gangster's suit, an old-fashioned Tommy-gun in his hands.

Dr. Otto Octavius, A.K.A. 'Dr. Octopus,' Lonnie "Tombstone" Lincoln, and the nameless gangster known only as Hammerhead.

"Hey, guys." Spider-Man greeted. "Long time, no see!"

Tombstone scowled. "Still a wiseass." he muttered.

"So, what brings me to your doorstep?" Spider-Man quipped.

"Don't play dumb, web-head." Hammerhead snapped.

"You've made a new friend." Dr. Octopus said, in a kind of German accent.

"Aw, you guys aren't feeling left out, are you?"

Another voice chuckled. "A joker to the last." Then, a fourth figure walked into view. He was fairly tall, and immensely large...but Spider-Man knew, from experience, that only two percent of that weight was fat, the rest being _muscle_. His head was bald, with sharp green eyes, clad in an impeccable white business suit, with a fine cane in his hand.

Wilson "The Kingpin" Fisk.

"Wow, the big man, _himself!_" Spider-Man exclaimed. "What's up, KP?"

Fisk smiled without humor. "As Dr. Octavius has mentioned, you've made a new friend, wall-crawler." he said. "One who has been interfering in my affairs to an increasing extent."

"We can't help but be curious." Dr. Octopus said, smiling. "What exactly makes him tick? Where does his power come from?"

Tombstone gave a toothy grin. "And when _Doom_ is interested in this guy, the answer _has_ to be good!"

The Kingpin chuckled. "Sadly, I'm afraid that Superman doesn't exactly have a listed telephone number." he said. "So, we decided to ask _you_. Why else would I have authorized such an operation?"

Spider-Man mentally kicked himself; he'd played right into Fisk's hands.

"So, tell us, Spider-Man," Kingpin said, "who _is_ Superman? Where did he get his power?"

"Uh...I don't suppose I could use a lifeline?"

Kingpin chuckled mirthlessly.

"That's a 'no', isn't it?"

"I hope your memory serves you well, wall-crawler." Kingpin said. "Otherwise...I think I _will_ miss that sense of humor."

At that, Doc Ock's tentacles extended their three-pronged claws, Tombstone cracked his knuckles, and Hammerhead cleared the barrel of his Tommy-gun.

'_Okay, Spidey, think fast._' Spider-Man thought. If he could just get his hands loose...

Suddenly, a sonic boom echoed overhead, startling his captors.

Beneath his mask, Spider-Man grinned. "You want to know about him, guys?" he laughed. "Ask him _yourself!_"

It hadn't taken Superman long to locate the warehouse, especially not after hearing Kingpin's voice. He flew over the warehouse, and rapidly descended through the skylight, smashing through the glass, shaking the ground as he landed, to let the Kingpin and his cronies know that he was _serious_, glaring at the crime-lord, ignoring his startled flunkies.

Fisk smiled wryly. "The Man of Steel arrives." he said calmly. "You _do_ know how to make an entrance, don't you?"

"Hey, nice timing, as always, Big Blue!" Spider-Man said.

"Sorry I'm late, Little Red." Superman replied. His gaze returned to Fisk. "Encrypted e-mail. Pretty smart, Fisk; that's not something I was on the lookout for." His eyes narrowed. "I know better, now."

Fisk's expression didn't change. "My generous offer still stands."

"Talk about an offer I _can_ refuse." Superman said coldly. "Let Spider-Man go, and things don't have to get ugly."

Hammerhead cleared his machine-gun. "In case you didn't notice, junior," he sneered, "we outnumber you!"

Tombstone cracked his knuckles, glowering at Superman. "I've been _waiting_ for the boss to let me take a crack at you, punk." he snarled. "It's high time someone taught you your place."

"I, for one, would be most interested to see exactly what you're capable of, Superman." Dr. Octopus said.

Superman sighed. "It's always the hard way with people like you, isn't it, Fisk?"

The Kingpin smiled confidently. "Gentlemen?"

Hammerhead grinned savagely, took aim, and fired a constant stream of bullets at Superman, who didn't even blink as the bullets impacted his chest harmlessly, bouncing off. Hammerhead just kept firing, growing angrier and angrier the more he realized that his weapon had no effect, until his gun was empty. With a loud roar, Hammerhead barreled right at Superman, head down for a headbutt...

...and missed completely, as Superman simply stepped aside, letting Hammerhead crash into a pile of rubble behind him, out cold.

Turning back, Superman easily dodged the swing from Dr. Octopus' tentacle, before unleashing a burst of gale-breath, sending him flying. Tombstone charged at him, aiming a punch for his face, but Superman blocked it, then grabbed his wrist, whirling his arm into a submission lock, before aiming a precision palm-strike to the side of his ribs, sending him flying thirty feet.

Slowly, Tombstone picked himself up...and felt the _hand-sized indentation left in his rock-hard skin._ He snarled. "That _does_ it!" he snarled, rushing at Superman. "When I get through with you..!"

But he was cut off, as a blast of flame sent him flying to the side. Superman was confused...until he heard a horribly familiar feminine giggle.

'_Oh, __**no**__._'

Siryn instantly appeared next to him in a puff of green smoke. "Hi, handsome. Mind if I join in?" she cooed.

"Siryn, _not now._" Superman said firmly.

Tombstone sneered. "What, you needed your girlfriend to back you up?"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "_She's __**not**__ my girlfriend!_"

Siryn just giggled. "Oh, he's _so_ in denial!" she purred. Her eyes narrowed. "As much as I'd like to talk, honey...Mommy has _work_ to do; you take the eight-armed reject, and I'll handle stone-face."

Superman wanted to argue, but he knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth; he could sort this out later. "Fine."

Siryn smiled, and then waved her hand, conjuring a pillar of stone under Tombstone's feet, which rapidly shot upwards, sending him flying. As he landed, Siryn sent a blast of lightning at him, but Tombstone rolled out of the way, and ran at her, grabbing her throat and lifting her off the ground. "'Handle me'?" he snarled. "You're in over your head, little girl!"

Siryn glared at him disdainfully. "I was about to say the same to _you!_" she sneered, and she unleashed her sonic scream, sending Tombstone flying back, out cold.

As Dr. Octopus loomed over him, walking with his tentacles, Superman took aim, and fired a pencil-thin heat-ray...which missed.

Octavius smiled. "You should make your shots _count_, my young friend."

Superman grinned. "I _did._" he replied. Octavius paused, confused by the statement...

"Heads up, Doc!"

Dr. Octopus turned around...and was hit by Spider-Man's double-heel kick. Superman hadn't been aiming for Octavius; he'd blasted the support beam enough for Spider-Man to slip out, though his hands were still pinned behind his back. As the Doctor staggered back, Spider-Man hopped up, bringing his hands underneath him, so that they were in front of him. As Dr. Octopus swung at him, Spider-Man simply raised his arms, allowing the tentacle to break the chains.

His hands free, Spider-Man fired a web-glob at Octavius, covering his eyes. As the Doctor howled in fury, Superman took that opportunity to grab Octavius' tentacles, and fly up, whirling him around and around in mid-air, before letting go, causing him to crash on top of the recovering Hammerhead.

With the three goons dispatched, Superman glared at the Kingpin. "It's time for you to _answer_ for your crimes, Fisk." he said.

"I think not." Fisk said. "I took the precaution of placing a high-powered explosive device in this warehouse; one powerful enough to destroy this entire _block_." He smiled confidently. "You _could_ take me in..._or_ you could find that bomb, saving hundreds of innocent lives. Your choice."

Superman's eyes narrowed. "This isn't over."

Fisk glared at him. "No, it most certainly _isn't_."

Superman darted off, listening for anything that might indicate a bomb, as Spider-Man and Siryn followed him. In seconds, he'd found the bomb, using his X-Ray vision to peer inside its casing; it would take a precision beam to cut through its detonator without triggering it. Superman took a deep breath, took aim...and fired.

The ultra-thin beam sliced through the detonator, and the bomb went dead.

By the time he and the others got back, Kingpin and his cronies were gone. "_Darn_ it!" Superman muttered.

"Hey, Fisk's like a bad penny; he''l turn up, again." Spider-Man said. "Thanks for the assist, big guy."

Superman smiled. "No problem, little pal."

Siryn smiled at Superman. "We make a good team." she cooed.

Spider-Man looked at Siryn, backing up cautiously. "Uh...aren't you one of the bad guys?"

Superman looked at Siryn sternly. "She most certainly _is_."

Siryn looked ready to cry. "That is so _hurtful!_" she cried. "You haven't even given me a _chance!_"

Her tone threw him...as did her near-tears. He forced himself to remember what she was capable of. "What do you want, Siryn?"

Siryn lightly smiled. "I've been thinking." she said. "I was wrong about your 'heroism habit.' I want to help."

"You're kidding." Spider-Man said.

Siryn shook her head. She moved closer to Superman. "I want us to make a fresh start." she cooed, lacing her arms around his neck. "I think we could be friends."

Superman politely but firmly removed her arms from his neck. "Somehow I doubt that friendship is what you're after, Siryn."

Siryn pouted. "Would that _really_ be so bad?" she cooed. "I can help you." Her voice turned a bit sour. "Unlike that little blonde _twit_. What can _she_ do to help you?"

Superman's eyes narrowed; the crass mention of Alison helped to focus him. "Her _name_ is _Dazzler_." he said. "And there is _no_ need for name-calling."

Siryn smiled. "I look forward to working with you." she cooed. And with that, she vanished in a cloud of emerald haze.

"_That_...is one nutty chick." Spider-Man said.

"_Tell_ me about it."

Spider-Man chuckled. "But, _man!_ How do you get such a hot chick so crazy about you? What's your secret?"

"I have no idea." Superman said. "But remember; she's Doom's _daughter_, which means that there's fundamentally something wrong upstairs."

"Wait..._Doom?_ The fruit-loop running Latveria? She's his _daughter?_" Spider-Man exclaimed.

"Yep."

"She just got a lot scarier." Spider-Man said. He chuckled. "In that case, I'd _definitely_ ask out that Dazzler chick; you like her, don't you?"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "Don't go there, Little Red."

"You do."

Superman sighed. "Look, Spider-Man, I need to get going; I'm trying to find a missing photographer from the Daily Bugle; Peter Parker."

"Oh, I...saw him as I was swinging away from the boat, earlier today." Spider-Man said. "I think he was covering a couple leads; I'm pretty sure he'll be heading home, now."

"Good." Superman said. Then, his hearing picked up something...from the _Institute_. "I've got to get going."

"Okay." Spider-Man said. "Look, no fooling, Superman; you should ask Dazzler out. She's _just_ as gorgeous as Siryn, if not _more_, she's _nice_, she can kick butt, she's okay in the head, and she _really_ likes you. Go for it, big guy!"

Superman paused. "I'll think about it."

"Fair enough." Spider-Man said. "Catch you on the flip side, Big Blue!" With that, he fired a web-line, zipping up through the crashed skylight, swinging off. At that, Superman took to the sky, flying home.

By the time Scott and Jean arrived at the Institute – after hitchhiking with an old but good-natured trucker – the sounds of the party within were starting to get out of hand.

"Looks like you were right." Scott observed.

Jean nodded, her cherry eyebrows narrowed crossly. "Certain X-Children plotted to get rid of us!"

Scott smiled. "Well...something good _did_ come from it." he said.

Jean turned to him, smiling. "I know." she cooed. "I don't know how long it would have taken otherwise for us to figure out we loved each other."

"You would have figured it out."

Scott chuckled as Superman touched down next to them. "Hey, Clark." he greeted. "Busy night?"

"You can say that, again." Superman replied. He smiled. "But I'm glad to hear about _you_ two! Congratulations!"

Jean smiled. "Thanks." she said. "We kinda owe it all to you; if you hadn't inadvertently shown me what a jerk Duncan was, this might not have happened; I might've been chained to his arm for all of high school!"

Superman chuckled. "You would've figured it out." he said. His expression turned grave. "But right now, we have bigger problems; I'm hearing the Danger Room, guys – the New Mutants are trapped inside!"

"We've got to get in there, _fast!_" Scott exclaimed. "There's a back entrance to the lower levels; it's around the rear of the Institute grounds."

"Agreed. Let's go!" Superman said, and they ran off, towards the emergency entrance.

Soon, they had reached the steel doors built into the cliff wall – the entrance. Superman grasped the edges of the doors, and pried them open, allowing them to head through. As they did, the defenses activated; numerous laser turrets became active. Jean repelled their shots by generating a PSI-bubble around herself and Scott, as Scott blasted several turrets...and Superman darted to and fro at super-speed, taking out the rest. In seconds, their way was clear, and they headed towards the Danger Room.

By the time they got there, the rest of the X-Men had gathered outside the Danger Room doors, as well as most of the New Mutants, who were bruised, but otherwise fine. Then, Kitty phased out through the doors, bringing Rahne and Amara with her; now only Jamie and Jubilee were missing. "Guys, you came just in time!" Kitty cried as she saw them.

Jean frowned. "We _might_ have been here sooner, if _someone_ hadn't sabotaged Scott's car!"

"We can worry about that later." Superman said firmly. "Where's Jamie and Jubilee?"

"Still inside." Kurt reported. "Ve cleared out zhe party as soon as ve figured out vat happened."

Kitty looked stricken. "I tried to get to them, but I _couldn't!_" she cried.

"Someone's mucked up the Danger Room computer; we can't shut it off!" Lance exclaimed.

Quickly, Superman took out his buckle-computer, tapping a few keys on it, and then handed it to Scott. "Scott, get to the control room and plug this into the computer, and then press the red button on its screen; it'll shut the simulation down. I'll keep Jamie and Jubilee safe until you do." he said.

"Got it." Scott said. Then, Superman pried open the Danger Room doors, heading in, as Scott raced towards the control room.

Inside the Danger Room, Superman easily dodged numerous laser-shots from drones and turrets, racing to Jamie's side, and stopping the massive steel mallet just before it squashed him. He quickly picked up his younger teammate, and dashed towards Jubilee, stopping to grab a massive steel razor-disc that was flying at him, and then threw it to deflect an identical disc that was flying at Jubilee. Reaching her, he set Jamie down, and used himself to deflect any lasers that came their way. As another disc flew at them, Superman grabbed it, and threw it at the disc-launcher, smashing it.

"_Simulation deactivated. Thank you, and have a nice day._"

Superman breathed a sigh of relief as he heard that expressionless tone. At that, Jamie just sat down and started crying. "_That was so scary!_" he bawled. "_I thought I was gonna die!_"

Jubilee suppressed a sniffle. "Come here, little guy." she whispered, giving him a comforting hug. "We didn't die, Jamie." She smiled at Superman. "Clark saved us...like he _always_ does."

Superman smiled. "Hey...what are friends for?"

Jamie's tears slowed, as did his sniffles. "P-Please don't tell the others I cried, Clark." he sniffed.

Superman chuckled. "My lips are sealed." he replied. With that, he led his two teammates out of the Danger Room.

As Superman, Jamie and Jubilee emerged from the Danger Room, the others were waiting for them. Scott handed Superman his belt-computer, and Superman promptly folded it up and clipped it on his belt. "This wasn't an accident." Scott reported. "This was sabotage; a number of files have been copied from the computer."

"Which files?" Superman asked.

"_Ours._" Scott said. "The personnel files on the X-Men and New Mutants have been copied...but they didn't get _yours_, Superman; they couldn't break the encryption."

Superman smiled. "I encrypted it with the Kryptonian language; good luck trying to figure _that_ out."

"But who could do this?" Jean asked.

Superman's eyes narrowed, flashing electric blue, as he looked through the walls, scanning the horizon...and spotted something.

"I think I know who."

Mystique had long shed her "Risty" disguise, sneaking out of the Institute long before the partygoers cleared out. She was perched on a tree branch, looking down at the Institute. Smiling to herself, she leapt from one branch to the next with cat-like grace, landing in a clearing. She took out the gleaming CD with Xavier's files, looking at it...

...and then shrieking in pain and alarm as the CD started to glow red-hot. She dropped the CD, seconds before it burst into flames, ruining it...

"It's been a while, Raven Darkholme."

Mystique's face twisted in fury as Superman touched down in front of her, his eyes losing their red glow. "You won't be getting any information from _that_ CD." he said.

"I _needed_ that!" Mystique hissed. "You had _no_ right to interfere!"

"_You_ had no right to endanger my team." Superman countered coldly. "You're lucky I didn't fry _you_."

He arched an eyebrow. "What did you need that CD for, anyway? You already _know_ about the X-Men."

"That's none of your concern." Mystique hissed.

Superman's eyes narrowed. "I just _made_ it my concern."

Mystique scowled. "I needed it to..." she began, and her expression saddened, "...to protect my child."

Superman calmed. "From _what?_"

Mystique refused to answer.

"_We_ can protect Kurt." Superman said.

"Not from this." Mystique whispered.

Superman's expression became neutral. "Somewhere in that heart of yours...you actually care for Kurt." he said. "Why don't you talk to him?"

Mystique froze. "I can't." she said. "It's better this way."

"Why not let _him_ decide that?"

Mystique couldn't speak.

Superman turned to go. "Every child needs their parents, Mystique." he said softly. "I'm going to let you go. Don't make me regret it." With that, he flew off...leaving Mystique with her thoughts.

It was mid-morning when the Professor, Logan, and Ororo got back, and Scott and all the others were waiting for them, after spending much of the night cleaning up the mess. As the car pulled up, Ororo helped the Professor into his wheelchair. As he rolled up the ramp, he smiled at them. "Hello, students. I trust everything went well?"

Scott took a deep breath. "Actually, Professor," he said, "we...kinda had a party while you were gone." He lowered his head. "I guess...you were wrong to trust me, after all."

The Professor smiled. "Well, the Institute's still standing." he said. "I never would have guessed." He put a hand on Scott's shoulder. "You didn't have to tell me about this; none of you did...and that means that I _can_ trust you." At that, Scott smiled. "Now," the Professor continued, "let's head inside..."

Just then, another car – a limo – pulled up in front of the Institute, and a young man of 20, in a casual black suit, with a bald head, stepped out. He smiled. "Hey, Clark." he greeted.

"Hey...Lex." Clark replied, confused.

The young man – "Lex" – walked up to the Professor, smiling warmly, extending his hand. "It's an honor to meet you, Professor Xavier." he said.. "Lex Luthor."

"Well...it's...quite an honor to meet you, as well, Mr. Luthor." the Professor replied. "What can I do for you?"

"Call me Lex," Lex replied, "and I was going to ask _you_ that." He held up a CD. "I think I have something you'd like to see. Shall we step inside?"

After the Professor, the instructors, Clark, and the X-Men had piled into the Professor's office – with the New Mutants waiting outside – Lex showed them the clip from the incident in September, which he'd shown Clark. "No-one outside of the highest security-clearance at LexCorp has seen this." Lex assured everyone. "And it will go no further."

The others were clearly shocked. "What...do you _want?_" the Professor asked.

Lex laughed. "You say that as if I'm blackmailing you!" he said. He handed the CD to the Professor. "I don't _want_ anything tangible, Professor Xavier; I just want to be in the loop, that's all."

"Mr. Luthor...Lex..." Xavier said, "...you have to realize that our existence must be kept a secret."

"And what guarantee do we have that you'll keep quiet about us?" Logan said. "How do we know you won't blab our secret, bub?"

"Logan." Ororo said calmly.

Lex's expression became neutral. "I see." he said. "And from that video, you're quite proficient at erasing memories, aren't you, Professor?"

"Only as a last resort." Xavier said softly.

"Well, I'd advise against that with me, Professor." Lex said. "You see, I keep very good records; if I find a note saying I went here, today, but I can't remember going, I'll just be back here, and I may be a little annoyed that someone played conga with my cerebral cortex. Sooner or later, people _are_ going to know about you, that's just a fact; and when that happens, you're going to need friends. You want me as a _friend_, not a potential enemy." He crossed his arms. "And you have the opportunity to decide that, right now."

Clark quickly stepped in. "Guys, he figured out that I'm Superman, and he kept quiet. I've known him since I was a kid." he said. "We can trust him."

Lex chuckled. "And don't be too hard on Clark; the only reason I figured it out is because I knew him." he said. "Plus, a twelfth-level intellect helps."

He looked at them. "Look, I know you guys stand for something good; something _important_." Lex continued. "I know that because I know Clark; he's the most decent, pure-minded soul on the _planet_. If you guys were up to no good, he'd have blown the whistle on you _long_ ago."

Rogue lightly chuckled. "He's got a point."

Lex smiled. "I'm sorry if I unnerved you guys; I just want to help." he said. He extended his hand to the Professor.

"Clark...does trust him." Scott said.

The Professor thought for a moment...and smiled, shaking Lex's hand. "Very well, Lex." he said. "I think we can trust you."

Lex smiled. "You won't be sorry." he said. He checked his watch. "Sorry, but I've got to run; stockholder meeting. I'll be in touch." he added. "See you later, everyone!" With that, he headed out the door.

It was in the afternoon when Alison got back, and Clark met her at the door. "Hey, Aly." he greeted, smiling.

Alison smiled radiantly as she saw him. "Hey, Clarkie!" she said. "How was your day?" Clark chuckled, as he started to tell her all that had happened since she'd left, as he walked with her up to her room.

By the time they were both outside Alison's room, Clark had finished telling her everything. "Wow...you've been busy." Alison murmured. Then, she frowned. "So...you met Lex, again."

Clark smiled guiltily. In his childhood, Lex had often pulled pranks...often on young Alison. "Look, I know he's not your favorite person, Aly, but he's really not a bad guy."

Alison frowned...and then nodded. "Okay, Clark; I'll give him a chance." she said. She smiled. "If you trust him, then he _can't_ be all bad."

Clark smiled, glad that Alison didn't completely disapprove of his old friend. "Thanks, Alison."

Alison's smile became shy. "So...before I left...what did you want to ask me?"

Clark gulped. "Oh. That." he stammered. "Well...you see..." He felt himself starting to freeze up...

And then he stopped. '_If Scott can tell Jean he loves her, I can ask Alison out._' he thought. "I was just wondering..." he began, "...if you were busy, over the next few days."

Alison blinked. "Well...I do have to study over the weekend for a Physics test." she said. "But...I'm free on Tuesday night." She looked at him, with those beautiful sapphire eyes, twinkling in confusion. "Why?"

Clark felt his mouth go dry. "Well..." he began, "...if you were free...I was hoping that...maybe..."

Alison's eyes widened. "Yes?" she whispered.

Clark took a deep breath, focused his thoughts, and went on before he could stop himself. "Dinner. Movie. 7:00 PM. Tuesday night. You and me. Yes or no?"

Alison didn't move for a few agonizingly long seconds...and then she smiled more radiantly than the sun itself, her obvious joy made ever more enchanting by the fact that her skin was lightly _glowing_. "_Yes._" she whispered through her smile.

Clark automatically smiled. "_Great!_" he said. "I'll...I'll see you on Tuesday, then!"

Alison giggled. "Clarkie," she cooed, "we live in the same building; we see each other every day."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, but...you know what I mean!" Clark said.

Alison smiled. "Yes, I know." she replied. She smiled shyly. "I'm looking forward to it." she cooed.

Clark smiled. "Me, too." he said. "Well...I'll let you get settled in."

"Okay." Alison said, as she stepped back into her room, her eyes never leaving his, until the door completely closed.

Clark smiled goofily, before he started walking away. It was looking to be a _perfect_ weekend...

...but it wasn't over, yet; Clark froze as his hearing picked up an emergency transmission. Quickly, he darted to his room, shedding his street clothes, clad in his uniform, once more. Darting to a window, Superman opened it and flew out, soaring off towards the trouble, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

In LexCorp HQ, Lex was sitting in his office, the stockholders' meeting finished, pondering what had happened, this morning. It had been an eventful two days.

Lex stood up, looking out the window over New York, thinking. What he'd seen on that video clip the first time...it had reminded him of something he'd heard about...

...and meeting Xavier and his students...it made that old curiosity come back...

Lex returned to his desk, typing on his computer, doing a search that only a highly sophisticated computer like his could do...searching through files that most computers couldn't even _see_.

_Government_ files.

Lex smiled wryly to himself. '_Pay dirt._' he thought. '_Here it is..._'

'_...the Sentinel Project._'

_Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. Writer's block sucks. I hope you like my version of Lex Luthor; I tried to base him on the young Lex played by Michael Rosenbaum on "Smallville," with my own personal touch added._

_Coming Soon:_

_Clark and Alison's first date._

_Will sparks of romance fly between the Man of Steel and Dazzler?_

_Or will a certain obsessed enchantress and alien-envying silver speedster ruin the evening?_

_Find out in "Date Night," coming to your computer soon…_


	10. Date Night

CHAPTER NINE: DATE NIGHT

_Xavier Institute, October 29, 2007_

As the morning sun rose over the Xavier Institute, the students had all gathered in the kitchen for breakfast. As was the case at every breakfast, most of the students were chatting to one another, though the main topic of discussion was different, due to the occasion.

"I bet Aly's psyched for her date with Clark, tonight!" Jubilee exclaimed. "She's so _lucky!_"

Tabitha nodded, chuckling. "Aly's landed a _marlin_, that's for sure!" she said.

"Like I said before, he is one _lucky_ alien." Ray said. "How on _Earth_ did he score a date with one of the hottest chicks on the _planet?_"

"Yeah; he is like a freakin' _magician_." Bobby said, chuckling.

"How did he pull it off?" Roberto wondered. "She's a _superstar!_ She's _completely_ out of _any_ guy's league!"

Sam laughed. "Not _his!_ He's _Superman!_" he said.

"_Plus_, Aly's been _crazy_ about Clark ever since they were _kids!_" Kitty exclaimed.

Amara giggled. "And that was _before_ she found out he was Superman."

"Okay, guys; enough." Scott chuckled. "Clark and Alison are our friends; we shouldn't be talking about them."

Jean giggled. "Remember, Scott, they talked about the two of _us_, before." she said. "I guess they found a new topic."

"We're just happy for them!" Kitty exclaimed.

"My ears are burning."

Everyone turned to see Alison walk in, clad in her light blue pajama pants and tank top, under her blue terry-cloth bathrobe, smiling amusedly. "Oh, uh...h-hi, Aly!" Kitty stammered. "We were just..."

"...talking about my date with Clark, tonight." Alison finished, with a smile. "I still can't believe you guys had a betting pool on when Clark and I would go out."

Rogue snorted. "_Ah_ can't believe that Swamp-Rat _won_." she muttered.

Lance frowned. "Yeah, LeBeau; how'd you pull that off?"

Remy just grinned. "Dey don' call Remy 'Gambit' fo' nothin'." he said. "Remy got t' say, dis weekend pas' been one o' de mos' _profitable_ ones dat Remy 'ad in a while."

Kurt chuckled. "_Ja_, I heard zat you cleaned up vith your poker table!"

"Hey, where's CK?" Evan inquired.

"I think he's still out on his patrol." Scott observed.

Alison smiled lightly. "He's so hard-working." she cooed.

Just then, a sonic boom echoed overhead...and everyone smiled, before resuming breakfast.

After returning from his patrol and donning his work clothes, Clark took a few minutes to put the finishing touches on his next university assignment that was due in a few days – which was plenty of time, with his pace. As he typed, he couldn't help but smile; his date with Alison was tonight.

A mild panic started to take hold of his mind. '_Where will we go for dinner? What movie will we go see? Oh, dear Lord, will she let me kiss her, or hold her hand?_' These and other worries clouded his thoughts.

He had honestly never expected that anything like this would happen. Ever since his time in the Fortress, he'd at first resigned himself to being alone in the world; he'd never expected to find acceptance, let _alone_ find affection from a human woman. Even though he'd found a home at the Institute, he'd never _dared_ to hope that he might find _more_.

One of his fondest wishes had come true...and he had no _idea_ what to do.

His typing complete, Clark put on his glasses, parted his hair in front, and switched on his image-inducer, completing his nervous, bumbling persona. He then headed out of his room...

...and came face-to-face with Alison, looking lovely in her bathrobe over her pajamas.

Alison smiled at him. "Hi, Clarkie." she whispered.

Clark smiled back, his brain momentarily locking up as he saw her. "Hi, Aly." he replied. "How are you?"

"Fine." Alison replied. "How was your patrol?"

Clark smiled. "I had to patch up a research submarine in the Arctic." he said. "They must have struck an iceberg; since over 90 percent of an iceberg's mass is below the surface, they're even _more_ dangerous to submarines. They must have ascended too close to one."

Alison's smile grew. "Another disaster averted." she cooed.

Clark nodded. He felt his face start to burn. "So...are you ready for tonight?"

Alison nodded, her pretty face taking on a lovely rosy tint. "I...think so." she whispered.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "So...where did you want to go for dinner?"

Alison just shrugged prettily, her smile becoming shy. "Wherever you want to go, Clark. I'm okay with whatever you choose." she said. "Anyway, I've got to get ready for school."

"Oh. _Right_. Of _course!_" Clark stammered. "I'll just...get out of your way."

Alison giggled. "I'm really looking forward to tonight, Clark." she cooed.

Clark felt his anxieties vanish at her smile. "Me too, Alison." he said. Then, he stepped aside, letting her head to the bathroom. As she stepped in, she turned back meeting his gaze, smiling sweetly, never breaking their gaze...until the door separated them.

As Clark headed on his way, to grab a quick bite before heading to the Bugle, he smiled to himself. '_I can do this._' he thought. '_I've defused reactors about to go critical, I've gone toe-to-toe with Juggernaut...heck, I once looked __**Doom**__ right in the eye. I can handle a date with Alison, right?_' He sighed to himself.

'_Dear Lord...__**please**__ don't let me mess this up._'

_Bayville High_

In that oh-so-brief time before classes started in the morning, Alison, in her usual pink tank-top and jeans, was gathering her books...or at least _trying_ to; the fact that her brain was a _puddle_ of happy, love-struck _mush_ wasn't helping any.

Tonight, she was going on a date with _Clark_.

She couldn't have been happier.

Her joy quickly gave way to anxiety. '_Oh my God...I'm going on a __**date**__ with him! W-What if he kisses me? What if he doesn't like me?!_' These thoughts paralyzed her; the thought of her messing up the evening, of Clark not wanting to speak to her again...they twisted her insides into _knots_. She _couldn't_ lose him...she just _couldn't_...

Alison shook off her worries, smiling; tonight would be _fine_. After regaining control of herself, Alison gathered her books, and turned to go to class...and bumped into Amanda, who had become one of her friends at school, who was also heading to class. "Oh, hi, Alison!" Amanda greeted.

"Hi, Amanda!" Alison replied.

Amanda took note of Alison's smile. "How come you're so happy, girl?" she asked, smiling.

Alison couldn't keep the blush off her face. "Remember that guy I told you I liked?" she asked. "He asked me out!"

"That's _wonderful!_" Amanda exclaimed, giving her a quick hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks!" Alison said. She smiled. "What about _you?_ Haven't you asked Kurt out, yet?"

Amanda blushed fiercely. "I couldn't." she murmured. "W-What if he doesn't like me back? I'd just end up making a total _fool_ of myself!"

Alison smiled. "Well...why not take it slow, first?" she suggested. "You're in Biology with him, right?"

"Well...yeah."

"And don't you need a lab-partner for that class, and you have to pick one _today?_"

"Well...yeah." Amanda said. Then, her eyes lit up. "Ali, that's _brilliant!_" she exclaimed. "I'll ask to be his lab-partner!"

Alison nodded, smiling. "And _that_ way, you can get used to being around him, as well as finding out if he likes you!"

Amanda let out a soft, happy squeal, before hugging Alison again. "Oh, _thank you_, Alison!" she exclaimed. Then, Amanda headed to class. Smiling at how happy her friend was, Alison turned to head to class...

A silver blur darted up to her. "Hey, babe."

Alison rolled her eyes. "Go _away_, Pietro."

Pietro paid her no heed, on autopilot, as he looped an arm around her shoulders. "So, guess who's going to the monster-truck rally, tonight?"

Alison's eyes narrowed angrily as she pushed his arm off. "You and your ego?"

Pietro chuckled. "Good guess, but no." he said, as he pulled out two tickets. "You and me, gorgeous."

Alison fought the urge to punch the little bastard out. "Pietro, I'm not even going to _mention_ the fact that I wouldn't go out with you if you were the _last_ guy on _Earth_." she said. "I already _have_ a date, tonight."

_That_ wiped the smug grin off Pietro's face. "With _who?!_" he demanded. Then, it hit him. "With _him?!_ That _loser?!_"

Alison frowned at the crass mention of Clark – her sweetie. "I've had the misfortune of dating losers, before, Pietro...and _he_ isn't one of them."

Pietro's smug expression returned. "Look, Alison...who would you prefer?" he said. "Some Boy-Scout _chump_ with his head in the clouds?" He reached out to stroke her face. "Or someone who _knows_ how to have a good time?"

Alison moved back before Pietro could touch her face. "I think I'd prefer the guy who _isn't_ an absolute _jerk_." she snapped. With that, she walked off, leaving Pietro behind, as she headed to class.

Pietro was seething as Alison walked off. He could _not_ believe what he'd just heard.

'_That cape-clad __**loser**__ takes the respect of my father from me...and __**now**__ he scores the hottest chick on the __**planet**__?!_' he thought. '_No __**way**__ am I going to let that geek one-up me! __**Not**__ this time!_'

Storming off, Pietro's mind raced...and he smiled to himself; _Anita_ would want to hear about this.

_New York City_

Clark had been on his break when he heard the silent store-alarm go off. He'd quickly darted into the empty elevator-shaft, discreetly zipped in, and flown up and into the open sky, shedding his work-clothes and stashing them, clad in his uniform, now. Superman listened carefully; a convenience store had just been robbed, and the two crooks responsible were fleeing into an alley.

Superman darted towards the alley, diving down and snatching up one of them, dropping him next to a police car before anyone saw him. He quickly flew back to get the other one...and found him dazedly walking back, heading for the same police car, his eyes glazed over. "I must turn myself in." he said, as if in a trance. "I must turn myself in."

Superman then heard that familiar giggle, and sighed to himself, before flying up to the rooftop...where Siryn was sitting on the edge of the roof, in her uniform, smiling at him, twirling a lock of her hair. "Hi, handsome." she cooed.

Superman arched an eyebrow quizzically. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" he asked. These past few days, Siryn had been discreetly assisting in his crime-fighting in New York...but he had a feeling that her motives weren't exactly the same as his.

Siryn giggled. "I'm on my lunch break, Kal-El." she purred. "How _sweet_ of you to inquire!"

She smiled. "You know, Kal-El..." Siryn continued, "...I heard something silly, today. I heard that you actually _care_ for that 'Dazzler' girl, Alison Blaire."

"That is _none_ of your business." Superman said firmly.

Siryn's eyes narrowed. "Then it's _true!_" she hissed. "_Why_, Kal-El?! What do you _see_ in her?! How can you prefer _her_ over _me?!_"

"Siryn, you endangered my friends, tried to bespell me, and distracted me from helping people for a _week_." Superman said, crossing his arms. "Need I continue?"

Siryn frowned. "You can't _honestly_ be interested in that...little blonde _floozy!_"

"That's _enough!_" Superman shouted, his voice echoing across the sky, his eyes narrowed. "As I said, my personal life is _none_ of your business. I've told you I wasn't interested on _several_ occasions, Siryn. Try _listening_, this time."

Siryn's eyes narrowed. "As _I_ said, Kal-El, I don't take 'no' for an answer. I _always_ get what I want." she said. "I suggest you snap out of this little fondness _quick_, because I am _not_ patient."

Superman's expression didn't change. "I would have never guessed." he said flatly. At that, Siryn made a single sound of frustration, before she vanished into green mist. Superman then took off, flying back towards the Daily Bugle, before anyone noticed he was gone.

Anita was _livid_ as she teleported herself back to Bayville High, after stopping by her apartment to change back into her street clothes. She was ready to _murder_ that little...

"I see you've figured it out."

Anita stopped to meet Pietro's gaze, as the silver-haired speedster was leaning casually against a locker. "You were actually _right_, Maximoff." Anita said. "He's _smitten_ with her!"

"Hate to say 'I told you so'." Pietro said. "Normally, I'd add, 'No, I don't,' but in _this_ case, I _do_, because Alison's _just_ as bonkers about _him_."

Anita could actually feel her blood _boiling_. "_Where_ is that little _twit?!_" she hissed. "Because when I find her..!"

"Whoa, there, LeRoux; let's not be _too_ hasty." Pietro said. "A wise man once said, 'Don't get mad, get _even_.' Why not nip this thing in the bud, before you go getting all bent out of shape?"

Anita arched an eyebrow. "Your suggestion?"

"_Sabotage_." Pietro said, grinning. "We may have different reasons, but we've got the same goal: make that date the _worst_ one they've ever had."

Anita _liked_ that idea; she wanted to _ruin_ Alison's evening, make her regret _ever_ setting eyes on _her_ man. And if Pietro had his own reasons – likely because he wanted the comely blonde for _himself_ – then that was just as well; the end result was the same.

"Tell me more..."

It was about 5:30 in the evening when Clark got back to the Institute; old JJ had kept him late with paperwork. He quickly darted to his room, removing his image-inducer and glasses, as well as ruffling his hair back to its normal state, before donning his white t-shirt and jeans over his uniform. He had just enough time to get a head start on one of his assignments before taking Ali to dinner. He was just about to sit down at his computer...

...when his cell-phone rang. Clark picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Clark._"

Clark smiled. "Hey, Lex." he greeted. "So, how's the life of a boy-billionaire?"

Lex chuckled. "_Harder than you'd think; I just came from a conference in Japan._" he said. "_And how's superhero-life, oh Man of Steel?_"

Clark laughed. "Busy." he said. He started to sit down...after he removed the Mark V whoopie-cushion that the New Mutants had placed under the cushion of his chair. "Nice try, guys!" he called out laughing.

"_What's going on?_" Lex inquired.

Clark chuckled. "Oh, just another attempt by the New Mutants to prank me." he said. "This time, they tried the old 'whoopie-cushion on the chair gag.'"

Lex chuckled. "_Amateurish._" he said. "_Although you __**do**__ have to give them some points; the cushion is a __**classic**__! What model?_"

"Mark V."

Lex whistled. "_They may be amateurs, but they're amateurs with __**taste**__; very __**nice**__._" he said. "_Personally, I prefer the Mark VI, for superior embarrassing power._"

Clark arched an eyebrow. "Isn't that still in development?"

"_I'm one of the top customers for gag items, Clark; one of the perks is that I get dibs on any new pranking equipment before it's released to the general public._"

Clark laughed. "That's our Lex; greatest prankster ever to come out of Smallville...God help Smallville!" he said. "Remember the time you added green food-coloring to the water supply at your house?"

"_Now, Clark, you know that my father could never prove I did that!_" Lex laughed. "_So, what's on Superman's itinerary for tonight?_"

Clark smiled. "I'm taking Alison out on a date."

"_Wait...you're taking out Aly? __**Little**__ Aly?_" Lex laughed.

Clark chuckled. "She's not so little, anymore, Lex!"

"_I know, I know, I'm just ribbing you._" Lex chuckled. "_Well, I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not; remember how she always followed us – or rather, __**you**__ – around, during the summer?_"

Clark's face went a bit red. "Well...yeah." he admitted. His face saddened. "And I remember all the times you pranked her...and _she_ does, too."

"_Uh-oh. I hope I don't end up putting you in the dog-house._" Lex said. "_But it was just so __**easy**__! It was like she was __**wearing**__ a 'Prank Me' sign, as far as my juvenile eyes were concerned!_"

Clark frowned. "Lex, I hate to say this again, but some of your pranks weren't exactly good-natured." he said. "She was a sweet girl – and she still _is_ – and you were such a _bully_, sometimes!"

"_I know, I know._" Lex relented. "_You really like her, don't you?_"

Clark arched an eyebrow. "Why is everyone so interested in my love-life?"

"_Oh, __**love**__-life? I didn't know it was __**that**__ serious!_"

Clark groaned. "Are you _always_ this irritating?"

"_Of course! Who else but a best friend could be anywhere __**near**__ as irritating as I am?_" Lex laughed. "_And you haven't denied it, buster!_" He sighed. "_Anyway, I've gotta go; company meeting. I hope you and Alison have a good time, tonight, old pal._" Lex chuckled. "_Don't do anything __**I**__ wouldn't do! Later!_" With that, Lex hung up.

After doing some typing, Clark checked his watch, and put on his black jacket, before going to meet Alison at her room. As he walked down the hallway, Kitty met him halfway to Ali's room. "So, you and Aly are going on your date?" she asked, smiling.

Clark smiled. "That's the plan, Kit."

Kitty's smile grew. "What movie are you both going to see?"

Clark paused. "Uh...I have no idea." he admitted.

Kitty sighed, clasping her hands. "How _romantic!_" she exclaimed. "I hope you both have a wonderful time!"

Clark smiled. "Thanks, Kitty." he said. Then, Kitty walked away...as Clark stopped in front of Alison's door. '_Okay...I can do this._' he thought. He took a deep breath...and knocked on her door.

"Coming!" Alison called from her room. Seconds later, she opened her door, and walked out, clad in simple jeans, a brown jacket, and shades. She quickly tied her long, silky gold tresses into a tight bun, before covering her head with a cap. If Clark hadn't seen her come out of her room, he would never have recognized her...though she was still dazzling. She smiled that mega-watt smile, the one that could make his knees get a bit wobbly. "So?" she asked. "What do you think?"

Clark smiled. "Alison, you look _lovely_."

Alison smiled lightly. "Thank you, Clark...but it isn't what you expected, I know." she assured him. "I'm _incognito_, Clarkie. Dressing like this is pretty much the only way I can ever go out in public without my fans _mobbing_ me!" She sighed. "As much as I would _love_ to wear something pretty for our date, if I do, people will recognize me, and our date will be shot to _hell_. Not only that, people will start asking questions about the guy I'm with..."

"You don't need to explain, Aly." Clark said, smiling. Her disguise was for _his_ sake as much as her own. "You look _lovely_."

Alison smiled, lightly blushing. "_Thank you!_" she said. "And you look...really handsome, Clark."

Clark smiled, offering his arm to her. "Shall we?"

Alison smiled radiantly. "_Let's!_" she agreed, taking his arm. Clark smiled, as they both headed out of the Institute.

They both took the bus into the city, simply chatting about normal, everyday stuff on the way. Clark had to smile; Alison was just a normal young woman of 17...who simply happened to have mutant powers and an _amazing_ voice – she was so unlike all the other spoiled pop-divas in the music business.

And Alison marveled at how Clark was still the same kind, pure-hearted guy she'd known as a child; the first one to do the right thing...even though he had the power to do _anything_ he wanted. His moral compass was still dead-on-target...which only further endeared him to her.

Before long, they arrived at the restaurant that Clark had planned to take her to. They both headed in, sat down, and ordered. Clark smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry that this isn't exactly the classiest place around, Aly..." he began.

"Clark, it's _fine!_" Alison assured him, smiling. She blushed slightly. "As long as I get to spend time with you, I'm happy."

Now _Clark_ was blushing, though his face felt like it was going to cramp from smiling. "I'm...happy to spend time with you, too, Alison."

Alison's blush intensified, her face rosy. "Wow...it's been a crazy year for the both of us, hasn't it?" she commented. Her voice became a whisper, so no-one would hear them. "My career has taken off..." she smiled, "...and _you_ saved the _world_."

Clark chuckled. "I found acceptance, and a new family." he said. "It's _definitely_ been an eventful year."

Alison nodded. "I know." she agreed. "And the start of the _next_ one looks _nuts_." She sighed. "I have so many CD recordings and concerts scheduled for January and February, it isn't even _funny_."

Clark smiled. "You'll _ace_ them, Alison." he said. "Your voice is _amazing_." His smile became bashful. "On your recording, this past weekend, I...kinda listened in a bit." His smile grew. "Alison...you have the most beautiful voice I've ever _heard_." '_And the __**rest**__ of you is __**just**__ as beautiful._' he thought.

Alison blushed. "Really? You...really think so?" she whispered.

Clark smiled. "I _know_ so."

Alison's blush intensified. "_T-Thank you!_" she cooed, smiling...as a very faint glow surrounded her lovely face, before she regained control. She smiled at him. "Clark, you're _just_ as amazing, if not _more_." she whispered. "You do so many amazing things, and take _zero_ credit for them."

Clark chuckled. "I just wish I was better at avoiding cameras." he said. "I've been partially spotted a few times."

Alison giggled. "I know; people are talking about you." she said. "One of my friends, Lila, once told me that Paris Hilton once put up a billboard with her number so you could call her!"

Clark blinked. "Wait...that was _real?_"

Alison giggled. "You mean, you actually _saw_ it?"

"Well...yeah..." Clark admitted, "...but I thought it was a _joke_. Miss Hilton isn't exactly my 'cup of tea.'"

Alison smiled. "In other words, she's a total bitch."

"Well, I wouldn't say _that_." Clark said.

Alison smiled. "Clark, you wouldn't say anything bad about _anyone_. What would someone have to do to make your 'blacklist'?"

Clark frowned. "Threatening innocent people is one way." he said. "Organized crime is another. That puts Magneto, Doom, and Kingpin in my bad books...though it's a toss-up as to which is the worst."

Alison nodded. "With Siryn being a close runner-up?" she giggled.

Clark smiled. "_Exactly_ my thoughts, Aly." Then, he saw the waitress head towards them, with their orders in hand.

Anita had sat in a table a few feet from Kal-El and Alison, close enough to see them without being seen herself, but not enough so she could hear them talking. '_What does he __**see**__ in her?!_' she mentally fumed.

In the booth next to hers, Pietro had sat; they'd followed the two from the Institute to this place. Pietro scowled. "What now?" he whispered.

Anita spied the waitress heading towards Kal-El and Alison...and she smiled. "_Spill everything on the girl._" she ordered. The waitress took on a dazed expression, her eyes glazing over, as she walked on.

Anita smiled to herself. She would make Alison's date one she would _never_ forget.

Clark heard Anita's command when the waitress was half-way to their table. He kept calm, and turned to the waitress as she stopped at their table. Alison smiled. "Thank you!" she said. The waitress did not respond, as the tray started to tip towards Alison...

Quickly, Clark caught the tray, stopping it. "Here, let me help you." he said, smiling.

The waitress shook off her trance. "Huh?" she murmured. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay." Clark assured her. "No harm done."

As the frazzled waitress walked off, Alison smiled at Clark. "You _are_ handy!" she cooed.

Clark smiled back...and then sighed. "We've got company." he said. "Several tables down; Anita and Pietro. Don't look."

Alison frowned. "Well, it looks like I've made Her Majesty's bad books." she said. "And Pietro's likely here because I turned him down, today."

Clark frowned. "Has he been harassing you in school?"

Alison nodded. "That creep will _not_ take a hint." she said. She looked regretful. "And now I've made him hate you..."

Clark chuckled. "Aly, he hated me _long_ before you came around." he replied. "His father, Magneto, wanted to recruit me, to be 'the leader of _Homo superior_' in some prophecy, and I guess Pietro got jealous."

Alison frowned. "Yeah, I remember; that creep used _Kryptonite_ on you, for four _hours_." she said. Her expression saddened. "That must have been _awful_..."

Clark nodded. "It was _not_ fun." he agreed. Then, he frowned. "Looks like Speedy's going to try to dump his drink on me." he added.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the silver-headed speedster get ready to go, drink in hand. When no-one was looking, he darted towards Clark at top speed...though, to Clark's eyes, it was as if he were going in slow-motion. Clark got ready to dodge...

...and then a tiny flash of light blinded Pietro as he got close, causing him to trip and slide across the floor, landing flat on his face, his soda spilling over himself.

Clark looked at Alison, who was smiling triumphantly. "What?" she asked innocently.

Clark smiled. "Nothing."

Alison smiled back. "I can't _stand_ jerks like Pietro, Clarkie." she said. She looked regretful. "When I was just starting my career, I did go on a few dates...but the guys turned out to be _jerks_. They were either too self-absorbed to pay any attention to me, were only dating me as a publicity stunt, or wanted to get in my pants from the get-go."

Clark frowned, his fists clenching under the table, at the thought of anyone mistreating his Aly. '_Wait...__**my**__ Aly?_' he thought to himself. "I see."

Alison lightly smiled. "Thankfully, I managed to ditch those creeps quickly before they started looking for a kiss." she said. 'I wanted my first kiss to be from a guy I actually _liked_." Her smile turned shy. "I guess part of the reason I couldn't stand them was because...they just couldn't compare to my _first_ crush."

Clark felt his face start to heat up. '_Wow._' he thought.

Alison's smile became shy. "So...what about you?" she inquired. "Have you been involved with someone, lately?"

Clark shook his head. "No, Aly; not since Smallville." he said. "Back before I left Smallville, I was just an overly-awkward, withdrawn kid, with freakish powers that I had no _clue_ about. I had pretty much given up on any girl ever giving me the time of day." He sighed. "And that was _before_ I discovered where I was from. For four years, I had resigned myself to the fact that I was completely alone in the world." He smiled. "And then the X-Men found me, and gave me a home." he added. "I was glad to have been proven wrong about that, Alison...and I'm glad to be proven wrong, again."

Alison beamed, her pretty face taking on a lovely rosy tint. "I'm glad, too, Clark." she cooed.

After they had finished their meal and Clark paid the bill, they took the bus to the local movie theater. As he and Alison looked at the choices of movies, they decided on the newest Robin Williams comedy. Clark paid for their tickets, and they both headed into the theater, not getting any popcorn; since they had just ate, they weren't hungry. The movie started shortly after they took their seats, sitting next to each other. Soon, they were engrossed in the movie, and laughing themselves _silly_ at the misadventures of Robin Williams' character.

Clark then noticed how close Alison's hand was to his on the armrest. Slowly, his hand inched closer to hers...until they were right next to each other. Alison took notice, and smiled, her intricate fingers lightly tracing a circle on the back of his hand. Clark smiled back, and took her hand in his, their fingers entwining comfortably. Clark marveled at how soft her hands were; her skin was as soft as _silk_.

And Alison smiled at Clark's gentle touch; he was likely the most powerful being on the planet, capable of crushing _steel_ in his grip...and he was holding her hand so gently, and yet so firmly, a wonderful combination that suited him _perfectly_. And she couldn't help but notice how her tiny hand just seemed to _fit_ in his, how _right_ his touch felt. She removed her glasses, looking into his eyes, those caring eyes, oh-so-impossibly blue; they were the perfect blue of the cloudless sky, a perfect color for this wonderful man who flew through the air, _defying_ gravity outright.

And Clark looked into Alison's eyes; they were a deep blue, the color of the boundless sea, glittering like the ocean as the sun rose above it. Her eyes were deep, pristine pools of liquid crystal, which he could willingly _drown_ in...

A tiny whistling cut the air...as a tiny piece of popcorn hit him in the head.

Clark groaned to himself, seconds before a second piece hit him. He tracked the sound to one of the back rows...where Pietro was sitting. '_Figures._' he thought. "Our friends have followed us." he whispered.

Alison's beautiful eyes narrowed as she frowned. "Can't that _jerk_ take a _hint?_" she muttered.

Clark heard Pietro throw another kernel, and he discreetly caught it, before giving it the tiniest flick; the kernel shot back towards Pietro, knocking him out of his seat, landing noisily in the aisle, where the usher promptly escorted him out.

The distraction gone, Clark and Alison returned their gaze to the movie, their hands still entwined...and then Clark frowned as he caught a command on UHF, seconds before a portly fellow sat in front of them, obscuring their view.

Clark groaned. "I don't _believe_ this."

Alison giggled. "Okay, _now_ it's getting kinda _funny!_" she said.

At that, Clark had to smile. "You're right." he agreed, chuckling. "This date is turning into a comedy of errors!" Then, his eyes met hers again...and he held her gaze, pausing. Alison had stopped, too, looking into his eyes, as if they had both come to the same realization at the same time. Slowly, they inched closer to each other...

...and then, Clark's hearing picked up a distress call.

Clark stopped, his lips _inches_ from Aly's. '_Dang it, of all the lousy, rotten timing..._'

Alison lightly smiled, noticing his expression. "Trouble?"

"There's an airplane in distress over British Colombia." Clark whispered. "_God_, Aly, I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay." Alison assured him. "There are people who need you. I'll be fine; I'll just wait for you, here, so go on."

Clark smiled. "_Thanks_, Alison." he whispered. "I'll be as quick as I can, I _promise_." With that, he hurried out of the theater, darting into an empty alley, shedding his street clothes and tucking them away in a nook. Superman then took to the sky, flying towards the trouble, a sonic boom echoing in his wake.

Alison could only smile as Clark headed off to save the day, again. He went out like this _every_ day, using his incredible power for the good of the entire world. '_How on __**Earth**__ is he still single?_" she thought with a smile.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Alison frowned as she heard that voice, looking behind her to see Anita, who had just walked over. "What do you want, LeRoux?"

Anita's eyes narrowed. "_Stay away from Kal-El._" she hissed.

"You can't tell me what to do." Alison shot back. "And if you try to use your powers, it won't work; we _all_ have those Neutralizers – after Kal kicked your butt, they became standard equipment in our uniforms." She smiled at Anita's shocked expression; soon after Clark had used the Neutralizer to counter Anita's powers, he'd promptly built them for _all_ the students, in the event that she confronted them when he wasn't there.

Anita quickly recomposed herself. "He's _mine_." she snapped.

"News flash, girl: you don't own him."

Anita looked _livid_. "This is the only warning you're going to get, _wench_; either you stay away from him, or I will make you wish you were never _born_."

"Talking to you for five _seconds_ is enough to make _anyone_ wish they were never born." Alison retorted. Anita didn't scare her; she'd once had to trade barbs with some of the people in _Hollywood_. As far as verbal jousting was concerned, Anita didn't have _anything_ she hadn't seen before.

Anita scowled at the shot...and then smiled slyly. "_Oh my gosh, it's Alison Blaire!_" she squealed, in her best girly-girl voice. At that, the entire audience perked up, and Alison's eyes widened in horror. Before anyone could realize it was her, she ran out of the theater, looking for a place to hide from her fans.

Minutes after flying away from the theater, Superman reached the west coast of Canada, finding the airplane in distress, and flying beneath it, lifting it up and helping it land at a British Colombia airport. He then quickly flew off before anyone could spot him, heading back towards the theater...and Alison.

She was _awesome_; she'd completely understood why he'd had to go. She was absolutely _wonderful_...

Superman frowned to himself. She _was_ wonderful...which meant that she deserved better than having her date run out on her every time they went out. Not only that, she still had no idea what she was getting into, what it would mean if she wanted to be with him, an alien. She _deserved_ to know.

Before long, Superman was over the theater, and looked into the building, to see how Ali was...but she was gone.

Superman sighed sadly. Maybe she'd figured it out, after all...

Suddenly, his belt-communicator started to beep. He unclipped it and activated it, activating the call-masking. "Hello?"

"_Clark?_"

Superman smiled weakly. "Hi, Aly."

"_I'm hiding, Clark; Anita ratted me out._" she said. "_I just had to call you and tell you because I didn't want you to think I'd bailed on you._"

Those words instantly lifted Superman's mood. "Where are you?" he asked.

"_I'm on the roof._"

"Okay." Superman said. "I'll be right there." He quickly closed the communicator and put it back on his belt, before descending to the theater rooftop...where Alison was waiting. "I'm...glad you stayed, Aly." he said softly.

Alison smiled. "Of _course_ I stayed! I've wanted to go out with you since _forever_, and no bratty mutant _witch_ is going to stop me!"

Superman smiled. "I'm...sorry that this date didn't go so well."

Alison smiled. "It's okay." she cooed. "Those two were just being jerks." She smiled mischievously. "Next time, we'll make sure they don't find out."

Superman took a deep breath. "I...need to talk to you about that, Alison." he said. "If...you stay with me...I can't guarantee that I won't have to fly off..."

"You don't have to explain." Alison said, smiling. "You give so much of yourself to the _world_, Clark. So many people depend on you; you carry the weight of the entire _world_ on your shoulders." Her smile grew. "You are the most unselfish man I've ever met, Clark. If you can sacrifice so much of yourself for the world...then _I_ can make one for _you_." Her smile turned shy. "I still want to be with you."

Superman smiled at that; those words were the most beautiful words he'd ever heard...but he still had to make things clear to her. "Alison...I want to be with you, too...but there are some things you _need_ to understand. You _deserve_ to know about this, up-front." he said. "Aly...I'm an _alien_."

"I know, Clark." Alison whispered.

"No, I don't think you _do_." Superman said softly. "I may look like a human; I may have – mostly – the same internal physiology...but I'm _not_. I'm a different species from humanity, Alison...and that means if you stay with me – in the future – it's likely that I can't give you children; my DNA is fundamentally different from a human's – incompatible. No matter how much I want to, it won't happen. And not only that..." he took a deep breath, "...the average Kryptonian life-span is _thrice_ that of a human's, Alison...and _that's_ just assuming that the Earth's yellow sun doesn't have any effect on my aging. I'll still be in my prime when you..." he didn't finish. "Alison, I want to be with you...but you _deserve_ to know the truth before you choose to be with me."

Alison paused, considering what he'd told her...and then she smiled. "Clark, I don't know if I even _want_ kids." she cooed. "We both have our lives ahead of us, though I have thought about it on occasion. And as for the 'life-span' thing..." her smile grew in radiance, "...I don't _care_. _Anything_ could happen to either of us, Clark. And even if you live forever and I die of old age...I'll be happy in the knowledge that I got to spend some of my life – if not all – with you...even if it's only a _fraction_ of _your_ life."

Superman smiled at those words, words that he had honestly never expected to hear, let _alone_ from a woman as lovely, intelligent, and wonderful as Alison. Slowly, he walked towards her, standing before her, gazing into her sapphire pools...before slowly leaning towards her. Alison closed her eyes, standing up on the tips of her toes, in blissful anticipation...

...but nothing happened. Alison opened her eyes, to find that Superman had stopped. "Clark..?"

Superman smiled. "Traditionally, the kiss is saved for close to the _end_ of the date." he said. "There's a bit more left, Aly."

Alison smiled. "O-Okay." she said. Superman smiled, a boyish smile that made Alison's heart start to do _cartwheels_...and then he quickly but gently lifted her into his arms, and leapt off, jumping over a _mile_, landing on another rooftop, before jumping again, until they were at the city limits, where Superman took off at impressive speeds, running at amazing speed, but not so fast that it would hurt Alison. Alison giggled to herself, enjoying the double-thrill of moving so fast...and at being in Clark's arms.

Soon, they were at the Institute. "You have sessions in the morning." Superman said. "Go put your uniform on, because we'll probably be out for a while. I just need to pick up my street clothes."

"Okay." Alison said, smiling, and she headed inside, as Superman flew off.

Superman was waiting in the yard as Alison walked out, clad in her uniform, looking beautiful; she _always_ looked beautiful, Superman thought with a smile.

Alison smiled shyly, self-conscious under his scrutiny. "So...what now?" she cooed.

Superman smiled, and extended his hand to her. "Take my hand." he said softly.

Dazzler beamed, and did so. "Okay."

Superman gently placed her arm securely around his. "Now..._hold on tight._"

Dazzler was confused...until she saw his legs start to bend, as if they were coiled springs...and she realized what he was about to do. "Clark...wait...I have this terrible fear of heights..!"

Superman took off into the sky, taking Dazzler with him, heading straight up, breaking through the clouds, and then flying off, at a speed that wouldn't hurt Alison, but would get them to their destination swiftly. Soon, they had arrived, and Superman stopped, hovering high above the Earth, the land far below. He looked around, smiling; he'd timed this right. Then, he looked to Alison, to comfort her.

"_EEEEEYYYYAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!_"

Alison scream echoed across the sky as she held onto his arm for dear life, burying her face in his shoulder. "_Please, please, please put me down!_" she begged.

Superman felt a little guilty at bringing her up here...but he knew that if she saw what he wanted her to see, she wouldn't be afraid. "Aly..."

"_I'll fall! I'll die!_" Dazzler wailed.

"Ali..."

"_And from this height, I'll just go __**splat**__, and there won't be enough left of me to..!_"

"_Alison!_"

Dazzler stopped, looking up at him, her lovely sapphire eyes still wide with fright. Superman smiled gently. "I'm not going to let _anything_ happen to you." he said softly. "Now, just look, or you'll miss it!"

Superman then carefully moved Alison in front of him, letting her stand on his feet, his hands resting on her creamy, delicate shoulders. The gesture soothed Alison immensely, though she was still nervous, and her arms folded across her chest, as her hands sought his for comfort. She looked down. "W-Where are we?" she whispered.

"_Rome._" Superman said. "Vatican City, to be specific. Sometimes, I stop overhead, to listen to the Pope's sermons." He smiled sheepishly. "I hope His Holiness doesn't mind an eavesdropper."

Dazzler lightly giggled, before she gulped. "W-We're...s-so high up..." she stammered.

Very gently, Superman placed his hands around her slim, slender waist, marveling at how soft she was to his touch. "I've got you, Aly." he whispered. "I won't let you fall."

Those words _instantly_ reassured Alison, as color surged to her cheeks. She had _never_ felt so safe, and his touch was so gentle, so _wonderful_...

With a contented sigh, Alison leaned back against his chest, savoring the wonderful warmth of him. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" she cooed.

Superman smiled. "No, Alison." he said. "I had to time this just right; over here, it's a little later than it is in Bayville..." he chuckled, "...or a little _earlier_, depending on your point of view."

Dazzler blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Here it comes..." Superman said, "..._look!_" At that, Alison followed his gaze...towards the horizon, which was slowly turning gold...

...and then, the sun broke through the clouds, bathing them, the sky, and Vatican City below in golden radiance.

Alison gasped. "Clark...it's _beautiful_..." she whispered.

Superman smiled. "I thought you might like it."

Dazzler could only gaze at the incredible sunrise. In that very instant, she honestly could not remember why she'd _ever_ been afraid of heights. "Clark...is this how you see the world?"

Superman smiled. "More often than not." he said. He was so glad he'd taken her here; he'd wanted to share this with her, to share the sheer, ecstatic joy of flight with this special young woman.

She looked up at him, the sunlight playing across her face, making her look so ethereally beautiful. "It's _amazing_." she cooed. "Oh, _thank_ you, Clark; thank you for sharing this with me."

Superman could only smile at her...and then he looked into her sapphire gems, holding her gaze, as she looked back. Alison gazed into that cloudless sky inside his head, those eyes that suited him perfectly; eyes that could spot a drunk driver on a freeway...while simultaneously watching over a fleeing mother and child in a third-world-country – a perfect pair of eyes for the boy she'd been enamored with, who would have helped the whole world if he could...and who had grown into the man she now knew she _adored_, who _could_ help the world.

Slowly, Alison closed her eyes, turning around, her hands resting on his chest, on either side of the red-and-yellow shield in the middle. She began to stand up on the tips of her toes, in blissful anticipation, her body guided by her heart, and not her anxious mind. '_I can't believe this is happening...I can't believe this is happening..._'

Slowly, Superman leaned down to her, his hands resting on her waist. He had no _idea_ what he was doing...but he somehow _knew_ what he had to do...

Superman's lips met hers, in a soft, tender kiss. They both slowly suckled, in the sweetest tasting of each other. Alison tasted like the sweetest strawberries Superman had ever sampled, and her blissful sighs only made the moment all the sweeter.

And Alison _delighted_ in their kiss; Superman – Clark – tasted of the most delicious peppermint she'd ever had, his kiss both warming and chilling her mouth all at once, in a sensation that she simply couldn't get _enough_ of.

After several wonderful seconds, Superman folded her in his arms, one arm encircling her waist, the other around her shoulders, as he began to deepen the kiss. Alison sighed happily, wreathing her arms around his neck, as she eagerly reciprocated. Superman's tongue found Dazzler's, and lightly pressed upon it, extending an invitation that Alison gladly accepted, sparking a game of pure desire, which made his senses start to go haywire.

Alison was _also_ going crazy as their tongues started to play. She had _never_ felt this way before, had never felt so strongly about someone, and yet had never felt so comfortable; this moment was so utterly perfect, as if this wonderful man had been made for her and her alone. His touch set her ablaze, electrifying her very being, as his kiss delivered the sweet message that he cared for her just as much as she cared for him; his kiss was born from years of desire long suppressed, thought futile, and then flared to life – it was a worldly, wonderful kiss that Alison simply couldn't get _enough_ of.

And she _loved_ being in his arms; he was so _warm_, so _inviting_, and she knew that there was no place safer than in the arms of this man, who could lift airplanes and smash meteors...and who was now holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world, as if she would _break_ if he was too rough with her – which was probably true, she noted with a giggle – and yet, as if he never wanted to let her go. Well, that was fine with her; she could stay here _forever_. His warmth was so soothing, so comforting, and just the tiniest bit commanding, as he exerted a sweet, tender control over her, and yet wasn't overbearing; he _cared_ about her, and wasn't at all forceful. It produced a feeling that she absolutely _craved_.

And Clark – Superman – savored this moment, this kiss, this _woman_, as if he were afraid that she would vanish like a dream in the morning light. He had never thought this would happen...and now it _had_.

They stayed that way for a blissful eternity, just floating in the clouds together...until their kiss ended. Alison smiled radiantly, and Superman was smiling, too, and suppressed a chuckle as Alison breathed a small cloud of mist; he'd inadvertently triggered a tiny portion of his ice-breath, though not enough to hurt her. '_Whoops..._'

"_Wow..._" Alison murmured.

"_I'll_ say." Superman agreed, holding her close. He chuckled. "Sorry about the chill-breath, though."

"_Don't_ be; I _loved_ it!" Alison giggled; her heart was beating so fast...which normally wouldn't have bugged her, but Clark had super-sensitive hearing, making it somewhat embarrassing.

Superman smiled at this lovely, wonderful young woman...his smile growing as he saw that she was _glowing_, her skin glittering as if she were coated with diamond-dust. "Alison..." he whispered, "...will you be my girlfriend?"

Alison had just thought that the moment couldn't get any more perfect...and was _delighted_ to find that she was wrong. "You big, blue _doofus_..." she cooed, beaming, "...I thought you'd _never_ ask! Of _course_ I will!"

Superman smiled, an utterly boyish grin of pure, stupid joy. Alison giggled happily at his expression, and she hugged him, her happiness mirroring his. Superman leaned closer to her face, his nose touching hers, a gesture that made her giggle. Smiling at his new girlfriend, Superman said, "We've still got a few hours before sunrise in Bayville; let's make the most of them." Then, he lifted her into his arms, savoring Dazzler's happy sigh, and flew off.

Over the next few hours, Superman flew all over the world, taking in the sights with Alison; he stopped in France, taking in the Eiffel Tower of Paris with her; the next stop was back in Italy, as he showed her the Leaning Tower of Piza; they flew then east, for a fly-by of the Great Wall of China; and then, Superman flew them south, over Egypt, passing by the Great Pyramids of Giza. Every single stop was a joy for Superman, as he loved her wonder as she saw the sights that he'd gotten used to...and savored the fact that they were new again...because he was sharing them with _her_.

And during all that time, his hearing never picked up so much as a cat stuck in a tree; the world was – at least for the moment – calm.

By the time Superman touched down in the Institute's yard, it was about an hour before morning training. Superman smiled at her again as he held her, his smile growing as she smiled back. Then, he carefully set her down, letting her stand on her own feet.

Alison smiled happily, brushing a tendril of her shimmery, strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes, her natural glow still shining. "I had...the most wonderful time, tonight, Clark." she cooed. "_Especially_ in Rome."

Superman smiled. "I'm...glad you said yes, Aly." he whispered.

Alison smiled back, her lovely face rosy. "Of _course_ I did, Clark!" she exclaimed. "I _really_ like you...I have ever since we were kids."

Superman grinned. "I really like you, too, Alison." he whispered. He chuckled. "We'd better head inside, before Logan finds us." At that, he held out his arm to her, and Alison smiled, gladly lacing her arm around his elbow, as he escorted her inside.

Superman led Dazzler to her room, stopping with her outside her door. "I hope you don't mind that we were late, Aly." he said. "I know there's only an hour before morning sessions..."

Dazzler shushed him by placing her finger on his lips. "It's _fine_, Clarkie." she cooed, smiling. "If an hour of sleep before training is the price to pay for getting you as my boyfriend, I'll _gladly_ pay it."

Superman grinned. "I don't think I'll get tired of hearing you call me that, anytime soon."

"_Good_." Dazzler said, her smile growing in radiance...matching her glow. Then, their eyes met...and they leaned into each other, for a soft, sweet kiss, lasting for a few wonderful seconds, before it ended, and Alison started to close the door, her gaze never leaving his, until the door closed.

Alone, Superman grinned; right now, he just wanted to shout for joy...but he couldn't, as the others were still asleep. He was content to simply grin goofily as he headed towards his room...

...when his hearing picked something up.

Superman stopped, listening to the distress call. '_Well, it was great while it lasted._' he thought, as he ran to the window, opening it and flying off into the sky...and decided to let loose.

"_YAAAAAHOOOOO!_"

Alone in her room, Alison sighed blissfully, flopping back onto her bed, letting the memory of her date – especially her first kiss – fill her mind. It had been _perfect_. She closed her eyes, touching her lips, remembering Clark – her _boyfriend_, she thought happily. She curled up on her bed, to get at least an hour of sleep, content to let her thoughts of him turn to dreams...

"Aly, are you still up?"

Alison groaned as Kitty's voice dragged her back to reality, one eye opening. "Go away, Kitty." she said. "I'm trying to sleep."

"No _way_, Alison! I can't wait until everyone wakes up! I _have_ to know!" the younger girl exclaimed, as Kitty phased through her door, clad in her pink t-shirt and shorts.

Seconds later, a very sleepy-looking – and grumpy-looking – Rogue opened the door, walking in, clad in her orange and green light sweat pants and t-shirt. "Ah'm sorry, Alison. Ah _tried_ ta get her ta lay off until a _normal_ hour." Rogue grumbled, fixing a mild glare at her perky roommate.

Alison chuckled. "No problem, Rogue." she said, trying to suppress a grin as her ever-enthusiastic friend bounced on the edge of her bed.

"_So?!_ _Spill!_" Kitty gushed, brimming with excitement. "Where'd you go? What'd you do?"

Alison chuckled. "Well...first we went to a restaurant, and then to the new Robin Williams movie." she said.

Kitty giggled. "He's just _hilarious_, isn't he?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "_Gawd_, Kitty, can't ya ask that _later?_"

Kitty ignored her roommate. "What _else_, Aly? _No_ movie runs until _this_ hour!"

Alison tried to suppress her smile...and Kitty noticed. "Did you..? Did he..?"

Alison's smile grew.

"Oh my _God_, you _did!_ You two totally _kissed!_ I _knew_ it!" Kitty squealed. "Was it a really _good_ kiss?"

Rogue chuckled. "From the looks of it, Ah'd say it was pretty good."

Alison sighed. "Oh _God_, Kitty...there _are_ no words to describe how good a kisser Clark is." she whispered, closing her eyes and touching her lips, returning the memory to the front of her mind. Then, realizing how silly she looked, she laughed. "It was _perfect_."

Kitty squealed, happy for her friend. "So...are you two..?" she asked.

Alison beamed, nodding.

"Oh my _God_, I'm so _happy_ for you two!" Kitty squealed, hugging her.

"_YAAAAAHOOOOO!_"

All three girls burst out laughing as they heard that shout echo from outside, seconds before the familiar sonic boom. "Looks lahke ya ain't the _only_ happy one." Rogue chuckled. At that, Alison blushed fiercely, trying to keep the smile off her face.

"Aly, you're so _lucky!_" Kitty gushed. "You reunited with your childhood sweetheart, and _now_ he's your _boyfriend!_"

Alison smiled. "I _know_." she agreed.

"Okay, Kitty," Rogue muttered, "_now_ can we go back ta _sleep?_"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "_Fine_, Rogue!" she replied. As she and Rogue left the room, closing the door behind them, Kitty phased her head through the door. "Congratulations, Aly!"

Alison chuckled. "Thanks, Kitty." she replied. As Kitty phased out of the door, Alison looked out through her window, sighing happily, looking out at the sky...where her boyfriend had gone.

Tonight had been _perfect_.

_Coming Soon:_

_Henry "Hank" McCoy._

_An average high-school chemistry teacher…with a dark secret._

_As a shadow starts to fall over Bayville, this secret is unleashed._

_Can the X-Men and the Man of Steel save him, with the help of four old friends?_

_Find out in "Beast Within," coming soon to your computer…_


	11. Beast Within

CHAPTER TEN: BEAST WITHIN

_Undisclosed location, November 20, 2007_

In the secret, underground bunker, numerous technicians clad in black were hard at work at their computer consoles. All were in identical black uniform, wearing high-tech goggles...and every one of them had a black armband, with white lettering. All bands had identical lettering: F.O.H.

Just then, the doors to the darkened room opened, flooding the chamber with light, as a man, in his early thirties, with short, light brown hair and cold blue eyes, clad in a black business suit, with black gloves on his hands, wearing an identical black armband, walked in. The head technician saluted him. "Mr. Creed, sir! If...if we had known..."

"...you would have been ready." Graydon Creed replied coolly. He glanced to the monitors. "Are the tracking satellites working?"

"Yes, sir; insertion into orbit went smoothly, and the tracking systems are fully functional." the technician reported.

Graydon's face twisted out of reflex at his next words. "And the mutants?"

The technician scowled, clearly sharing his sentiment. He gestured to the large screen. "See for yourself, sir." he said. He nodded to another technician.

Instantly, the large screen showed a map of the world, with numerous red blotches spotted across it. Graydon knew what they were.

_Mutants_.

Graydon's face twisted in disgust. There were more of the disgusting creatures than he'd expected, _much_ more. "They're multiplying...growing in number..." he muttered.

"Yes, sir." the technician reported. "They're spreading...just like _cancer_."

Graydon nodded; the mutant problem was growing more and more serious each day. "Any word from our associate at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Dr. Trask reports that he's had to proceed with some caution, sir; the schematics for the weapons appear to be more heavily guarded than anticipated. It will take a bit more time than expected."

"Very well, but time is not something we have in abundance." Graydon muttered. "Our race is asleep, blind to these..._muties_; the only way to save humanity is if we wake them up by exposing and _eradicating_ these creatures."

The technician nodded. "Yes, sir!" he agreed.

Graydon scowled. "And what of the flying mutant?"

The technician looked apologetic. "We...still don't have a lot on him, sir. He simply moves too fast for our satellites to track! Our scanners still can't pick up Superman's signature.."

"_Don't call it that!_" Graydon exploded, backhanding the technician. "That _thing_ is _not_ a man! Men don't fly! Men don't stand in radiation and survive! Men don't endure deep-sea pressure and lift submarines! Whatever that..._thing_ is, it _isn't_ a man!"

"Y-Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir; it was a slip of the tongue." the technician babbled. "There...is one thing about it that worries me, sir. Its capabilities, sir...based on our readings of other mutants...he's different from them, sir. He's more powerful – _much_ more powerful – than any other mutant; _infinitely_ so. I think that he's...something _else_, sir."

"Don't be ridiculous." Graydon snapped. "Of _course_ it's a mutant; what _else_ could it be?"

"Yes, sir. My apologies."

Graydon calmed. "And our future test-subject?"

"Our operatives are in place around Bayville, sir; readings indicate that the subject's mutation is still dormant, but it will not be so for much longer. Once it manifests, we'll have our test-subject for the weapons, once they're developed."

"Good." Graydon said. "Notify me when you hear more." With that, he simply walked away.

_Xavier Institute_

In the control room overlooking the Danger Room, Superman, in uniform, observed as Dazzler completed her individual session in record time, smiling proudly; she was really getting good – _all_ the New Mutants were. Most of his team were scoring 50 000 in their simulations...and Aly was scoring 60 000.

Over the past few weeks, their new relationship had progressed nicely. They went out several times a week – with Aly being incognito – to do simple things, such as picnic lunches, walks in the park, and skating at the local rink. And whenever he could, he took her flying, spending time alone with her above the clouds, where they often couldn't help but share a kiss.

He'd never been happier.

The Professor, the X-Men and New Mutants – all in uniform – were in the control room with him, as well as Wolverine and Storm...and a few guests. One of them was their friend, Hank McCoy, who'd dropped by, for an additional analysis of his abilities that they were going to perform, today. The rest of his team were a bit nervous – or perhaps star-struck – by the other four guests.

"You've got quite the team, here, Kal." Dr. Reed Richards said, with a friendly smile. Reed, A.K.A. 'Mr. Fantastic,' was the leader of the superhuman team known as the Fantastic Four. Reed was in his late twenties, tall and lean, with short brown hair, light skin, and brown eyes framed by glasses, clad in a blue bodysuit with a large number 4 on the chest. Reed and his team had gained extraordinary powers from an incident with a quantum teleporter – an incident caused by Doom, who had also been altered. Reed's body was basically living taffy; he could stretch and bend in ways that could make a contortionist _green_ with envy. He was also the most brilliant scientific mind that Superman had ever known, with doctorates from multiple universities.

Superman smiled. "Thanks, Dr. Richards." he replied.

Reed chuckled. "It's _Reed_, remember?" he laughed.

Next to Reed, Dr. Susan Richards, A.K.A. 'The Invisible Woman,' smiled. "They've certainly got talent...and _spirit_." she said. Reed's loving wife was in her mid twenties, and a bit shorter than her husband, and of a willowy figure with ample curves, with long, blond hair, and blue eyes, clad in a uniform identical to Reed's, and a scientific mind to match her husband's. The incident had given her the ability to generate force fields capable of bending light – hence her nickname.

Wolverine chuckled at the last part of her statement. "'Spirit' is _one_ way to put it."

Susan nodded. "At times, it must be like dealing with almost a dozen versions of Johnny."

"_Hey!_ I'm not _that_ bad!" Johnny 'The Human Torch' Storm protested. Susan's younger brother – and the team hothead – was in his late teens, with short, dirty-blond hair, and blue eyes, clad in a uniform identical to Reed's. The incident had given him the ability to ignite himself, becoming a being of living fire, and could channel his blazing energy into deadly fire-blasts...or unleash it all at once in a deadly blast.

A deep chuckle sounded from Benjamin 'The Thing' Grimm, the fourth member of the team, and Reed's best friend. Ben had been affected the most by the incident: he was a golem-like humanoid of living orange rock, over six feet tall, and strongly built, with immeasurable strength, the only trait remaining of his original form was his green eyes. "So says the guy who once laced Stretch's coffee with laxatives." Ben chuckled.

Reed frowned. "That was _you?_" he said, annoyed.

Superman chuckled. "I don't think they're _that_ bad."

Ben laughed. "You probably say that because those eyes of yours make it easy to dodge pranks!" he said. "I'd like to see Matchstick try to pull one on _you!_"

Johnny grinned. "That a _challenge_, Ben?"

Sue's eyes narrowed. "_Johnny_..." she warned.

Professor Xavier smiled. "We're all honored that you and your team took the time to stop by, Reed." he said.

Reed grinned. "And miss the opportunity to do a detailed analysis of the abilities of a real, live alien?"

Sue smiled. "We wouldn't _dream_ of it!" she added.

Johnny chuckled. "I'd be careful if I were you, Supes." he said. "When Sis and Reed get on a roll..." but his voice trailed off as Dazzler walked into the control room.

Alison smiled at Superman. "Did I miss anything?" she asked.

Superman smiled back. "Not at all, Aly." he replied, as he cast a mildly annoyed glare in Johnny's direction. "Right, Johnny?"

"Huh? Oh. Right. Nothing." Johnny stammered, casting his gaze at the floor, and away from Alison.

Hank chuckled. "I feel somewhat out of place, here!" he exclaimed. "I'm the only one with no active mutation or special abilities!" Professor Xavier had recently revealed to the students that Hank did have an X-Gene, but it was currently inactive.

"No need to worry, Hank." the Professor assured him. "You're always welcome."

"Well, we have the bio-sensors." Reed said, holding out a handful of tiny, disc-shaped devices, no larger than a penny. "But to do the amount of processing that we'll need, it'll take some time to fully analyze the data once we've collected it."

Superman had been expecting that. "Not necessarily, Reed." he said. "I think I have something that can speed things up." He reached for a device clipped to his belt, one he'd taken from the Fortress for this occasion: it was about the size of his hand, made of white crystal, consisting of a single indentation, with a portion that looked like it could fit into a computer disk-drive.

"What's that?" Sue inquired.

"An adapter." Superman said, plugging it into the computer console.

"For _what?_" Reed asked softly.

Superman smiled, knowing that Reed would _love_ to see this. He reached for his belt, and held out one of the clear, rod-like, crystalline processing units from the Fortress. "_This_." he replied, placing it in the slot on the adapter; the crystal mini-computer began to hover in the slot, lightly glowing.

Sue's eyes went wide. "_That's_ a computer?"

"It...it _can't_ be..." Reed murmured. "Where's the circuitry? The microchips? Where did you..?"

And then he remembered. "Wait...is that from..?"

Superman nodded. "Courtesy of Kryptonian technical know-how, straight from Krypton to your door."

Sue's mouth dropped open in awe.

Reed didn't speak.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Uh, boy. Here they go..."

"How does it work?" Sue asked. "What kind of computer _is_ it?"

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Brace yourselves." he warned. "_Quantum_."

"'Quantum'?" Reed repeated. His eyes went wide. "My _God_...you're...you're _kidding_..."

"Nope."

"Uh...someone want to fill us in?" Avalanche asked.

"All computers today store data using only two electron states – ones and zeroes." Sue explained. "But a physicist once theorized that a computer could be built that used all _thirty-two_ quantum states of electrons, but so far, no-one on Earth has ever been able to build such a quantum computer." She looked to Superman. "But apparently, Kal's people figured it out."

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Yeah...we kinda got the hang of quantum technology a while back."

Reed arched an eyebrow. "'A while back'?"

"Uh...a few million years?"

"Holy _smoke_, Supes! How advanced _were_ your people?" Ben exclaimed.

The Professor chuckled. "We shouldn't be too surprised; from what Kal told us of his home galaxy – Xerius – it was one of the first formed after the Big Bang. Logically, if his people evolved before ours did, they would be much more advanced."

Superman quickly entered a few commands into the computer console, before taking the bio-sensors and clipping them onto his forehead and shoulders. "Okay, I've instructed the sensors to feed the data into the nano-crystal processor; once the simulation ends, I'll do the analysis with the crystal and feed the results to the main computer."

Reed nodded. "If that crystal processes as fast as you say, we should also be able to do the DNA analysis from the hair sample you supplied."

Superman lightly grimaced, scratching his head. "Yeah...I'd rather not have to do that again." he said.

"No kidding. I nearly had a hernia trying to yank that hair off your head." Ben agreed.

Superman glanced to his team, grinning. "Okay, guys," he said, "ready to put me through my paces?"

Iceman chuckled. "You bet, Big Blue!"

Berzerker grinned. "Prepare to get your alien butt kicked, Chief!"

Superman chuckled; this was to be his simulation – a friendly Battle Royale, with him on one side, and his teammates on the other. "Okay, then." he said. "Let's go!" With that, he and the New Mutants headed down into the Danger Room.

As they entered the Danger Room, Superman smiled as his teammates surrounded him. "You guys ready?"

Dazzler giggled. "Are _you?_" she sweetly teased. "Because I'm not going easy on you just because we're dating!"

Superman laughed. "Sweetheart, I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"_Commence simulation_."

At the computerized prompt, the simulation began. Iceman generated a layer of ice over himself, becoming a frozen humanoid, before firing ice-beams ahead of himself, forming a constant "sled" of ice, enabling him to circle Superman rapidly, before firing twin frozen beams at him, encasing him in a solid block of ice. Iceman grinned. "_Gotcha!_" he declared triumphantly...

...until two glowing red points appeared in the ice, as Superman's eye-rays seared through it, and Superman effortlessly broke free. Smiling, he took aim, and fired a pencil-thin, surgically-precise eye-beam, slicing through Iceman's sled, and sending him tumbling, dazed, but okay. "Nice try, Bobby."

Just then, a wave of crackling sparks passed over him, preventing Superman from seeing anything ahead; Jubilee was trying to distract him. Superman listened carefully...

_Someone was playing music._

Superman smiled, as he easily dodged the barrage of laser-beams that Dazzler sent at him from behind Jubilee's distracting bursts. He heard her giggle. "Heads up, baby!" she called.

Superman laughed, letting her last beam strike him; it pushed him back a few feet, but he was otherwise unphased. "Not bad, Ali." he said. "But not quite good enough!" With that, he floated a few feet off the ground, and flew straight at Dazzler and Jubilee, flying between them at high speeds, the rush of air at his passing knocking them off their feet.

As Superman touched down, he felt something lightly impact him from behind. He turned to spy Boom-Boom peppering him with her charges. He easily caught the last one she threw, it exploding harmlessly in his clenched hand. "I'm afraid that won't work, Tabitha." he said, smiling.

Boom-Boom grinned. "Wasn't _supposed_ to!" At that, Superman arched an eyebrow...

"_Dog-pile! Dog-pile!_" Multiple exclaimed as he – or rather, _fifty_ of him – jumped at Superman, burying him under a pile of Jamie-clones. Suddenly, the mass of Jamies started to spin. And spin. And _spin_, until they were spinning fast enough to toss off every Jamie-clone, revealing the spinning red blur beneath them. Once he was free, Superman stopped spinning. "Good try, Jamie." he said.

A dizzy Multiple replied, "Thanks, Superman."

Hearing a snarling behind him, Superman turned in time to see Wolfsbane, in her wolf-form, pounce at him. Superman raised his arm to block it, and the wolf bit his arm...

...and let out a mild yelp as her teeth tried to break his skin. Superman grimaced. "I bet _that_ hurt." he said. Still, Wolfsbane held on, trying to keep him focused on her attack...

"_CANNONBALL!_"

Superman heard Cannonball ignite before he yelled out his trademark warning, and simply dodged upwards, letting Sam fly by under his feet, missing him completely, and impacting the wall, before falling on his rear, dazed, but unhurt. Superman simply shook his arm as he descended, and Wolfsbane let go, reverting to her human form as she fell back. "Good tactics, guys," Superman said with a smile, "but you probably shouldn't yell out a warning before you attack, Sam."

Cannonball groaned. "Sorry, suh. Force of habit."

Turning, Superman spotted Magma – in her fiery form – in time to see her send a wave of flame at him, washing over him, but not phasing him at all. As Magma prepared another fire-wave, Superman simply inhaled, and unleashed a fraction of his gale-breath, blowing out the fire and sending her flying, to land on her rear, resuming her natural state.

Just then, Superman lightly winced as he felt the sting of an electrical shock hit him, as he turned to face Berzerker, who was sending a surge of electrical energy at him. Superman simply raised his right foot, and _stomped_ it down; the stomp created a shockwave that shook the Danger Room, knocking Ray flat on his rear.

At that, a blast of superheated energy struck Superman, knocking him back a few feet. Superman turned to see Sunspot, in his flaming black powered-up state, hovering above him. With a calm smile, Superman flew up to his level, meeting the challenge. Sunspot threw another flame-blast at Superman, who easily dodged it. Sunspot fired again, and Superman again evaded it. His glowing orange eyes narrowing, Sunspot closed on Superman, firing a punch at him; Superman blocked the punch, and then whirled the motion into an arm-lock. "Not bad, Roberto." he said.

"I'm not done, yet!" Sunspot declared, as he flew backwards, slamming Superman into the steel wall, cratering it, surprising Superman enough to drop the arm-lock. Sunspot flew away, and sent a constant stream of blazing energy at Superman...who simply flew to the side.

"Nice hustle, Roberto!" Superman said, smiling. "But now I think it's time to _chill_." With that, he exhaled a wave of his ice-breath at Sunspot, instantly cooling him back to his normal state. Roberto yelped as he started to fall...but Superman caught him by the foot, before depositing him safely on the ground.

"_Simulation complete._"

As Superman touched down, the rest of his teammates started to pick themselves up. "_Man_...he is _good_..." Iceman muttered.

"Och, I'm _never_ complaining about steak bein' tough ever ag'in!" Wolfsbane groaned, putting her hand to her jaw, to soothe her aching teeth.

Superman chuckled. "That was a great session, team. I'm proud of all of you." he said.

After picking herself up, Dazzler walked to him, smiling. "No _wonder_ you're the top scorer, around here!" she cooed.

Superman looked regretful. "I...didn't hurt you, did I, Aly?"

Alison giggled, shaking her head. "Your control was _perfect_; my butt may be a little sore from the landing, but nothing major."

Superman smiled. "I'm glad."

"_Okay, kids, session's over; get back up here._" came Wolverine's gruff voice. "_Flyboy, Diva, you two can flirt on your __**own**__ time!_" At that, they all headed back to the control room, as Superman and Dazzler suppressed slightly embarrassed chuckles.

In the control room, Superman moved to the crystal, touching it; the instant he did, numerous holographic symbols flared to life, surrounding the crystal in a cylindrical shell. Superman touched one holographic character, causing a square holographic screen to pop up from the main holograph. He tapped a few symbols on that screen, and then pressed on it, pushing it back into the main holograph, before tapping the side of the main holograph, causing it to rotate, bringing new options towards him. He simply tapped a few more symbols, and then touched the crystal, shutting off the holographics. "All done."

The instant he said that, the main screen showed a detailed analysis of the data collected. Reed's eyes went wide. "That kind of analysis would have taken our computer several _hours_, or _days_..." he murmured. He glanced to the crystal. "I...I would _love_ to examine it..."

Superman smiled. "I'm afraid you wouldn't find out much, Reed. Kryptonian technology has always been keyed to respond only to those with Kryptonian DNA. It's always been a precaution my people took to prevent our technology from being misused. Sorry."

Reed sighed. "Well, it was worth a try." he said. He gestured to the screen with the data-analysis. "Based on the data, we can make some new conclusions about Superman's abilities. The sensors measured your energy emissions during the sessions, Superman." The screen showed the outline of a person – _him_ – filled in with mostly red and orange. "Every time you used your powers, your overall energy levels lightly drop, but quickly return to normal levels." The readout showed the outline going mostly orange, but then slowly regaining the red color. "Based on this, your body must store solar energy in a kind of reserve, since you had no access to sunlight until the Danger Room started allowing artificial sunlight to filter in. This energy must be what your body's 'energy-transfer system' uses for metabolic purposes, and based on your metabolism...your cellular aging rate is _infinitesimally_ slower than ours; Kal...you're practically _immortal_, or at least the closest thing to it that any of us will ever see!"

Superman nodded soberly. It was what he'd expected...and feared; the yellow sun of Earth was prolonging his life...while his friends – and Ali – would wither away, in time.

Sue then tapped a few keys on the console, and the readout showed spherical red regions spaced throughout the outline. "Hank's allusion to your body's internal energy-transfer system also makes it clear why you have a vulnerability to this 'Kryptonite' substance, Superman." she said. "Since you are able to stand in the intense radiation of a nuclear core – as you had to do to prevent power plants from going critical – this system must be able to absorb _all_ forms of radiant energy...except _one_ wavelength."

Superman nodded. "_Kryptonite._"

Multiple blinked. "So...you get sick from Kryptonite because it gives you indigestion?"

Superman chuckled. "I think 'food poisoning' is the better analogy, Jamie, but that's basically it."

Hank nodded. "This system is capable of supplying every cell in your body with everything it needs, as well as destroying any pathogen it encounters, provided you have access to solar energy...therefore, if Kryptonite suppresses it to a great enough extent, it would be _fatal_." he observed. He frowned. "I shudder to think what Doom would do with this knowledge."

Superman frowned. "If he's in cahoots with Magneto, then he already knows I can't take that stuff."

Ben grumbled. "He's one shifty bastard."

Reed nodded in agreement, before turning back to the screen. "We've also taken a closer look at your DNA, Kal...and it's simply _amazing_..." The screen showed an image of a simple, double-helical strand of DNA. "This is a strand of _human_ DNA." he continued, as a single spot – one gene – became illuminated on the strand. "And this is the X-Gene. Though mutants have this gene, the rest of their DNA, on average, is the same as a regular human." Then, a second DNA image appeared. This DNA, however, consisted of multiple strains, all tightly coiled together.

"And _this_, Kal, is _your_ DNA."

Superman was mildly surprised. "Its base-pairs are the same type as human DNA."

"You're correct; your DNA uses the same building-blocks as ours, there's just _more_ of them." Reed said, nodding.

Superman frowned sadly. "So...my DNA is incompatible with human DNA." he said softly, glancing sadly to Alison for a moment, who looked a bit regretful. There was a sober silence at that statement...

"Well...not necessarily..."

Reed's musing made Superman turn in surprise. "What?"

"It may be possible, if my theory is true." Reed continued. "Rather than half of each parent-DNA combining to produce the progeny-DNA, the human DNA could be incorporated _directly_ into the multi-helix, and the progeny will still retain much of its Kryptonian abilities." He tapped a few keys, and the human DNA slowly incorporated itself into his DNA, the entire molecule now more tightly coiled. "Based on this, it would take several generations before the strain of multiple incorporations induces the multi-helix to assume the double-helical structure, at which point the progeny would lose the majority of the Kryptonian genes, and be mostly human..."

"Reed." Sue chuckled. "A bit too much information."

"Oh."

Professor Xavier smiled. "Well, this has definitely been an informative afternoon." he said. "That concludes today's session, students. You are all free to go."

Hank glanced at the crystal still connected to the main computer. "That is an amazing device, Superman." he commented. "May I?"

Superman smiled. "Sure, Hank." he replied, and he simply took the crystal from its adapter, handing it to Hank, letting him look at it while he unplugged the adapter.

Hank carefully gazed upon the crystal. "It's so simple, so _elegant_..." he murmured.

Reed nodded. "...and yet it's more sophisticated than every computer on the planet _combined_." he agreed.

Sue joined in. "We're actually looking at an _alien_ technology, the product of a civilization _millennia_ ahead of ours..." she murmured.

Johnny chuckled. "_Breathe_, guys. _Breathe_."

Hank then handed the crystal back to Superman, who clipped the crystal onto his belt. Suddenly, Hank's hand started to twitch. Superman noticed. "Are you alright, Hank?"

Hank looked uncomfortable, despite his smile. "Oh...y-yes, I'm fine." he said. He glanced to the Professor and Reed. "Professor, Doctor, I was wondering; could I speak with the both of you before I leave?"

"Of course, Hank." the Professor said.

"It's alright with me." Reed added. He glanced to his wife. "Do you mind, Sue?"

"That's fine, Reed. I just wanted to take another look at some of the data, anyway." Sue replied.

"Yeah, and I wanted to just take a look around the place." Johnny added.

"Not by yourself, Flame-Brain." Ben said, grinning. "You remember what happened the _last_ time we let you wander off?"

Johnny groaned. "For _crying_ out _loud_, guys, am I _ever_ going to live that down?" he lamented. "Besides, his insurance covered everything!"

Cyclops blinked. "What happened?"

Jean chuckled. "Scott, I'm not sure we _want_ to know!" she said. With that, the students left the control room.

Once the students had left, Charles, Reed, and Hank moved to Charles' office. "Now, what's bothering you, Hank?" Charles inquired. "Does it have to do with that muscle spasm, earlier?"

Hank nodded. "Charles...I think my mutation is becoming more active." he whispered.

Charles looked worried. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Hank said. "Recently, I've been waking at all hours of the night; I've been extremely agitated at times; I've even had..._violent_ urges, as if there's some kind of...of beast inside me, clawing to get out."

Reed looked thoughtful. "Has this ever happened before?"

"Once before, but never to this extent." Hank said. "Before, I've kept it suppressed through mental discipline, but recently, I've been taking a serum of my own design. So far, it's been effective...until now."

Reed nodded. "Your body must have developed a resistance to this serum."

"Yes, that is likely the case." Charles agreed. "Hank, my advice to you is to resume your mental efforts to contain this 'beast.' Drugs are only a temporary solution, at best."

Hank nodded. "I know that _now_." he said, smiling sadly. "Thank you for your time, Charles, Reed."

Charles smiled. "We're glad to be of help, Hank."

Reed nodded. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Hank said, as he got up, and headed out of the office.

After donning his regular clothes, Clark left his room, heading downstairs to the living room. As he reached the bottom, he saw Scott and Jean heading out the door. "Hey, guys." he greeted. "Going out?"

Scott nodded. "We're just going to a movie." he said.

Jean nodded, smiling. "We might decide to...take the _scenic_ route back."

Clark chuckled; he knew what that meant – Scott and Jean wanted a little 'alone time.' "Well, have a nice time." he said.

"We will." Scott replied, as he and Jean headed out.

Walking into the living room, Clark found the New Mutants – except Alison – there, all engaged in various activities, from reading to playing cards to just lounging around. Also present were Ben, who was reading a newspaper in the recliner, and Johnny, who was playing a video game against Kurt; both were waiting for Reed and Susan to finish the data-analysis. As Clark walked in, Ben looked up. "Oh, just so you know, Supes, Stretch and Susie wanted to talk to you about your old neighborhood, tomorrow, so you'll be seeing us, again."

Johnny chuckled, as he maneuvered his character on the screen. "In other words, expect a barrage of Science-Geek speak, sometime tomorrow." he quipped.

Clark grinned. "Thanks for the heads-up." he said. "Hope you guys aren't freaked out; it can get nuts, around here!"

Ben laughed. "Supes, you're talkin' to a guy that has to worry about _erosion_ every time he takes a shower! I think it'll take a _lot_ to rattle us!"

Clark chuckled. "Don't say I didn't warn you." he said. With that, he headed out, going towards the kitchen to grab a drink...

...and met Aly, there.

Alison smiled at him, as she sipped her chocolate milk, in her street clothes. "Hey, Clarkie." she cooed.

Clark smiled back. "Hey, Aly." he replied.

Alison smiled coyly, sitting at the table, taking out a pair of straws. "Wanna share?" she asked. "I know it's your favorite..."

Clark grinned. "You know me so well." he answered, sitting down and taking a straw, then dipping it into the glass.

Alison giggled, sipping from their glass. "So...interesting discovery, today." she commented.

Clark nodded, smiling. "Yeah." he agreed. He'd thought that it was impossible for him to ever have children; now, it might be possible. "That's...something to think about."

Alison nodded. "Yeah; I mean, this is _wonderful_ news, Clark." she cooed. Her smile became shy. "I mean, I thought the 'DNA issue' was the main concern about that; I'd...figured that Kryptonians..._did_ things the same way as us..."

Clark smiled sheepishly. "My physiology is mostly the same as a human man, Aly." he said. "So...yes, I 'do things' the same as humans."

Alison lightly blushed. "Well, the female population of the Earth is glad to hear it." she said. Her blush intensified, as she added, "_Especially_ me."

Now _Clark's_ face was a bit red. "Well...we still have plenty of time before..._that_ issue comes up." he said, and Alison nodded in agreement. Clark's face became a bit sad. "I guess the only real issue left is the...'life-span' issue."

Alison smiled, and reached out, holding his hand. "Like I said before, Clark, I don't _care_." she cooed. "All I want is to be with you. We'll find some way to deal with the life-differences in the future...but just being together, _now_, is all that matters."

By then, they had finished the glass. Smiling, Clark stood up, as did Alison, and he took her in his arms, holding her close. "Have I told you how _wonderful_ you are, lately?"

Alison smiled coyly. "Well...not _lately_..." she sweetly teased.

Clark's smile grew. "Well, you _are_." he said, and he punctuated the sentence by snaring Alison's perfect lips in a sweet kiss. Alison gave a tiny squeak of surprise...which became a soft, contented sigh, as she happily reciprocated, their tongues resuming the beautiful dance they'd first partaken on their first date, and partaken of numerous times since. Alison closed her eyes, her silken arms draping around Clark's neck, encouraging him to deepen the kiss...which he did, to her delight.

After a few minutes of kissing, Clark's lips left Alison's, as he placed a tender kiss on her graceful, slender, swan-like neck, which caused her to lightly gasp with pleasure. Clark kissed her throat several more times, before he moved to recapture her lips...

...and then his hearing picked up a distress call.

Clark suppressed a mildly annoyed sigh, as Alison giggled, discerning his problem from the pause in their kiss, their tender moment ended. "Duty calls." she cooed.

Clark smiled. "I'll be right back, I promise." he said.

"I know." Alison replied, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be right here, so get going!" Clark smiled at her, and darted off, shedding his clothes in his room, back in his uniform, and then running for the nearby window, opening it and flying off, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

_Bayville High, November 21_

As classes began the next day, Hank smiled as his students poured into his chemistry class, including several of the Institute students. He was in a pretty good mood; he'd had one "flare-up" the previous day, but he'd managed to suppress it, without needing his serum. He turned to the blackboard, to begin the lesson...when he saw Evan raise his hand. "Yes, Evan?"

"Can I go to the bathroom, Mr. McCoy?" Evan asked.

Hank smiled. "No problem, Evan. Go on." he replied. At that, Evan headed out of the classroom. Hank promptly resumed the lesson; his topic for today was stoichiometry, the balancing of chemical reactions. After a few minutes, he happened to look out the window...

...and spotted Evan heading off on his skateboard, with a few other skaters.

Hank's expression saddened, but he continued with the lesson. He was a little hurt by Evan's actions...and a bit annoyed...

Suddenly, he felt it; that overwhelming, almost primal urge, as if some _beast_ were trying to take control of his body. Hank's hands went to his head, as he suppressed a cry of agony.

Kitty took notice. "Mr. McCoy, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes, Kitty, I'm...fine." Hank choked out. "I just need some air. Please, excuse me." With that, Hank headed out of the classroom.

Hank quickly darted into the staff washroom, splashing cold water on his face, repeating his mantra to himself...but it wasn't working. Roaring in anguish, Hank blindly lashed out, ripping the hand-dryer from the wall.

Finally, the agony stopped, as Hank looked with horror at what he'd done. '_Thank goodness no-one else was here._' he thought. Quickly recomposing himself, Hank headed to the Principal's office, to report the "accident."

After a day of skating in the park with his pals, Evan was about to head home...when he thought he heard something. Waving good-bye to his skating pals, Evan skated towards the sound, coming into an old amphitheater. Evan skated to the stage, hopping off his board and walking onto it, to find..."Mr. McCoy?"

Hank was facing away from him, and looked pretty agitated, as he was reciting something. '_Sounds like Shakespeare..._' Evan thought. "Sir? Are you okay..?"

Snarling, Hank whirled on him, and Evan stepped back. "Whoa...look, I'm sorry I cut class, but...can't we talk about this?" he stammered.

At once, Hank calmed. "Evan...I-I'm so sorry..." he said, "...I've...just been having a bad day."

"Oh." Evan said. "Sorry."

Hank smiled. "As for cutting class...I'll let it slide..." he took out a piece of paper, "...if you can memorize this passage for class, tomorrow."

Evan took the paper. "Sure!"

Hank smiled...and then tensed up, looking around. Evan noticed. "Anything wrong, sir?"

"I...no, Evan." Hank said, calming. "I just...got the feeling that we were being watched, that's all." He smiled. "You'd best head back home. I'm fine." Evan nodded, and hopped on his board, skating off.

In the bushes around the amphitheater, several soldiers in black, with white-lettered black armbands, were watching. "Command was right." the leader said. "The mutant's 'ability' will manifest, soon." His voice turned cold.

"We'll get our shot, soon..."

After school let out, Scott and the others promptly returned to the Institute for training...except for Evan. This was the third time that Evan had blown off training, and it was starting to worry Scott. Clark wasn't there, either, but he was _working_ at the Bugle; he had a _legitimate_ reason.

In the Danger Room, Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men were just about to complete the session, racing towards the goal-area, across the metal expanse, dodging the laser-blasts of the turrets that popped up sporadically. The goal was nearly in sight...

Suddenly, Rogue yelled out as she fell into a randomly generated pit in the metal floor. "_Chere!_" Gambit cried.

"Remy, go get her; we'll keep the turrets off of you." Cyclops instructed. Gambit dashed towards Rogue, as the rest of the X-Men kept the turrets occupied; Cyclops obliterated several turrets with his optic blasts as Jean kept Gambit covered with a PSI-bubble, Avalanche shattered several more with a precisely-aimed seismic shockwave, Nightcrawler 'ported from one turret to the next, smashing them with flying kicks, and Shadowcat simply phased through several turrets, shorting them out.

Gambit quickly helped Rogue out of the pit, lifting her into his arms, as he and the rest of the team ran for the goal...

...and then the end-buzzer sounded, ending the session when they were inches from the goal.

Cyclops sighed as he and the X-Men stopped, the Danger Room deactivating. Storm's voice came in over the audio system: "_Good effort, team, but I'm afraid you'll have to do the session over, this evening._"

Shadowcat frowned. "Well, maybe we _would've_ done it if Evan had been here to cover Rogue!"

Cyclops nodded. "This is getting to be a habit for Evan." he said.

Rogue glanced to Gambit. "Ya can put meh down, now, Swamp-Rat."

Gambit smiled. "As much as Remy enjoy dis at de moment, he happy t' comply." he answered, setting Rogue down.

Rogue lightly smiled. "Thanks...for comin' back for meh, Remy." she said.

Gambit grinned. "Y' called Remy by name!" he exclaimed. "Remy be wearin' y' down, chere; Remy be wearin' y' _down_."

Rogue put her hand to her head. "Oh, _Gawd_..." she groaned. Then, the X-Men headed out of the Danger Room.

After changing back into his street clothes, Scott headed down to the living room, just as Clark, in his work clothes, walked in. "Hey, Scott." Clark greeted. "How did your session go?"

"Not that great." Scott admitted. "Evan never showed."

Clark looked surprised. "_Again?_"

"Yep." Scott said. "It's getting to where we can't depend on him."

Clark frowned. "Maybe I can talk to him." he said. "I think I saw him heading this way as I was on the bus."

Scott nodded. "Well, good luck with that." he said.

"Thanks." Clark replied, and he headed upstairs to change, as Scott headed to the kitchen to grab a soda.

After donning his regular clothes and removing his inducer, Clark headed downstairs to wait for Evan. Sure enough, within a few minutes, Evan walked through the main doors. "Hey, Evan."

Evan turned to Clark, looking somewhat guilty. "Hey, CK."

"So...have a nice day at school?" Clark asked, arching an eyebrow. Evan's expression said it all. "Evan, school is _important_..."

"Hey, _you_ never went to high school!" Evan countered.

"True, but I _was_ home-schooled...in my own way." Clark parried. "Scott just told me that you didn't come to practice, today. Evan, that's the third time this week you've blown off training."

"Yeah, well, _you_ miss training, sometimes, too!"

Clark looked hurt. "Hey, that's hitting below the belt." he said. "We're _friends_, remember? We _all_ are, and we just want to know what's going on!"

Evan relented. "Aw, man, CK, I'm sorry." he said. "Look, I was just out skateboarding; I _know_ I should be in school and training with you guys, but I'm _good_ at it! I may have a shot at going _pro_, one day, as long as I keep practicing!"

"Hey, we don't have a problem with that!" Clark said, smiling. "Just make time for school and training, too!"

Evan sighed. "I _want_ to, CK, but I can't find the time; how am I supposed to balance 'boarding, school, and training all at once?"

Clark smiled. "Just set priorities, Evan; I'd save skateboard practice until _after_ everything else is done. You have _plenty_ of time to go professional."

Evan lightly smiled. "Really?"

Clark chuckled. "Really, Evan. You don't have to rush."

Evan grinned. "Thanks, CK." he said. Laughing, he added, "I guess I don't need to explain balancing stuff to _you!_"

Clark laughed. "Yeah! Last year, I had to balance university, X-Man duties _and_ being Superman!" he agreed. "And that was all _before_ I got a job at the Bugle, became a team-leader, and got a girlfriend!"

Evan chuckled. "_Jeez_, man, how do you keep from going _nuts?_"

"Well, I guess I was used to it, by then." Clark said. Smiling, he added, "And as for the rest...Aly makes it all worthwhile."

Evan smiled. "You really care about her, don't you?"

Clark nodded. "Oh, yeah. She's _definitely_ one special lady."

"Way to go, CK!" Evan said. Then, his expression turned serious. "Hey, when you go on patrol, tonight, you think you could look in on Mr. McCoy? He was acting funny, today."

"How so?"

"Well...he seemed pretty freaked when I met him, this afternoon." Evan added. "Just watch out for him, okay?"

Clark nodded. "I'll keep my eyes peeled." he said. "Anyway, I'd better get started on _my_ homework, and then get patrolling; Reed and his team will be back, tonight." He chuckled. "Reed's a bit curious about the technological achievements of Krypton."

Evan chuckled. "It's still a bit hard to believe that we're living with an alien, man." he quipped.

Clark laughed. "Hey, there are times when _I_ have trouble believing it!" he said. Then, he headed back to his room, to get started on his own work.

It had just gotten dark as Hank returned to the school, heading into his chemistry lab. Today, he'd almost hurt one of his students. His mental discipline wasn't working.

He needed a better serum.

Coming into the lab, Hank quickly set up, gathering the reagents he would need, setting up the glassware the reactions would require. Soon, he was ready, and he mixed the initial reagents, carefully adjusting the temperature with the Bunsen burner, keeping it _just_ hot enough, before adding the rest of the reagents, slightly increasing the temperature. Soon, the reaction was complete, and Hank transferred the reaction-flask to a distillation apparatus, turning on the steam, and gradually boiling off the impurities in the mixture. Soon, it was done, and Hank moved the flask to an ice-bath, cooling it until it was safe. Once the serum was cooled, Hank transferred it to a bottle, but leaving part of it behind. He took a deep breath...and downed the remaining serum.

Instantly, Hank howled in utter anguish; every cell in his body felt like it was on _fire!_ The primal urge was back, and stronger than _ever_. Hank felt himself losing consciousness, blacking out...

The last thing he heard before he passed out...was a bestial roar from his own throat.

Superman was just flying over Bayville, his patrol finished, as he went to just check on Hank.

He'd been a bit worried about him after seeing Hank's hand twitch, yesterday. He'd thought it was just a one-time incident. He may have been wrong...

Suddenly, Superman heard Hank's voice howling in agony, coming from the high school. Superman darted to the school, looking through it from above, and spied Hank...

...as he started to _change_.

Hank's upper body began to enlarge, becoming more muscular, as his entire body began to grow thick blue fur, his shirt and lab-coat shredding from the growth, his brown pants remaining intact. His black hair turned dark blue, and started to grow to mid-length. His hands expanded, as did his feet, becoming almost ape-like in nature. His teeth lengthened, becoming ape-like fangs. As the change became complete, Hank – now some kind of beast – roared in primal fury, before lumbering off...

Superman's eyes widened in horror as he saw who was wandering into Hank's path. He rapidly descended, darting into the school, hoping he wasn't too late.

Edward Kelly had just been finishing some late-night paperwork when he heard the roar. Getting up, Edward headed into the dark hallway, immediately ill at ease. "Hello?" he called. "If this is some kind of prank, you kids are in _big_ trouble..."

Suddenly, a huge, blue, ape-like beast leapt out at him, roaring. Edward froze, too terrified to move, as the beast closed on him, ready to attack...

...and then a blur darted between him and the beast, intercepting the beast's pounce and tossing it back. Edward couldn't really tell in the dark...but he thought he could make out the colors of the figure's uniform.

Red and blue, with a long cape.

"Sir, get out of here." the figure instructed. "Get to safety; I'll keep him back."

Edward didn't need to be told twice; he ran for the exit as fast as he could. He could wonder what had happened and who that figure was _later_.

As long as he could live to teach another day, that was enough for him.

As Principal Kelly ran off, Superman faced the transformed Hank, staying calm as Hank growled at him. "Hank...I know you can hear me." he said softly. "We can help you back at the Institute; just trust me..."

Hank roared, pouncing at him, and Superman countered with a fraction of his gale-breath, knocking Hank back a good twenty feet. "Now, Hank, you know that isn't going to work with me." Superman said firmly. "Now, just relax; nobody's going to hurt you..."

Snarling, Hank darted around a corner, smashing through a window and darting outside as Superman ran after him; he had disappeared into the bush by the time Superman reached the window.

Quickly, Superman darted into the sky, scanning the ground for Hank as he activated his belt-communicator. "Professor, it's Superman. We have a problem."

"_I know, Superman; Cerebro has just detected the activation of Hank's X-Gene._" the Professor replied. "_Keep tracking him; the X-Men will follow your communicator signal._"

Then, Reed's voice came in over the communicator. "_We'll be coming, too, Superman. We just found out what happened; the Fantastic Four is at you and your team's disposal._"

"Thanks, Reed. We may need all the help we can get." Superman replied. "I'll keep the signal active so you guys can find me." Then, his hearing caught something. "You'd better hurry, guys; we're not alone, out here..."

The soldiers in black were watching as the transformed mutant burst out of the school. "Notify command. Tell them they'll have their test-subject very soon." the leader said. "Get the rest of the squad out here; tell them to follow our signal. We'll surround the mutant, and then we all should be able to take it in." The rest of the soldiers nodded in compliance, and they moved out, following the mutant.

Superman spotted Hank slowing down in the park, and notified the others where to meet him, switching off his communicator and clipping it back on his belt. He flew ahead and touched down in a clearing, just as the X-Van pulled up, and the X-Men all got out, followed by the Fantastic Four. "I think someone's trying to capture Hank." Superman said softly. "They're trying to close in on him, up ahead."

"We'd best spread out, and move in quietly." Mr. Fantastic said. "The Professor is in the van; once we contain Hank, he should be able to get through to him."

Cyclops nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's get moving." With that, the entire group spread out, slowly moving towards Hank's location.

Within minutes, they were looking out through the bush at the bestial Hank, who had stopped running, and was simply pacing, on all fours, like an ape did. Suddenly, Hank perked up, growling, and Superman wondered if he'd sensed them...

Suddenly, a handful of black-clad men, all heavily armed, burst from the clearing, surrounding Hank. Two men drew launchers of some kind, and fired nets attached to cables, trapping the roaring Hank. "We've got it." one man – the leader – said. "Tell the others to move in and get ready for transport. For now, tranquilize it." Several others nodded, opening black cases...and taking out nasty-looking syringes...

Johnny bristled angrily. "I oughtta flame-on and _fry_ those creeps..."

"Stay cool, Johnny." Mr. Fantastic said. "Our priority is saving Hank. Sue, can you sneak up on them and cut those cables?"

Sue smiled, and then became invisible. "No problem." she said.

Reed nodded. "Johnny, when Sue cuts those cables, just give those men a little..._distraction_."

Johnny grinned. "Gotcha."

"When Sue cuts the cables, I think I can blow those nets off Hank." Superman said.

Cyclops nodded. "Jean, Lance, once Hank's loose, disable those soldiers and give him time to escape. The rest of us will go after him and try to contain him."

Ben grinned. "And then Supes and the four of us can _clobber_ the rest of those goons when they show up."

"Agreed." Mr. Fantastic confirmed. At that, Sue headed down towards the men, just as the two had gotten their syringes ready.

In less than a second, Sue had generated an invisible force-disc and threw it, slicing through the cables, surprising the soldiers.

That was the cue they'd needed. "_Flame-on!_" Johnny yelled, igniting his body into living fire, becoming the Human Torch. The Torch flew up above the soldiers and sent low-powered flame-blasts at the ones carrying syringes, partially catching them on fire. The soldiers howled in fright as they ran around, trying to put out the fire, confusing the others.

While the soldiers were distracted, Superman inhaled, and unleashed a fraction of his gale-breath, blowing the nets off Hank, who promptly ran off, further into the park.

As the soldiers attempted to regroup, Jean unleashed a TK-pulse, as Avalanche summoned a moderate seismic wave; the pulse and the tremor combined to knock the soldiers down. Once they were down, the X-Men all ran from the brush, chasing after Hank...

...and then about twenty more armed men ran in from the side, taking aim at the X-Men. Sue quickly became visible, and generated a force-field wall between the X-Men and the soldiers, just as the soldiers opened fire; Sue's field easily repelled the bullets, allowing the X-Men to escape.

Superman and the Fantastic Four quickly stood between the soldiers and where the X-Men had gone. "If you want to get to _them_, you have to go through _us_." Superman said firmly.

Mr. Fantastic nodded, his eyes narrowing. "And that's easier said than done."

By then, the first few soldiers had recovered. The leader glared at them. "You god-damn mutie _freaks_...you all stick together, _don't_ you?!"

"Yeah. Too bad for you, huh?" the Torch quipped.

"You all have ten seconds to clear out." Sue said. "Otherwise..."

"...you get _clobbered_." Ben said.

The soldier snarled, clearing his rifle and taking aim, and the others followed. "In case you freaks didn't notice," he growled, "you're _outnumbered!_"

Mr. Fantastic sighed. "They always choose the hard way."

"Yep." Superman agreed.

Ben chuckled. "Well, then..." he said, "..._it's __**clobberin' time!**_"

The soldiers prepared to fire, but Superman quickly darted through the group, snatching their weapons before a single shot could be fired, crushing the firearms into a useless lump of metal, tossing it aside. While he did this, Mr. Fantastic twisted himself like a rubber band, and unleashed a sweeping-fist strike that sent ten soldiers flying.

Sue had promptly turned invisible, and was taking out numerous soldiers within the group, the confused soldiers not knowing what was happening.

The Thing was a little less subtle; he barreled into the group, his massive fists sending soldiers flying every which way. By then, some of the soldiers had started to recover, so the Torch let a single flame-blast fly ahead of Superman, just as Superman unleashed his gale-breath; the gale combined with the flame, creating a surge of superheated air that knocked every single soldier flat on his back, out cold.

As Superman and the Fantastic Four regrouped, even _more_ soldiers started to pour in from beyond the brush. "Looks like they had more friends." Reed commented.

Superman got an idea. "Hey, Ben..." he said, "...ever go bowling?"

"_Bowling?_" the Thing repeated...and then he grinned, getting the idea. "_Sure!_ Always _wanted_ to try something like that!"

At once, Ben knelt down, curling himself into a massive ball-shape. Superman floated up, and lifted him up by his belt, lifting Ben like a massive bowling-ball. Taking aim, he pulled his arm back...and then threw it forward, letting go.

Ben's massive form rolled across the ground at impressive speeds, bowling over every single soldier before coming to a stop. Ben laughed, as he got up. "Now _that's_ how you _really_ clobber someone!" he joked.

Superman chuckled. "I guess we got a strike."

Reed nodded, as Sue re-materialized next to him. "We'd better try to catch up with the others." Mr. Fantastic said. "Hank still needs our help." Superman nodded in agreement, as he and the Fantastic Four headed after their friends.

Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men chased after Hank; Superman and the Fantastic Four could handle those guys, whoever they were. They ran after Hank, following him into a forested area...and then they lost sight of him. "Jean, can you track him?" Cyclops asked.

Jean put her hands to her head, focusing. "To the left!" she cried, and Cyclops turned in time to see Hank leap at them; he quickly fired an optic-blast, knocking him back. Hank fell back, snarling, ready to pounce again...and fell into a pit that Avalanche had generated.

Cyclops walked to the edge of the pit. "Easy, Hank...we're not going to hurt you..." he began...but stopped as he realized that the pit was empty.

Hank had dug his way out.

Just then, Hank clawed his way out of the ground behind them, ready to attack, but Gambit let a single charged card fly, its burst scaring him, driving him back. "Don' y' know dat it ain' polite t' sneak up on people, _Monsieur_ McCoy?"

As Hank stumbled back, Shadowcat phased his feet into the ground, trapping him. "Mr. McCoy, we want to _help_ you..." she began, but froze as Hank roared, breaking free, swiping at her...and missing, as Nightcrawler had 'ported her out of the way.

Now, only Spyke was left, standing between Hank and Rogue. Spyke formed bone-spikes along his forearms, ready to block. "I don't want to fight you, Mr. McCoy..."

Hank just looked at him...and then his expression changed, becoming regretful...before he ran off.

"Everyone, after him!" Cyclops ordered.

"Wait!" Spyke exclaimed, as he recognized where they were...and where Hank was headed. "You guys go get the Professor, and head to the old amphitheater; that's where Mr. McCoy is headed! I'll head him off!"

Cyclops looked concerned. "Evan, are you sure about this?"

"He's still in there, Scott; I'll be okay." Spyke said. "You can trust me on this one!"

Cyclops nodded. "Okay." he agreed. "Be careful." Spyke nodded, and he raced after Hank, as the others doubled back, to get the Professor.

Spyke soon came to the old amphitheater...and, sure enough, Hank was on the stage, pacing, still agitated. "Mr. McCoy?" Spyke called, causing Hank to growl. "It's me, Evan, remember?" Hank still growled, but he didn't attack.

"I memorized that passage, like you asked me to." Spyke continued. "It's the one you were reciting here, today, isn't it?"

Hank stopped growling, though he was still tense.

Spyke took a deep breath, and began to recite the passage, as he slowly inched towards his teacher, repeating it over and over.

Slowly, Hank started to calm, even as Spyke stood in front of him. "I know you're stronger than whatever it is that's got you tweaked, Mr. McCoy." Spyke said. "We want to help you."

By then, all the others had arrived, including Superman and the Fantastic Four. '_Listen to Evan, Hank._' came the Professor's powerful but gentle telepathic voice, as their mentor rolled his wheelchair up to the stage. '_The man that you are is stronger than the beast within you. You can fight it, Hank; just let me help._'

By then, the Professor was in front of Hank, and simply placed a hand to Hank's temple. Hank tensed for a moment...and then passed out. The Professor smiled. "He'll be okay."

Everyone smiled at that revelation. "We'd better get him to the Institute." Cyclops said.

Mr. Fantastic nodded. "Ben?"

"Gotcha, Stretch." Ben said. He walked over to the unconscious Hank, and lifted him up on his shoulder. "Upsy-daisy, big fella." With that, they all headed back towards the X-Van.

As they passed through the area where the soldiers had been, they found that all the soldiers were gone. As they headed for the van, Superman stopped, and picked up a scrap of black cloth. "What is it, Superman?" Jean inquired.

"This was part of those soldiers' uniforms." Superman said. "Look at this lettering."

"'F.O.H.'?" Cyclops read aloud. "What's _that_ stand for?"

Superman looked uneasy. "Nothing good, if those guys were any indication." he thought aloud. With that, they all piled into the X-Van, heading to the Institute, as Superman took to the sky, following them from above.

"_...we just received a report of some kind of wild beast breaking into Bayville High School. With us is the Principal of that school, Mr. Edward Kelly._"

The news anchorwoman on the TV pointed her microphone towards the principal. "_This thing was enormous, some kind of...ape-creature! It would have surely killed me if...someone hadn't stopped it._"

The anchorwoman arched an eyebrow. "_Someone saved you?_"

The principal nodded. "_I have no idea who, but he stopped its pounce in its tracks; he was stronger than __**anything**__ I've ever seen! And...this is going to sound silly, but...I thought I caught the colors of his uniform and cape: red and blue._"

The anchorwoman turned to the screen. "_Well, viewers? Where could this beast have come from? And could this have been another sighting of the elusive hero known only as 'Superman'..._"

The TV exploded as Graydon Creed put a bullet through it in sheer fury, several of his lieutenants in the room with him. "_Disgusting._" he snarled. He'd just heard of the fiasco in Bayville, how those freaks – including _that_ one – had messed up their operation. And to hear them making a _hero_ out of that freak...

"I know how you feel, sir." one lieutenant said. He suppressed a snarl. "My own _son_ often watches reports about that..._thing_."

Graydon nodded, calming. "We'll have to get a test-subject, elsewhere." he said. "I suppose we still have time; Dr. Trask said that the weapons won't be ready for another few months."

"Yes, sir."

Graydon nodded to his lieutenants. "You are dismissed." His subordinates nodded, and headed out.

Alone, Graydon removed his black gloves...and gazing upon the hideous scarring of his hands.

The scars were a reminder to him; a reminder that no price was too high to eliminate the mutant menace. They were the result of the treatment used to purge his DNA of the dormant X-Gene that his parents had passed to him. It had been agonizing...but it had been _worth_ it, to cleanse his genetic material. There was but one blemish on the purity of the Creed line.

And he would soon _eliminate_ it.

Graydon's face twisted in hate as he put on his gloves. '_This world is for __**humanity**__._' he thought. '_Freaks and mutants have no place here. They're trying to destroy us..._'

'_...and the Friends of Humanity will __**stop**__ them._' With that, Graydon simply headed out of the room, to continue his plans.

After he'd changed into his street-clothes, Clark headed to the infirmary to check on Hank; Reed and his team had decided to head back to New York, as the evening had been eventful enough...though Reed and Susan still wanted to learn more about Krypton, Clark thought with a smile.

As Clark came into the infirmary, he saw that Hank – though still in his blue-furred state – was awake in his cot, and lucid, surrounded by the Professor, the instructors, the X-Men, and..."Lex?" Clark asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came as soon as I heard about the 'beast attack'." Lex replied.

Hank lightly smiled. "Thankfully, I'm myself, again." he said. He sighed, looking at his hands. "In a manner of speaking."

Kurt chuckled. "Hey, zhe chicks dig zhe fuzzy dudes, Herr McCoy!"

Hank chuckled. "Thank you, Kurt." he said. He frowned. "But I doubt that I'll be able to continue teaching in my current state."

"We could give you an image-inducer..." Scott suggested.

Hank shook his head. "I appreciate the thought, but I'd rather not." he said. "All my life, I've hid my mutation from the world; an inducer would just be hiding, and I don't think I can do that, anymore."

Lex lightly smiled. "Why not come work at LexCorp?" he suggested. "My R&D Division can always use a mind like yours, Hank, and you needn't worry about your appearance; the people in that division are used to things that are...'out-of-the-ordinary'. You'd fit right in!"

Hank smiled sadly. "Thank you, Mr. Luthor, but I don't think that's the place for me." he said. "All I've ever wanted to do is teach...and now I _can't_."

Lex smiled regretfully. "Well, it's your decision."

The Professor smiled. "Why not become an instructor _here_, Hank?" he asked. "You needn't worry about your secret with us...because we have _plenty_ of secrets of our own."

Hank paused, considering it...and then smiled. "I think I'd like that."

The Professor smiled. "Well then, Hank...welcome to the Institute!" He extended his hand to Hank, who smiled, and shook it.

Lex grinned. "Well, all's well that ends well, eh, Clark?"

Clark smiled. "I guess so."

Lex then glanced to his watch. "Sorry; gotta run. Stockholder meeting." he said. "It was nice seeing you all, again!" With that, he hurried out of the infirmary.

After Lex left, Clark and the others all left the infirmary, letting Hank have his rest. Clark was heading to his room when he met Alison in the hallway. "Hey." she greeted. "Is Mr. McCoy okay?"

Clark nodded, smiling. "He's our new instructor."

Alison beamed. "That's _great!_" she exclaimed. Her expression became worried. "And what about _you?_ Are you okay?"

Clark smiled. "I'm fine, Aly." he assured her.

Alison smiled. "I'm glad." she cooed. She lightly blushed. "I mean, of _course_ you're okay; you're _invulnerable!_ I just meant..."

"I know what you meant, Aly." Clark assured her.

Alison looked worried. "Who _were_ those guys?"

"I don't know," Clark said, "but they sure knew about mutants."

"Could they try anything like this again?"

Clark shrugged. "I honestly don't know," he admitted, "but if they _do_, we'll stop them."

Alison smiled. "I know you will, baby." she cooed. Clark smiled, and gently placed his hands on her waist, drawing her close. Alison smiled, sighing happily, her beautiful eyes closing. Clark slowly leaned down to her...

...and his hearing picked something up.

Clark sighed, a sound Alison knew, understanding completely. She placed her hands on his chest, laughing into his chest. "Trouble?"

Clark looked worried. "There's a power-plant on the verge of meltdown in China."

Alison's expression mirrored his. "You'd better get going."

Clark nodded, and then smiled, quickly kissing her. "Be back soon." he promised. With that, he darted off, changing into his uniform, opened a window, and flew off, towards China at Mach Five speeds.

_Baxter Building, New York City_

Inside the Baxter Building, the high-tech headquarters of the Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue stood in the control room, putting a call through to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Tonight's events had unnerved Reed.

Soon, they were put through to the General. "_Richards._" Nick Fury greeted. "_I trust this is important._"

"I believe so." Reed replied. "General, do the letters 'F.O.H.' mean anything to you?"

Fury arched an eyebrow. "_No. Why?_"

"That insignia was on the uniform of a bunch of armed men who tried to kidnap Hank McCoy, this evening." Sue said.

"They also knew about mutants, General." Reed added.

Fury looked concerned. "_Well, I've never heard of them; either they're very new, or they're covering their tracks well._"

"Or both." Reed said.

"_Or both._" Fury agreed. "_In the meantime, there's a power-plant in China that's about to go critical. You and your team had better get there, __**pronto**__._"

Reed happened to check the radar...and smiled. "We'd be happy to, General..." he said, "...but I think someone will beat us to it."

Fury's face changed into what Reed _swore_ was almost a smile. "_Xavier's golden-boy, huh._" he said. "_Well, just see if he needs any help, and try to keep the public clear so he can do his job without any snoops with cameras looking around._"

"We will, sir. Richards out." Reed said, as he ended the transmission. Reed sighed. "Looks like these 'F.O.H.' guys are none too fond of mutants." he said. "I hope they don't try to expose mutants, anytime soon."

Susan smiled. "Well, if mutants are ever exposed, Superman should be a good example of why mutants aren't a threat...despite being an alien."

Reed smiled. "You're right." he agreed. He chuckled. "Why are you always right?"

Sue giggled, looping her arms around his neck, her face inches from his. "I'm your _wife_, silly. It's my _job!_"

Reed laughed, embracing his gorgeous wife. "And what exactly is _my_ job?" he inquired. Sue just giggled, before they shared a sweet kiss. After the kiss ended, Sue leaned up...and whispered something in his ear.

Reed's eyes went wide...and then he grinned. "Oh, yeah. _Now_ I remember!"

Sue just smiled, slipping out of his embrace. "We can do that _later_, lover. Right now, Superman may need our help." Reed nodded, smiling, as they both hurried off, to get the rest of their team, and to go help their friend.

_Author's Note: I honestly couldn't remember the specific passage that Hank wanted Evan to memorize. Sorry._

_Coming soon:_

_As the holidays draw near, the Institute students make plans to visit their families…causing our favorite alien to be a tiny bit glum about not having his birth-parents to celebrate with…_

…_but as Scott and his brother get caught in a deadly storm, the Man of Steel has to come to his friends' rescue…_

…_and an old foe tries to make our hero an offer he can't refuse._

_Be there, in "Home," coming soon to your computer…_


	12. Home

CHAPTER ELEVEN: HOME

_Bayville, December 17, 2007_

An idyllic blanket of snow had fallen over Bayville in the mid-afternoon sun, making the atmosphere perfect for the week before Christmas. School was out for the holidays, and in the back yard of her house, 9-year-old Rebecca "Becky" Madison, in her snowsuit, was building a snowman, her cat, Mittens, watching her.

As Becky had finished the snowman's face – a carrot nose and black pebble eyes and smile – she called out, "Mom! Can I have a red blanket?"

From the patio, Mrs. Madison, in her winter coat, promptly brought the red blanket her daughter requested. "Here you go, honey." she said, smiling. "Why did you need it? Is your snowman cold?"

Becky giggled. "_No_, Mom! I'm not making a _snowman!_" she said. She promptly fixed the blanket around the snowman's neck like a cape. "I'm making a _Super_-snowman!" After fixing the blanket, she started to put pebbles on the snowman's belly, making the stylized 'S'. Smiling, her mother headed indoors.

As Becky finished her Super-snowman, she stood back, and smiled, admiring her work...seconds before a shadow darted overhead. Becky quickly looked up...and smiled as she saw the tiniest dot on the horizon.

She hoped he liked her snowman.

As he flew over Bayville, returning from his patrol, Superman smiled as he looked upon all the citizens, going about their daily routines, preparing for the holidays. The snow made everything perfect; it had arrived just in time.

The high school had closed for the holidays, and university classes were concluded; even at work, old JJ was in a – relatively – pleasant mood. At the Institute, everyone was making plans to go home to their families; Scott had gone to Hawaii to visit his Brother, Alex, for a few days, before coming back to go with Jean to spend Christmas with her parents; Kitty had persuaded Lance to come to her home of Northbrook to spend Hanukkah with her and her family; Evan and Ororo were heading home to visit Ororo's sister, Evan's mother; and Kurt was going back to Germany. Even the New Mutants were going to head to their homes; the only ones currently sticking around for Christmas were the Professor, Hank, Logan, Rogue, Remy, Alison, and him. He honestly wasn't sure what to do for Christmas; part of him wanted to go home to Smallville, to see his Ma, but he also wanted to spend Christmas with Ali.

Superman sadly frowned to himself. He and Ali had had a fight, yesterday; Alison had wanted to use a higher setting in her Danger Room session – one that the X-Men used – and he'd advised against it. He hadn't meant to, but Alison had been offended that he didn't think she could handle it; that hadn't been his reason, really – he just didn't want her to push herself _too_ hard. He'd tried to explain that to her...and Ali had countered that _he_ didn't mind pushing _himself_. Adding to the frustration was the fact that he'd had to bail on a few of their dates early, the past week. Superman hadn't _wanted_ to leave her, but helping people was important to him, too; it was who he _was_.

Superman sighed. The fight hadn't helped his mood; he always got a little down, this time of year. He couldn't help it. Everyone always made such a big deal about going home to their families...reminding him that his family – his _biological_ one, anyway – was _dead_...which _also_ reminded him that his entire _race_ was dead, too. He _loved_ his Earth family, as well as his extended Institute family...but there would always be that space in his life that only Jor-El and Lara could have filled.

Soon, he was over the Institute, blanketed in snow. He rapidly descended, entering via the nearby window. He darted to his room and donned his street clothes, before heading out into the hallway...

...and bumping into someone.

"Sorry." Clark quickly apologized...before his mind became aware of a few facts.

One, the person he'd bumped into was female.

Two, said female was 17, and only two females in the Institute were that age.

And Three, of those two, only _one_ used the distinctively alluring floral fragrance – even more distinct to _his_ nose – of Herbal Essences shampoo in her hair...which gleamed a silky gold, as she came closer.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "Hi." he said softly.

Alison lightly smiled. "Hi."

Clark took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do.

They both spoke at the same time. "I'm sorry."

They both shared surprised expression at their synchronicity...and then lightly chuckled. Clark went first. "Ali, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I really wasn't trying to insult you; I _know_ you can handle Setting Seven in the Danger Room. It's just that you've really been working hard – and it really _shows_ – and I don't want you to hurt yourself." he said. "And I know it looks like I push myself...but I'm not. I'm not trying to brag; I _never_ go 100 percent with my powers. The _most_ I've ever used is 50 percent, because I'm _deathly_ afraid of what I could do at 100 percent of my full power." He took a deep breath. "And as for our dates...I'm so sorry about..."

"_Don't_ be." Alison said. She looked apologetic. "I was a little annoyed that you had to go, before," she continued, "but then I remembered that you're saving _lives_...just like you saved _mine_."

Clark smiled, remembering the day he'd reunited with Alison, when he'd saved her from that falling scaffolding. "It was what _anyone_ would have done, Ali."

Alison giggled. "I doubt _that_." she cooed. "You do so much for so many people. You haven't changed at _all_, Clark; you're still the same pure-hearted, kind, caring, selfless person that I fell head-over-heels for." Her smile became guilty. "I can't fault you for being who I adore."

Clark's smile grew in radiance. "Thanks, Ali."

Alison smiled. "And I know now that you were just trying to keep me from getting hurt," she added, and then her smile became lightly chastising, "but I _can_ take care of myself, Clarkie. I _can_ handle the higher settings."

"I know you can." Clark agreed. "Look, maybe for your next setting, why not try Setting Six, and go from there?"

Alison nodded. "Okay; that's fair."

Clark smiled, and then enfolded her in a gentle hug. "I'm really sorry, baby."

Alison returned the hug. "Me, too."

After their hug ended, Clark and Alison started to walk downstairs. "So, what are your plans for Christmas, Ali?" Clark inquired.

Alison smiled. "Well, over the next day or two, I have a recording; I'm doing a CD of all the best Christmas songs...done tastefully, of course!" she said. Her smile grew. "And Aunt Bridget called me, this morning; Clark...I'm going _platinum!_"

Clark's smile grew as his girlfriend told him about the immense honor being conveyed upon her...which she deserved _immensely_. "Ali, that's _wonderful!_" he exclaimed, sweeping her into a hug. "I'm so _proud_ of you!"

Alison giggled, happily returning the embrace. "Thanks!" she cooed. "Other than all that, I don't have any real plans. What about you?"

Clark sighed. "I don't know." he admitted. "I'd like to go see Ma back in Smallville, but I want to spend Christmas with _you_."

Alison blushed. "Does...Mrs. Kent...know about us?"

Clark smiled warmly. "I called her and told her the day after our first date." he confessed. "She was tickled pink that the two of us were dating; I think she had a notion that we might make a cute couple."

Alison giggled. "I think I'd like to see her again, too." she said. She sighed. "But I wanted to see Aunt Bridget, Uncle Mike, and my younger cousin, Jenny."

Clark sighed. "It can be a tricky season." he said, a bit sadly.

Alison noticed his expression. "Anything wrong?"

Clark lightly smiled. "I just...get a bit down, this time of year, Ali." he admitted. "As much as I love Ma, and our family at the Institute...I just get glum about never really knowing my Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara. I can't help it."

Alison hugged him. "I'm sorry." she cooed. "It must be so hard, sometimes."

Clark nodded. "Sometimes."

By then, they had reached the main floor. Alison smiled, as she glanced outside. "_I_ know what'll cheer you up!" she exclaimed. "Let's go outside! It's a _perfect_ winter day!"

Clark smiled. "Okay."

Alison's smile became flirtatious. "And maybe when we come inside...we could help each other warm up." With that, she headed off, to get her winter gear. Grinning, Clark followed her.

_Hawaii_

Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon as Scott and his brother headed to the beach, after Scott had parked his car. Alex Masters, 16, was tall, though not quite as tall as Scott, and of athletic build, his skin tanned, with mid-length bright blond hair, and green eyes. Alex was in his blue-and-orange wetsuit, carrying his surfboard, while Scott was wearing green shorts, and a grey sweater, his laptop and web-camera under his arm. Like Scott, Alex was a mutant, with the ability to generate powerful force-blasts from his hands.

"Hey, thanks for helping me record my surfing, bro!" Alex said.

Scott smiled. "No problem, Alex." he answered.

Alex grinned. "So, how's life at the Institute?" he asked. "I heard you and that Jean girl finally got together! Took you long enough, bro!"

Scott chuckled. "Yes, Jean and I are together." he replied. "And it's been hectic at the Institute, these past few months."

Alex nodded. "And what about the big guy? What's he up to?" he inquired.

Scott grinned. "The usual."

By then, they had reached the beach; they were the only ones there. "Huh? Where is everyone?" Alex asked aloud. "With these waves, you'd think the place would be _packed!_"

Scott looked worried. "Maybe it's because there's supposed to be a _storm_ on the way." he said. "This doesn't look like such a great idea, Alex."

Alex chuckled. "Hey, we'll be _fine_, Scott!" he said. "We'll just do a couple of waves, and then we'll pack it in before the storm hits! In and out!"

Scott nodded slowly. "Okay." he agreed. With that, he sat down on the sand, setting up his web-cam to record his brother's surfing, giving the extra web-camera to Alex, who affixed it to his board. Alex then swam out, towards a forming wave. Once he was on top of it, Alex stood up on his board, riding the crest of the wave, before cutting inside of it, slicing across its crest as it started to collapse, gliding into calm water.

Scott cheered as his brother cleared the wave. "Nice one, Alex!" he called, over the web-cam's audio-link.

"_Did you get it?_" Alex called back.

"Oh yeah!" Scott replied. Then, he got another look at the clouds on the horizon; they were _much_ darker, the whole _sky_ going black. "Alex, maybe we should head back." he said. "It's starting to get bad."

"_Just **one** more!_" Alex pleaded. "_I just want to get one more wave before we call it a day!_" With that, Alex swam out, catching another wave, and riding to the top of its crest, doing a spin-flip trick, flying off the top of the crest, landing perfectly on the water.

"_Wow!_" Scott exclaimed. "_Nice_ one, Alex!" Then, he scanned the horizon. "Alex?" He couldn't see him...

"_I'm here._" came Alex's reply, the image of Alex on the screen showing him clinging to his board. "_I'm out pretty far, Scott, and I'm tired; I'm not sure if I can make it back._"

Scott's brow narrowed in worry. "I'll call the Coast Guard!" he exclaimed.

"_No, Scott; I don't want to look lame._" Alex said. "_Can't you just...you know, come and get me?_"

Scott nodded. "Hang on, I'll be right there!" he said. Taking his laptop, Scott ran for the nearby boathouse. Thankfully, it was abandoned, so Scott blasted off the chains with an optic-blast; he could always pay for the damage later – this was an emergency. He hopped into the boat, turned the ignition, and gunned the engine, heading into open water.

Scott scanned the horizon. "Alex, I still don't see you." he said over the link. "Can you send up a flare?"

"_I'll try._" came the reply. Seconds later, a red energy-beam shot up from the south-east.

"I see you!" Scott exclaimed, as he turned towards the flare. "Hang on, bro!"

"_Scott...that kinda...wore me out..._" Alex murmured...and he slipped off of his board.

Scott nearly panicked. "Alex?! _Alex!!_" he cried, as he increased speed, racing after his brother...and hoping he wasn't too late.

As Clark and Alison walked out into the snow-covered back yard of the Institute, clad in their winter gear, they saw that they weren't alone; all the New Mutants were outside, having a snowball fight, with Hank – now code-named "Beast" – watching them, clad in brown slacks and a sweater, with his glasses framing his eyes. Since he now had a built-in fur coat, Hank didn't really need much winter clothing.

"Hey, Mr. McCoy." Clark greeted, as he and Alison walked over.

Hank smiled. "Hello Clark, Alison." he greeted. "I see that the New Mutants aren't the _only_ ones who decided to get some fresh air."

Clark nodded, as he, Alison, and Hank all ducked under the arc of a stray snowball. "Sorry!" Bobby – the thrower – called.

Then, off in the distance, Clark saw the tell-tale flash of Jubilee's powers. Seconds later, he spied the flame-blast of Amara. Clark grimaced. "Looks like this little war is escalating."

Hank nodded. "I'm beginning to suspect that teaching young _mutants_ is going to require more effort than I realized."

Clark grinned. "Well, why don't we teach these guys how a _real_ snowball fight is won?"

Hank smiled. "_Excellent_ idea!" he agreed. Using his hand-like feet, Hank gathered snow into a massive snowball, before picking it up and heaving it at two of the warring mini-groups – Bobby and Jamie on one side, and Jubilee and Amara on the other. The snowball landed right in the middle of their battle-zone, startling them...and distracting them enough for Clark to zip through them at super-speed, pelting them with snowballs.

"_Run!!_" Bobby yelled. "_Clark_ just joined in!!" At once, all the New Mutants ran off. Clark and Hank gave them a slight head start...before running after them.

Had Clark stayed a moment longer, he may have noticed Alison gather a handful of snow into a sphere, hiding it behind her back, before following them, a mischievous smile on her face.

Soon after Scott had taken the boat out into the water, it had started to rain; to be more accurate, it had started to _pour_. The storm was here.

And it was a _big_ one.

"Alex?! Alex, can you hear me?!" Scott called out.

"_Scott?_" Scott breathed a relieved sigh as Alex's face reappeared on the screen. "_I just got knocked off my board for a minute. I'm gonna try another flare. You'd better be close, 'cause I don't think I'll be able to send up another one._"

"Okay." Scott agreed. He watched the horizon like a hawk...and spotted the red beam a few meters to the west, gunning his engine...and spying Alex, holding onto his board. Scott maneuvered his boat close, and put the engine in neutral, before darting to the stern to pull Alex aboard.

Alex coughed, before smiling weakly. "I guess you were right." he said.

Scott chuckled. "I'll save the 'I told you so' for when we get back to shore." he replied, as he headed to the steering wheel, powering up the engine. "Let's just get out of here."

By then, the storm was getting _fierce_. The waves were starting to toss the little boat around like a bath-toy. "Scott...I'm sorry about this." Alex said.

"You can be sorry later." Scott said. "I'm not planning on dying like this."

Alex smiled. "Same here." he agreed. "Not after I planned to change my name back to Summers."

Scott smiled. "Good."

Now the waves were getting _very_ bad. Alex grimaced. "Maybe we should call the Coast Guard, now."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Scott said. He quickly took out the boat's radio. "Mayday, Mayday!" he called into it. "We are on an unlisted commercial vessel approximately fifty miles off the south-west coast and we require assistance! Can anyone hear us?!"

There was no response.

Just then, a _huge_ wave rose up, seemingly out of nowhere, heading straight for them. "_Alex, hang on!!_" Scott cried out. The wave drew closer...

...and then, it hit.

The wave tore the boat into splinters, knocking the two brothers into the water. Scott and Alex fought to stay afloat, but the waves tossed them about as if they were nothing. Scott wasn't a pessimist by nature...

...but he had no _idea_ how he and Alex were going to get out of this one.

Once Clark and Hank had joined the fray, the snowball fight had been a very short one.

Between Hank's snow-boulders and Clark's super-speed snowball barrages, it didn't take long for the New Mutants to surrender. Coated in powder, the New Mutants staggered up to the team that had creamed them.

Chuckling, Clark turned to Hank. "I think that was a lesson learned well."

Hank grinned. "I agree."

Grinning, Clark turned to head back towards the Institute...

_Paf!_

The single snowball hit him dead center in the head, coating his face with powder. Slowly, the snow slid off...revealing the smiling face of Alison, suppressing her giggles.

"_Gotcha!_"

Clark's face slowly broke into a grin. "_Why...you...little..!_" he laughed. Squealing with laughter, Alison ran off. Laughing, Clark darted after her.

Even at a relatively normal speed, Clark quickly outpaced Alison, catching his giggling girlfriend from behind...and proceeding to relentlessly tickle her. "_Clark, no! Nononononononono!_" Alison squealed, laughing giddily under his tickling barrage.

Smiling, Clark stopped, letting Alison catch her breath. "Well...not going to do _that_, again, are you?" he lightly teased.

Alison pouted sweetly, turning to face him, her hands behind her back. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Clark smiled slyly. "I think the _real_ question is can _you_ forgive _me?_"

The question confused her enough for what he'd planned.

Clark zipped behind her at super-speed, snatched the snowball she'd had hidden in her pocket – the one she now had in her hand, to pelt him when she had the chance – grasped her hood, and stuffed it down her jacket. Her half-laughing scream told him that he'd gotten her.

"_Son of a **bitch**!_" she shrieked, laughing, trying to get the snowball out, hopping around and tugging on her jacket. Clark couldn't help but laugh, until she turned a half-heartedly angry, playful glare at him...before she pounced on him. Clark was all too happy to let her succeed, falling back onto the snow, with her on top of him, the two of them laughing at how silly they were being.

Clark smiled up at Alison, his earlier sadness gone completely...all thanks to this special, beautiful, _wonderful_ young woman. Alison smiled back at him, her lovely sapphire eyes twinkling like cerulean stars.

Slowly, they leaned into each other, sharing a sweet kiss, lasting a few wonderful seconds. As the kiss ended, Clark gazed upon her; she literally made his heart _ache_. He didn't know how he had ever lived without her, and he didn't _want_ to know. And the sweet smile she was giving him told him that she felt the same way. "Ali..." he began.

Alison's smile grew, her eyes widening. "Yes..?" she cooed.

There was a crunch in the snow, followed by giggling.

Clark sighed as his gaze fell upon the New Mutants, as well as Hank, who had been watching them. "Don't stop on _our_ account!" Tabitha said, grinning.

Alison frowned at them. "Way to wreck the moment, guys!"

"_Mayday, Mayday!_"

Clark's eyes went wide as he heard that transmission on the emergency channel...in _Scott's_ _voice!_

Alison noticed his expression. "Clark? What's wrong?"

"Scott and Alex are in trouble!" Clark exclaimed.

Alison's eyes widened in horror. "Then get _going!!_" she cried, hopping off him. "What are you _waiting_ for?!" Clark nodded, and was on his feet instantly, dashing into the Institute, to don his uniform.

Jean was just sitting in the living room, reading one of her favorite novels...her thoughts occasionally drifting to Scott...and hoping that his visit with her family didn't scare him off...

Suddenly, her mind was filled with images: Scott taking a boat out into a stormy sea; Scott rescuing Alex; a huge wave splintering their boat...

Jean suppressed a horrified scream. She didn't know how she knew...but she _knew_.

Scott was in trouble.

Just then, Clark burst in from the back yard. "Scott and Alex are in trouble!" he exclaimed.

"I know!" Jean cried. "They're somewhere on the ocean, in a storm! We have to help them!"

"I'll go on ahead, and try to spot them." Clark said. "You and Storm take the Blackbird and follow me; with that kind of weather, we may need her!"

"Got it!" Jean agreed, and she darted off, to get Miss Munroe, while Clark darted off, donning his uniform and flying off at top speeds.

When Scott came to, he found himself on a beach, with blue skies above him, the storm that had sunk the boat off in the distance. Looking around, he saw that he was on a tropical island...one which looked utterly deserted. Then, he spied the unconscious Alex lying a few feet away, and raced to his brother's side. "Alex, are you okay?"

"Ugh...I'll tell you if you just stop _screaming._" Alex groaned, sitting up. "Where are we?"

Scott frowned worriedly. "I think we're on a deserted island."

Alex lay back down, groaning. "_Great._" Suddenly, a massive shadow floated over their heads. "Aw, don't tell me that storm's back..."

Scott looked up...and _froze_. "Alex, I've got good news, and I've got bad news." he said. "The good news is that that's not the storm."

"And the bad news?" Alex asked, opening his eyes...and then he saw.

Floating above them was a huge vessel, easily dwarfing the entire island. It was long, and fairly sleek, with a pointed bow, its port and starboard sides each having six vertical engines, keeping the colossal vessel airborne, with two massive engines at its stern, providing thrust. The titanic airship had countless guns and cannons spaced along its hull, and was flanked by numerous smaller vessels. Its hull was made of grey steel, with green plating...

...with a crest of a mask along its port side, the mask's eyes seeming to glare out at them...a crest that made Scott's blood run _cold_.

"Scott...what _is_ that thing?!" Alex cried.

"I...don't know, Alex..." Scott admitted.

"Who could _build_ something like that?!"

"I'm not sure." Scott said. '_Although I have an idea...but, **boy**, do I hope I'm wrong..._'

Just then, Scott heard footsteps approaching..._heavy_ footsteps. Quickly, Scott and Alex darted into the bushes, getting out of sight...seconds before two titanic green-and-grey metal robots lumbered into view. The robots paused, looking around, scanning...and then continued on their way.

Scott and Alex didn't say a word until they were out of sight. "Scott...what were those?" Alex whispered.

"I don't know, but I'll bet my _shades_ that they work for whoever owns..._that._" Scott answered, pointing at the massive ship above them. "Something tells me that they're up to no good."

Alex nodded. "I guess we should check things out." he agreed. Scott nodded, and the two brothers silently crept out of the brush, stealthily following the two hulking mechanoids.

The two robots led Scott and Alex to a large clearing, as the two brothers hid inside the brush, looking out at where a collection of ancient ruins lay...and where numerous robots were excavating the ruins, as a single, green-cloaked figure, seemingly made out of metal, overlooked the excavation.

His face was the same mask that was on the ship above.

The figure turned to one of the automatons. "_What is the status on the excavation?_" he asked, his voice cold, metallic.

"_Excavation 95 percent complete, Lord Doom._" the robot replied tonelessly. "_Estimated time to completion: five minutes._"

"_Excellent. I wish to retrieve the artifact soon; even though we are in international waters, time is of the essence._"

"_Doom's word is law._" the robot said, before continuing in its task.

Scott frowned. "So it _is_ him." he muttered. "I was afraid of that..."

"Who?" Alex whispered.

"Doctor Doom." Scott said softly. "If _he's_ here, this _can't_ be good. We have to let Superman know about this."

"Wait..." Alex said, "...this 'Doom' guy...isn't he the nutcase who's running..."

"My father is _not_ a nutcase!!" an angry female voice hissed. "_Blast each other, right now!!_"

'_Oh, no._' Scott thought...as he and Alex used their powers on each other, sending each other flying. Scott struggled to stand up...and then, he passed out.

Superman had been searching through the stormy sea for several minutes by the time the Blackbird had caught up to him. He switched on his communicator. "I don't see them!" he called. "This is where I heard the distress call from, but I can't find them!"

"_They **have** to be nearby!_" Jean answered. "_I **know** Scott's okay; I just **know** it!!_" Then, she paused. "_Wait...I think I sense him! He's about ten miles away, on an island!_" She gasped. "_I just lost contact with him! I think he's unconscious!_"

Superman looked around, scanning ten miles in every direction, which was easier, since the storm was waning. Then, he spotted it. "I see it! Follow me!" He flew towards the island, the Blackbird following him.

Once they had cleared the storm, Superman could see clearly...and he spotted the colossal airship hovering over the island, flanked by numerous smaller ships...manned by robotic drones. '_Hoo, boy._' Superman thought. '_Never easy, is it?_'

"_Superman...those smaller ships are heading right for us!_" Storm exclaimed.

"I see them." Superman said. "You guys head for the island; I'll cover you." With that, he flew ahead of the Blackbird, to engage the smaller ships.

The instant he came into range, the small vessels started firing at him, but Superman shrugged off their shots easily, firing his eye-rays in rapid-fire succession, blasting four ships out of the sky in a matter of seconds. By then, the ships had taken notice of the Blackbird, and were trying to intercept it, but Superman unleashed his gale-breath, blowing them off-course, sending them careening into each other, letting the Blackbird pass unharmed.

Superman was then knocked back a few feet by the energy cannon blasts of the second line of ships. Recovering instantly, Superman effortlessly evaded their shots, before he stopped, hovering in one spot, and unleashed his eye-rays in a deadly, sweeping blast that utterly incinerated the drones.

The colossal ship was starting to take notice of the Blackbird, now. It started to move, its massive cannons training on the smaller plane...and firing three massive cannon-shells at it. Superman instantly flew after the shells, blasting one with his eye-rays, then catching up to the second and knocking it away with one punch. He then flew after the third at top speed, grabbing it and throwing it away. He flew back towards the ship, which was preparing to fire again; he didn't have time to take this thing down...so he did the next best thing.

Superman inhaled, and unleashed his freeze-breath, freezing the entire port-side _solid_, rendering its cannons inoperable. By the time that thing turned to bring its starboard cannons to bear, they would be long gone...

...and then, Superman noticed the crest on its hull..._the one he'd seen a year ago, during his visit to Castle Doom._

Superman's eyes narrowed. '_Should've known._' he thought, before he flew after the Blackbird, heading towards the island.

When Scott and Alex came to, they were surrounded by those robots...with Doctor Doom and Siryn watching them. "_Ah. Visitors. How fortunate._" Doom said. "_Well done, Anita._"

Siryn smiled, bowing. "Thank you, Father."

"Doom." Scott said. "You're even _uglier_ than I thought you were."

Siryn bristled angrily at that, but Doom stayed cool. "_Charming._"

"So _you_ built that thing?" Alex asked. "No offence, _dude_, but you need a _hobby._"

Doom chuckled. "_Ah. So you noticed._" he said, ignoring the shot completely. "_It's my answer to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier_;_ I thought General Fury might appreciate having a level playing field, on our next encounter._"

Just then, one of the robots walked up to Doom. "_Excavation complete, Lord Doom._" it reported, handing Doom a glowing blue sphere, about the size of a billiard-ball.

"_Excellent._" Doom said, taking the sphere.

"Whatever you're up to, Doom, it won't work." Scott said.

"Yeah! When Superman gets here, he'll kick your tin-plated keister to Jupiter and _back!_" Alex added.

Siryn frowned disdainfully at them. "Father, _why_ do you let them _speak_ to you that way?"

"_One has patience with children and small animals, Anita._" Doom said simply. His yellow gaze met Alex's. "_And as for Kal-El arriving here, my foolish boy...**that** is what I'm **counting** on, now that you two are here. Kal-E will **certainly** try to rescue his dear friends._"

"_Lord Doom._" one robot reported. "_We have detected another aircraft, approaching rapidly. We are attempting to shoot it down, but there is another flyer protecting it._"

Doom chuckled. "_Ah. 'The cavalry has arrived,' as the expression goes._" he said. "_Perfect._"

Just then, the Blackbird appeared overhead. Doom's robots all aimed their weapons up, ready to fire...

...and then a red-and-blue blur shot down from the sky, barreling into the robots, darting from one to the next, sending each one flying. In seconds, all the robots were nothing but scrap metal, as Superman came to a stop, glaring at Doom.

"_Punctual as always, Kal-El._" Doom greeted.

Siryn smiled flirtatiously, waving to Superman. "Hi, handsome." she cooed.

Superman ignored her. "Let my friends go, Doom."

"_Certainly._" Doom said. "_I have no interest in them; I only kept them to draw your attention._"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "Forgive me if I'm not flattered."

Doom chuckled. "_Still quick-witted, I see. You're not at all curious as to why I wished to draw your attention?_"

"Knowing you, it's _nothing_ good."

"_Kal-El, you wound me._" Doom replied. "_Very well; I shall explain. Since you seem to be somewhat hesitant in accepting your place as the future leader of the mutant race – as well as my daughter's attentions – I intend to offer some...**incentive**._" He held out the glowing blue orb. "_Do you know what this is? There are few who do._"

Superman looked carefully at the orb. "An Orb of Agamotto." he said. "There are only two in existence."

"_Very good._" Doom said. "_Yes, this is an Orb of Agamotto, created by Agamotto, one of the three Vishanti, the legendary mystical entities who lend their power to worthy souls...and who created many of the mystical artifacts that are spotted across this world. The Orbs are two such artifacts; the good Doctor Strange possesses one...and I now hold the other. I am pleased that you recognize it._"

"After I realized that you and Magneto were in cahoots, I expanded my database to include objects and entities of mystical origin." Superman said.

"_Wise decision._" Doom replied. "_The Orb allows one to see anything they so desire – be it a person, an object, or a destination. On its own, it is immensely useful._" He gestured, conjuring the image of a golden orb in his free hand. "_When used in tandem with an Orb of Teleportation, however, its true value becomes apparent. Used this way, the Orbs allow you to teleport absolutely **anywhere**, be it merely across the street...or to another **galaxy**._"

"What does this have to do with _me?_" Superman asked, though he already had an idea.

"_Simple._" Doom said. "_Accept your true destiny, Kal-El,_" he walked over, and placed the Orb of Agamotto in Superman's hand, "_and you can go **home**. Accept your place, and my daughter's hand, and I will give you the other Orb, and you can visit your birth-world. Surely, your people must miss you._"

Superman didn't move.

Scott spoke up. "Doom...you are one twisted bastard..."

"_Silence!!_" Siryn hissed.

"_Surely you miss them, Kal-El? Are you not weary of being the only one of your kind here?_" Doom continued. "_Merely accept your place, and your world is your own, again. You can see your parents, visit your home...is that not reasonable?_" Doom chuckled. "_And your people's technology will surely turn the tide utterly in mutants' favor. When the war does come, it can end swiftly, saving lives. Isn't that what you want, Kal-El?_"

Superman lowered his head. Scott wondered what he was going to do. What if that Orb could show him his world _before_ it was destroyed? If that was the case, Superman could _warn_ his people, tell them what was going to happen to Krypton...

And then Superman looked back up, his face determined...as he _crushed_ the Orb into powder.

"_No!!_" Doom yelled. "_Kal-El...what have you done? You destroyed your only way to..._"

"It would have made no difference." Superman said, his eyes narrowing. "Even if I had kept the Orb...I _can't_ go back."

Doom was confused. "_Why not?_" he demanded.

A single tear escaped from Superman's eye. "Because my birth-world is _gone._" he said softly. "Thirty years ago, Krypton – my planet – _blew up._ The only reason I survived was because I was sent here by my parents, while they – along with the _rest_ of my people – _died._"

Doom was incredulous. "_You are joking._"

"My people are _dead_, Victor!! _They're all DEAD!!_" Superman exploded. "My world is _gone_, along with my people! I am the _only_ Kryptonian left alive! I am the _Last Son_ of Krypton!!" He calmed. "So, your 'incentive' means _nothing_ to me."

Doom was actually silent for a few seconds, as was Siryn. "_I...see._" Doom said softly. "_I seem to have...struck a nerve. My...apologies._" He turned to go. "_Come, Anita; we are leaving._"

Siryn nodded. "Yes, Father."

Doom turned back to Superman. "_One final piece of advice, Kal-El: whatever your business is with Miss Blaire...I suggest you conclude it, and **soon**._" he warned. "_The favor of Doom is not lightly given...nor is it lightly turned aside. Remember this._" With that, he vanished in a cloud of green haze. Siryn smiled at Superman, blowing him a kiss, before teleporting away like her father had. Then, the massive airship began to move away.

Scott and Alex walked over to Superman. "Clark...you okay?" Scott asked.

"Yeah." Superman replied. "Like Doom said, he hit a nerve."

"Could that 'Orb' have really let you go back to your planet?" Alex asked. "Could you have gone home?"

"Alex..." Scott said.

"No, it's okay." Superman said. He lightly smiled. "Doom was right about _one_ thing; I _do_ miss my Kryptonian parents...and the rest of my people." He sighed. "But they're gone; Krypton's time has passed, and I have to accept it." His smile grew. "But he was wrong about the most important thing: my home is in _Bayville_, along with my family."

Scott grinned. "And it always _will_ be, big guy." he agreed. "Now, let's go home." As the Blackbird descended, Scott and Alex got in, and the Blackbird took off, heading away, as Superman followed.

After dropping Alex off at Hawaii and picking up Scott's car, the Blackbird headed back to the Institute, where Scott – at Jean's insistence – reported to the infirmary. "Jean, I'm _fine!_" Scott complained, lying in his medical bed.

"Scott, you were floating in a stormy sea for who-knows-_how_-long! You are _not_ fine!" Jean said.

Scott started to sit up. "Jean, _really_, I'm okay..." he began, but Jean tapped him with her finger. "_Ow_..." Scott moaned, falling back onto the bed.

"I rest my case." Jean said.

Scott groaned. "Jean..."

"Do you have _any_ idea of what could have _happened_ to you, mister?!" Jean snapped. "You could've drowned, or frozen, or gotten torn to pieces by those robots, or...or..." she started to sniffle. "I could've _lost_ you..."

Scott paused, feeling like a total _jackass_ for upsetting her. "But you _didn't_, Jean." he said softly, smiling. "You rescued me."

Jean smiled weakly. "I just..._knew_ you needed help, Scott."

Scott smiled. "Hey...could we have...some kind of...bond?"

Jean smiled. "It's possible." she answered. "I mean, I saw you on the ocean..."

Scott grinned. "Could it work both ways?"

Jean's smile grew. "Let's find out." She closed her eyes...and then, her thoughts came through to Scott, as plain as day, making him smile.

'_Scott, please kiss me, right **now**._'

Scott lightly put his hands on Jean's waist, and playfully pulled her to him, capturing her lips in a kiss. At first, Jean squeaked in surprise, but then sighed happily, eagerly reciprocating. Jean's arms wreathed around his neck, as she lovingly straddled him, encouraging him to deepen the kiss, which Scott was only too happy to do.

As the kiss ended, they looked into each other's eyes, as Jean fought the temptation to rip off those glasses and look into his eyes, optic-blasts be damned.

'_Probably not the best idea._' Scott sweetly chided, causing Jean to telepathically giggle through their link, producing the most wonderful sensation in Scott's mind, which no-one else would ever know. Then, Jean sent a few thoughts to him...and Scott smiled slyly. '_You read my mind, you naughty girl._'

Slowly, Scott's hands released Jean's waist, and began to tenderly undo the buttons on her blouse, as Jean relaxed, reveling in this wonderful moment. In seconds, Scott had undone the buttons, partially slipping the shirt from her creamy shoulders, revealing her.

Jean was wearing a black, lace-edged bra, perfectly contrasting her ivory skin, as smooth as the feathers of a dove and her breasts were the two most perfect globes that Scott had ever seen, ever dared to _dream_ of. Nothing in the _world_ was as beautiful as her...

'_Keep thinking like that, and this might just happen again._' Jean thought to him, smiling. Scott grinned, before placing a loving kiss upon her bare shoulder, marveling at how soft her skin was, as his hands gently cupped her curves, giving the most loving squeeze, causing Jean to softly moan.

'_I love you._' Scott sent to her.

'_I love you, too._' Jean mentally cooed. Both young lovers reveled in this perfect moment; nothing could ruin it...

"Hey, guys, how are you – _WHOA!!_"

Scott and Jean stopped in mid-kiss, Jean rapidly pulling up her shirt, as they both turned to see Clark, in his street clothes, who had just walked in. "_So_ sorry!" Clark exclaimed. "Uh...I was...well...I think I'm thirsty." With that, he darted out of the infirmary.

Scott and Jean both burst out laughing. "Serves us right, deciding to make out in a public spot." Jean giggled. She hopped off Scott, doing up her shirt. "Sorry, lover, but you need your rest."

Scott laughed. "Yeah, like I can rest _now!_"

Jean smiled coyly. "Well, look at it _this_ way: the sooner you get your rest, the sooner you can come up to my room, where we can..._continue_ our discussion." With that, she walked off.

Scott grinned to himself, leaning back on his bed. '_Sometimes, it's good to be me._'

Clark walked away from the infirmary at impressive speeds. '_Always check a room before entering! **Always**!!_' he thought to himself.

Just then, he saw Alison come running up to him. "Hey, Clark, I have an idea on what we can do for..!" she began, but Clark silenced her by catching her in an embrace, snaring her lips in a kiss. Alison at first let out a muffled squeal of mild protest, but it soon became a delighted sigh. As the kiss ended, a blissfully dizzy Alison looked up at him. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was _that_ for?"

Clark grinned. "Just needed to get the image of Scott and Jean kissing out of my head. Thanks!"

Alison giggled, nuzzling into his chest. "Happy to be of help." she cooed. Then, she half-smiled, playfully swatting his chest. "Now you made _me_ forget what I was saying! Thanks a _lot!_" she laughed.

Clark chuckled. "Something we could do for..?" he prompted.

"Oh, right! I got an idea for Christmas! We could both go out to Smallville, and we could have a Kent-Blaire Family Christmas!"

Clark smiled. "Ali, that's _brilliant!_" he exclaimed, hugging her. "That's a _perfect_ idea! I bet Ma will _love_ it!"

Alison lightly pouted. "Don't I get a 'thank you'?" she sweetly teased. Clark grinned, and captured her in a sweet kiss once more. After it ended, Alison happily sighed. "You _definitely_ know how to treat a girl." she cooed. "Anyway, we'd better start planning this!"

"Right." Clark agreed, as he and Alison headed off, to start planning.

_Undisclosed location_

"You are certain of this?" Magneto asked, almost not believing what he'd heard his associate say. Erik Magnus Lensherr was in his late fifties, tall, and of a strong frame, with short, silver hair under his PSI-shielded helmet, and cold blue eyes, clad in black-and-red armor, with a long, black cape.

"_Quite sure._" Doom replied over the communicator. "_Kal-El is the last of his kind; his world is no more, so no technology can be retrieved from it._"

Magneto nodded thoughtfully. "I see." he said. "Fortunately, the humans' plans are proceeding as we had expected."

"_Indeed._" Doom agreed. "_I trust things are well in hand on your end?_"

Magneto nodded. "Soon, we will show Kal-El the _true_ nature of the humanity he so cares for, and how sorely the mutant race needs him."

"_Very well._" Doom said. "_I will leave things in your hands, for the moment. Doom out._" With that, the transmission ended.

Magneto was alone with his thoughts. '_Soon._' he thought. '_Soon, the mutant race will have the leader it so desperately needs._' Then, he went on his way, to make sure things were going according to plan.

_Coming soon:_

_As Clark and Alison get ready for a Christmas back in Smallville, strange sightings in New York draw the Man of Steel's attention._

_Are there angels in the Big Apple?_

_Or is something else going on?_

_And will an old enemy take advantage of this newcomer?_

_Find out in "Angels," coming to your computer soon…_


	13. Angels

CHAPTER TWELVE: ANGELS

_New York, December 23, 2007_

The air over New York City was cool and crisp as night fell over the city. A blanket of snow had coated all of New York, including the stately Worthington Towers, where the heir to the Worthington estate dwelled.

Warren Worthington III looked out over New York, taking a deep breath, as he prepared himself for what he was about to do. Warren was 20 years old, tall, and of athletic build, with short blond hair and green eyes, clad in his simple blue bathrobe...which he then shed, revealing the red-and-black bodysuit – of his own design – underneath it...and the pair of large, white, feathered, almost angelic wings growing from his back.

He'd had these wings for as long as he could remember; they'd grown, slowly but steadily over his childhood. At first, he'd been terrified by them...

...until he'd flown for the first time.

Suddenly, Warren's cell-phone rang, and Warren picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Hi, baby._"

Warren smiled. "Hi, Melinda." he said to his beloved fiancee. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"_I'm fine._" Melinda cooed over the phone. "_Are we still on for Christmas Eve?_"

Warren grinned. "Wouldn't miss it." he assured her.

"_That's good._" Melinda said. "_Anyway, you'll be careful tonight, right?_"

Warren smiled; Melinda was the only person – other than his parents – who knew his secret...and unlike _them_, she _liked_ it. "I will, baby." he promised. "I'll see you, tomorrow."

"_Okay, Warren. I love you._"

"I love you, too, Melinda. Bye." Warren said, as he hung up.

Warren then pulled on the cowl of his new uniform, covering the upper part of his face, before he walked towards the open balcony. He smiled as he felt the pleasant sensation of his wings catching the breeze. '_I can do this..._' he thought.

Warren leapt out into the open air, going into a dive, and then spreading his wings, pulling up, flapping his wings, flying into the city, searching for people who might need help. Then, as he passed by the Statue of Liberty, he spotted a family up on top of its torch...whose daughter was hanging dangerously over the railing, her curiosity getting the better of her. Then, to both Warren and the family's horror, the little girl fell over the railing.

Warren dove after the little girl, catching her before she hit the ground, and landing gracefully, far from prying eyes. As the child looked up at him in awe, Warren just smiled kindly, and put his fingers to his lips, in a shushing gesture, before flying off, smiling to himself, glad that he'd been able to help.

'_Maybe this is how Superman feels, if he exists._' Warren silently mused, as he flew on, to see if he could help elsewhere.

_Xavier Institute, December 24_

The Institute was bustling with activity on the morning before Christmas Eve, as the remaining students made preparations to leave. Clark had just returned from his morning patrol, back in his street clothes, and had called his Ma, to make sure everything was okay. "Ali and I were going to head out to the farm this evening, Ma." Clark said over his cell-phone, as he walked down the stairs into the living room. "You're sure you don't need any help getting ready? We could always head out there a little earlier..."

"_Oh, don't trouble yourselves, Clark!_" Martha replied over the phone. "_I can manage things here, so you don't need to rush! You and Alison just head out when you can!_" His Ma sighed. "_It'll be so nice to have you and Alison here for the holidays; my boy and his special lady..._" she suppressed a sniffle, "_...I can't believe it: my boy's all grown up!_"

Clark smiled. "_Ma_..." he said.

"_I know, I know._" Martha said. "_Is Alison's family coming out here, too?_"

"Alison said that her Aunt Bridget, Uncle Mike, and cousin Jenny were coming." Clark replied. "She was going to try her Dad...but she said that she didn't have much hope."

"_Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that._" Martha said. Suddenly, Clark heard her erupt into a fit of coughing.

Clark grimaced. "That's a nasty cough, there, Ma. Are you okay?"

"_Oh, yes, I'm fine, honey. Just a little flu that I picked up, that's all._"

"Okay, Ma." Clark said. "I'd better go check with Ali and make sure everything's taken care of. We'll see you, tonight."

"_I look forward to it, Clark. I love you!_"

Clark smiled. "I love you, too, Ma. See you soon!" Then, he hung up.

He and Ali were going to spend Christmas at the Kent farm; Clark didn't think he could be happier.

Thoughts of Alison brought a smile to his face, as they normally did. This time, however, Clark had started to wonder.

'_Do I...love her?_'

The instant that question popped into his brain, Clark knew that the answer was _yes_. The closer they grew, the more Clark realized that he didn't want to be without her, _ever_. She lifted his spirit, made his heart feel glad.

He loved her. He _had_ to tell her...and tomorrow was the perfect time to do so...and he knew _just_ how to tell her...

By then, Kurt, Kitty, Lance, Evan, and Ororo had gathered in the living room, each carrying suitcases. Clark smiled at his friends. "All ready to go?" he inquired.

Ororo smiled back. "We hope so." she replied. "I don't think Logan will turn the Blackbird around if we've forgotten anything!"

Clark grinned, turning to Kurt. "So, Little Blue, are you going to call that girl Amanda over the holidays?"

Kurt smiled nervously. "Ach...I don't know..." he said.

Evan chuckled. "Why not, Kurt? You like her don't you?"

"Vell...ja." Kurt agreed. "But...vat if she doesn't like me?"

Kitty laughed. "Kurt, she's only been making eyes at you ever chance she gets! And _that_ was _before_ she became your lab partner!" she exclaimed. "Do you need an _engraved invitation_, you fuzzy goof?"

"Yeah, man; go for it!" Lance added.

"Vell...okay! I'll do it!" Kurt declared.

At that moment, Logan and Professor Xavier came into the room. "So, everyone set to go?" Logan asked, and the others nodded. To the Professor, he added, "Well, Chuck, looks like it'll just be you, Hank, Stripes, and Gumbo around here, for a while."

The Professor chuckled. "Well, as nice as it is to have a large family, a little quiet is fine."

Clark grinned. "So, Logan, what're you up to for the holidays?"

Logan shrugged. "Not much. I'll probably take my bike out for a spin, then play some pool with Steve...the usual."

Clark smiled at the mention of his childhood hero, and Logan's old war-pal. "Well, be sure to tell Cap I said hi."

"No problem, Flyboy." Logan agreed, smiling his wry half-smile. Then, he and the others headed to the vehicle hangar elevator, as Professor Xavier rolled off. Clark then headed back upstairs, to see how Alison was doing.

In her room, Alison, in her pink tank-top and blue jeans, had just gotten off the phone with Aunt Bridget; her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin Jenny were taking the evening flight out to Smallville as planned. Alison then logged onto MSN, checking to see if her father had replied to her e-mails...and sighed as she saw no reply e-mails.

He hadn't forgiven her for leaving.

_Lila-Singer has signed in._

Alison smiled as she saw her friend log in; she hadn't been talking to Lila for quite a while, since she'd been too busy with either school, concerts, recordings, or training. She quickly sent an Instant Message.

_Care-Blaire says: Hey, girl!!_

_Lila-Singer says: Hi!!!_

_Lila-Singer says: Where were yu?_

_Care-Blaire says: Busy. I have tons of stuff to do at the Institute...sometimes too much. lol_

_Lila-Singer says: How's it going up there?_

_Care-Blaire says: Busy, but good._

_Care-Blaire says: Hey, do yu remember I once told yu about that boy I had a crush on as a kid?_

_Lila-Singer says: Yeah._

_Care-Blaire says: HE'S HERE!!_

_Lila-Singer says: OMG you're KIDDING!!_

_Care-Blaire says: And that's not the best part!_

_Care-Blaire says: We're dating!!_

_Lila-Singer says: OMG!!_

_Care-Blaire says: I know!!_

_Lila-Singer says: Tell me about him._

Alison blushed, sighing dreamily to herself, as she tried to summarize all the innumerable wonderful qualities of her boyfriend...the man of her dreams, formed from her childhood crush. Only one word could describe him.

_Perfect._

_Care-Blaire says: He's PERFECT._

_Lila-Singer says: I need DETAILS, girl..._

_Care-Blaire says: He has the manners of a perfect gentleman, the mind of a genius, the heart of a dreamer, and the soul of a chivalrous knight; he's caring, witty, tender...and a PHENOMENAL kisser._

_Lila-Singer says: Is he a hottie?_

_Care-Blaire says: TOTAL hottie. As in, "Greek GOD" hottie._

_Lila-Singer says: Cute butt?_

_Care-Blaire says: None better._

_Lila-Singer says: Hot pecs?_

_Care-Blaire says: Drool-worthy._

_Lila-Singer says: Six-pack?_

_Care-Blaire says: EIGHT-pack._

_Lila-Singer says: Girl...MARRY that man!!!_

_Care-Blaire says: lol Don't think I haven't thought about it..._

_Lila-Singer says: Yu haven't done it, yet, though, have yu?_

_Care-Blaire says: No, not yet. I'm not ready._

_Care-Blaire says: But when I am, I want my first – and ONLY – to be with him._

_Care-Blaire says: I think he's 'the one.'_

_Lila-Singer says: I'm so happy for yu!!_

_Care-Blaire says: Thanks!_

_Care-Blaire says: Gotta go; last-minute shopping, and then we're going out to visit his mom._

_Lila-Singer says: Ok. Merry Christmas!_

_Care-Blaire says: Merry Christmas!_

_Lila-Singer has signed out._

Signing out from MSN, Alison smiled to herself. She'd thought about it...and now she was sure.

'_I think I love him...I love Clark._'

Alison's smile grew at her revelation; her childhood crush had grown into true love, the purest emotion of _all_.

She loved him.

Alison's smile became shy. '_When will I tell him?_' she thought. Her smile grew. '_Tomorrow, on Christmas morning; when I give him my present, I'll tell him._'

Thoughts of their trip brought Alison back to what she'd wanted to do...causing her to sigh sadly at how her father hadn't replied. Spying her phone, she knew she had to try. She picked it up...and dialed the number.

"_Carter Blaire, Blaire and Walters Law Firm._"

Alison took a deep breath. "Hi...Dad."

There was silence for a few long seconds. "_Who is this?!_" Carter demanded.

Alison closed her eyes, keeping the hurt out of her voice. "It's Alison, Dad."

Carter calmed somewhat. "_Oh._" he said neutrally. "_It's...nice to hear from you._"

Alison lightly smiled; maybe there was hope, after all. "Did...you get my e-mail?"

She could hear the frown in her father's voice. "_Yes, I did._" he said. "_I'm afraid I can't come._"

Alison's smile faded. "Why not?"

"_I have important business to attend to._"

Alison frowned. "More important than spending Christmas with your daughter?"

"_I have an important case to work on, Alison; perhaps the most important one of my career._" Carter answered, his voice edged with disdain. "_That might not mean much to you, but it means a lot to me._"

Alison suppressed a sob at the shot. "So you can't spare a single day, not even _Christmas_ Day?" she retorted.

"_Why are you pestering me about this?_" Carter snapped.

"Well, _excuse_ me for wanting to see my father for Christmas!!" Alison shouted.

"_I thought you'd made it clear that you didn't **want** to see me at all, young lady._" Carter said. "_I'm not the one who left._"

"You didn't give me any _choice_, Dad!!" Alison yelled, her eyes starting to water. "My _dream_ was to be a singer, and I wasn't _about_ to miss my chance! _God_, what is your damage?! You've hated music ever since Mom..!"

"_I **don't** want to talk about your mother!!_"

"Oh, _right!_" Alison yelled, tears flowing from her eyes. "I forgot! We're not _allowed_ to talk about Mom any more, _are_ we?!"

"_Your mother **left** us, Alison, in case you've forgotten._" Carter snarled. "_And so did **you**._"

Alison fought her tears. "I _haven't_ forgotten, Dad!! The problem is that _you_ just can't get over it!!"

"_Do **not** talk to me that way, young lady!!_" Carter roared. "_If you want to throw your life away, that's **your** decision, but I will **not** be a part of it! And that's my last word on the matter!_" With that, he hung up.

Alison simply put the phone back on its charger...before sitting down on her bed, bursting into tears. Every single time she tried to talk to her father, they always fought, and always about the same thing. '_It's as if he **hates** me._' Alison thought miserably, burying her head in her hands, continuing to sob.

"Ali?"

Alison, still in tears, managed to look up to see Clark walk in, a worried expression on his face. "Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting next to her and enfolding her in a comforting hug.

Alison sobbed into his wonderfully warm shoulder, her hands resting on his chest. "My father isn't coming." she whimpered. "He...he still _hates_ me..."

"Oh, I'm _sure_ he doesn't hate you, Ali." Clark soothed, holding her close.

"Well, he sure fooled _me!_" Alison cried, a fresh wave of sobs bursting free. "Ever since I started my career, he's been this way, because he can't get over Mom! He thinks I'm 'throwing my life away,' so he doesn't want anything to _do_ with me!!"

Clark placed a tender kiss on her forehead. "Well, then, it's _his_ loss, Alison." he whispered. "You are a kind, sweet, funny, intelligent, talented, charming, beautiful, _wonderful_ young woman. Your father _should_ be _proud_ of you, to have such a special young woman as his daughter."

Alison lightly smiled, her tears subsiding. "You...really mean that?" she whispered.

Clark smiled. "Every word."

Alison's smile grew. "Oh, _thank_ you, Clarkie." she cooed, hugging him. "You have no _idea_ how much I needed that." She looked into his eyes – those unearthly sky-blue eyes, bluer than any eyes born on Earth, eyes that could look into her _soul_, and turn her to _mush_, and made her feel so special, and so very loved – and smiled. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Clark's smile grew. "Likewise, Ali." he whispered, pulling her close, and lovingly snaring her lips in a kiss.

Alison sighed happily, as she passionately reciprocated; she'd told Lila the _truth_ – Clark was an _amazing_ kisser. His kisses were never forceful, always tender, and they always felt _right_, as if there was nothing more natural than his lips upon hers.

And, not for the first time, there was a tiny, naughty little part of Alison that wanted to rip the clothes off of him and throw him on the bed, and have him do the same to _her_...

Alison managed to keep that naughty little part of her psyche under control until the kiss ended, and it became dormant, again. She smiled at her boyfriend. "You're right." she cooed. "If Carter Blaire doesn't want to spend Christmas with his daughter, it's _his_ loss!"

Clark grinned. "That's the spirit, Ali!"

Alison's smile became guilty. "Clarkie?" she cooed. "I know it's a bit late, but could you come with me for some last-minute shopping? I still have to pick up Jenny's gift; it only just came in today!"

Clark smiled. "_Sure_, Ali."

"Thanks! You're the _best!_" Alison cooed, hugging him. "I think Scott and Jean are doing some shopping, today, too, so we can get a ride into the city with them."

"Sounds good." Clark agreed. "Well, let's get going!"

"Right!" Alison said, and she and Clark promptly got up, and headed downstairs, to find Scott and Jean.

_Undisclosed location_

In one of his father's many secret hideouts, Pietro, in uniform, scowled to himself as he watched the news. '_Terrific._' he thought. '_First Super-Dork shows up, and now there's some loon with angel-wings flying around. The whole **planet's** gone nuts._'

Recently, his father had discovered that Super-Dork's home planet had gone kaput; Mr. 'Save-the-Day' was the only one of his kind left.

'_Fine by me._' Pietro thought. '_Having just **one** of him around is bad enough. Good **riddance**._' Pietro smiled to himself, as he remembered overhearing that guy Doom mention how Super-Dork had gotten _steamed_ at the mention of his world. '_Finally, something I can hit him with!_'

Pietro then saw his father walk into the room, in his armor, followed by someone that gave Pietro the creeps...

Victor "Sabretooth" Creed.

Creed was one scary-looking dude; tall, built like an ox – and likely as sharp as one – with long, wild, unkempt sandy hair, savage dark eyes, and gi-normous canine teeth, practically _fangs._ He was in his usual brown trench-coat under his brown leather vest and pants. Creed had the same kind of healing factor and heightened senses that Wolverine had, but he had super-strength instead of razor-sharp claws.

Creed hated Super-Dork just as much as Pietro did.

Magneto glanced to the news about the "angel" sighting. "So, another one of our people falls prey to idealism." he said. "I suppose we cannot blame him; even Kal-El is guilty of that." He smiled wryly. "The last of a doomed race will be the one to save _ours_...how tragically fitting."

Pietro, once again, suppressed his gag-reflex at the semi-reverent tone his father used to talk about that alien loser. It wasn't _fair._ '_A **mutant** should be leading the mutant race, not that Boy Scout **geek**! It should be **me**!_' he mentally fumed. '_**I** should be taking Father's place! Not **him**! Why does **he** get all the glory?! Why does **he** score an ultra-hottie like Alison?!_'

Magneto must have noticed Pietro's expression. "I see that you have yet to get over your dislike of Kal-El, Pietro."

Pietro kept his tone neutral. "It won't affect my loyalty."

Magneto nodded. "Very well." he said.

Creed growled. "If he still refuses..._then_ can I gut him, Mags?"

Magneto chuckled. "I doubt that you would have much luck, Creed, even if I were to agree to such a thing." he said. "We all know how powerful Kal-El is."

That was _another_ reason Pietro hated him; he would _never_ admit it publicly, but Super-Dork was _way_ faster than he would _ever_ be. Not only that, he was freakishly strong, utterly invulnerable, and armed with eye-rays, gale-force breath and freezing breath. He could see through _walls_, could pick a single conversation right out of the air...and he could _fly_. He was just on a level that _no-one_ could achieve.

And that fact drove Pietro nearly _insane_ with rage. The _only_ edge they had was the fact that Super-Dork got sick around that "Kryptonite" stuff...but his father didn't have any more; Super-Dork had tossed the only piece they had _clear_ off the planet, last year.

If Super-Dork showed up on their little caper, they were in _trouble_.

"We will have to act quickly once we reach New York." Magneto continued. "We must locate and recruit this 'Angel' before we draw Kal-El's attention."

"Well, what happens if the runt _does_ show up?" Sabretooth asked. "As much as I'd _love_ to take another crack at him, I'm not anxious to get knocked half-way across the city! You got any more of that green rock?"

Magneto shook his head. "No, but we will not _need_ it." he said. "If Kal-El arrives, we will take advantage of his _other_ weakness."

Pietro arched an eyebrow. "And that would be..?"

Magneto smiled knowingly, and he spoke. Pietro was ashamed for not thinking of it, himself.

"He _cares_."

Before too long, Clark, Alison, Scott and Jean were heading into New York City in Scott's car; Scott was driving, with Jean next to him, and Clark and Ali were in the back. Scott wore his brown jacket over his usual clothes, and Jean wore a green blazer over her light blue sweater, with her favorite khaki pants. Clark had simply donned his usual black jacket over his street clothes – the cold never bothered him – and Ali had donned a white winter jacket over her sweater, still in her blue jeans, with a white wool cap around her ears, her silky gold tresses tied in a bun and hidden by her cap. She also wore her dark glasses; she was "incognito."

They had been listening to the radio, which had been talking about sightings of an "angel" in New York. "Hey, Clark, what do you make of these 'angel' sightings?" Scott asked.

Clark shrugged. "Search me. I haven't seen any angels when I'm passing through New York."

"Do you think this guy's for real?" Alison asked.

Clark smiled. "Hey, I'm from another _planet_, so _anything's_ possible!" That earned him a delightful giggle from Alison.

"It might be a mutant." Scott mused. "Maybe his mutation caused him to grow wings."

"But wouldn't Cerebro have detected him?" Jean asked.

"Not if his mutation manifested as a child." Clark said. "Cerebro only detects _new_ manifestations readily; if he manifested earlier, then Cerebro would have missed him."

"Guys, we're just here to take care of some shopping, okay?" Alison laughed. "We can worry about this 'angel' _later!_"

Clark smiled. "You're right, Ali."

By then, they had reached New York City, and drove into the parking lot of the largest shopping mall in the city. After Scott had managed to find a parking spot, they all got out of the car. "So, Ali, who do you have to shop for?" Jean inquired.

"My little cousin, Jenny; I'm getting her an original Gucci pink mini-purse – Jenny's wanted one, but she kinda figured she'd never get one." Alison said, smiling. "I plan to _really_ surprise her."

Jean's eyes widened. "_Wow._ I heard those are _impossible_ to get even at the _best_ of times."

Alison nodded. "I _know_. Thankfully, I know someone who knows someone; he's managed to get one and is holding it for me. I just have to pick it up."

"A friend of yours?" Clark asked.

Alison nodded. "He used to handle my outfits before concerts, and now he's an expert designer, with his own store." she said. She smiled. "I kinda got his career rolling, I guess. His name's Febrise."

Scott blinked. "Wait...did you just say he's named after an air-freshener?"

Alison burst out laughing. "Not _Febreze!_ _Febrise!_" she exclaimed.

"Oh. Sorry."

Clark chuckled. "Well, I guess we'd better get going. Will we meet back here in a couple of hours?"

"Sure." Scott said.

"Okay." Jean agreed.

"Fine by me." Alison said. Smiling, she looped her arm through Clark's. "Let's get going, Clarkie." she cooed.

Clark grinned. "Happy to oblige, Ali." he replied. With that, they headed into the mall, before going their separate ways.

Alison led Clark into a chic-looking store; once they were inside, Alison removed her glasses and cap, and then shook her hair loose. She then led him to the store's main desk. "Could you tell Febrise that Ali is here to see him?" Alison asked the receptionist, smiling.

"Oh! R-Right away, Miss Blaire!" the receptionist replied, before hurrying off.

Clark smiled. "Do they know you here?"

Alison nodded, smiling. "I'm a regular."

"_There_ you are!"

Clark turned to see a lean, almost _delicate_ man, in his twenties, only slightly taller than Alison, with hazel eyes, and thin black hair, with a trim black moustache, clad in a black sweater and black slacks. He smiled at Alison. "I was _wondering_ when you were going to drop by! I was afraid that I was going to miss you!" he lisped.

Alison smiled. "_How_ could I not visit you, Febrise? _Especially_ after you went to the trouble of finding that purse!"

The guy – Febrise – then glanced to Clark...and smiled a mega-watt smile. "And _who_ is _this_ strapping specimen?"

Alison smiled, looping her arm around Clark's elbow, resting her head against his arm. "This is my boyfriend, Kal." she said.

Clark smiled, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Febrise shook his hand. "_Wow!_ Now _that's_ a handshake!" he exclaimed. "So _you're_ the reason our little Ali has been so happy, these past few months!"

Clark chuckled. "I do what I can."

Alison giggled. "I've never been happier." she cooed.

Clark smiled, and lightly kissed her temple, causing Alison to lightly blush. "Same here, Ali."

"So, Kal...what do _you_ do?" Febrise asked.

"Mostly charity work." Clark said; it was the closest thing there was to his work as Superman.

Alison chuckled. "Sometimes, he has to travel a lot." she said. "He has to fly all over the place."

"Oh, that must be _awful_..." Febrise lamented.

Alison shook her head. "It may be a _tiny_ bit frustrating..." she admitted, "...but I know that Kal does _real_ good in the world. I would _never_ deny him that." She lightly hugged his arm. "It's part of what makes him the man I adore."

Clark smiled. "And coming back to _you_ makes it all worthwhile, Alison." he replied.

Febrise grinned. "Ali, I am _so_ happy for you!" he exclaimed. "After the run of bad dating-luck you've had, you _deserve_ a man like him!"

"What about you?" Alison asked. "How's your clothing-line coming along?"

"Oh, it's _just_ getting started!" Febrise said. "My only complaint is that the models for my line are nowhere _near_ as sweet as you, Ali." He sighed. "I miss doing your outfits, sometimes, honey. I _never_ had the troubles with _you_ that I have with _them_. I _swear_, there's so much cattiness in them, I sometimes feel like calling the _pound!_"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Alison said. "I miss you doing my outfits, too. My new wardrobe handler is great, but she's no Febrise!"

Febrise smiled. "Oh, honey, you don't need me!" he said. "Why, you could go out on stage in a _potato sack_, and you'd _still_ knock 'em dead with those picture-perfect looks and that voice of yours!" He grinned. "Not that I would have _ever_ let you go on stage with something so _atrocious!_"

Alison smiled. "Thanks!" she said. "Anyway, did you have that purse?"

"Of _course!_ I have it stashed in the back!" Febrise said. "I'll just go get it."

Suddenly, Clark's hearing picked up a news bulletin; there was a traffic incident on the Brooklyn Bridge. "Uh, Ali, I'm sorry, but I need to go." he said. "I...just remembered that there's something I need to take care of."

Alison nodded, understanding completely. "Sure, Kal." she said. "I'll just be browsing around here for the next little while."

Clark smiled. "Thanks, baby." he said, giving Alison a quick kiss, before darting off. Clark quickly left the mall, finding an empty alley, where he shed his street clothes, revealing his uniform underneath. Superman tucked his clothes in a hidden nook in the alley, before taking to the sky, flying towards the Brooklyn Bridge.

He hoped he wasn't too late.

Warren hoped he wasn't too late.

He'd been out on "patrol" for a few minutes, flying over the Brooklyn Bridge, when he saw the car tipping dangerously over the edge of the bridge...with a man, woman, and child – a little girl – trapped inside.

Quickly, Warren flew down to the car, opened the door, and pulled the mother and father out, getting them to safety, before heading back to the car to save the little girl. Before he could pull her out, the car tipped fully over, plummeting towards the water.

Warren dove after the car, catching up enough to pull himself inside the car, grab the little girl, and fly out, seconds before the vehicle hit the frigid waters.

Warren touched down on the bridge, setting the little girl down. "Mommy!" the girl cried, rushing to her mother's arms.

"Oh, sweetheart," the mother cried, embracing her child, "thank God you're okay!!"

After the little girl had hugged her mother, she ran to Warren's side, hugging his leg. "Thank you, Mr. Angel!" she exclaimed, smiling up at him.

Warren then noticed that a crowd had gathered around him, softly murmuring; it was making him a little nervous. He started to back up...

...and noticed that one of the steel support-cables of the bridge had gotten loose, and curled around his ankle...the ankle of the leg that the little girl was hugging. Suddenly, before Warren could shout a warning, the cable pulled on his leg, jerking it...and causing the little girl to lose her grip, and go over the edge, the cable releasing him as she fell.

"_NO!!!_" Warren cried, racing towards the edge...and then he suddenly heard a sonic boom shake the air below the bridge. He looked over the edge...and the little girl was gone, with not even a ripple in the water, with no sound of a splash. '_What have I done?_' Warren thought. He flew off, burying his head in his hands.

Superman had reached the Brooklyn Bridge not a moment too soon; he flew low at supersonic speeds, catching the little girl that had fallen, reducing his speed as he caught her. She was unconscious – in shock. Quickly, Superman scanned the area below, and found an ambulance on a nearby street, the paramedics bandaging a homeless man's broken arm. While they were focusing on the homeless man, Superman rapidly descended, placed the little girl on the stretcher in the ambulance, took a piece of paper and wrote, '_Brooklyn Bridge victim. Shock._' before placing it on her chest, and then flying off. Watching from above, he saw the paramedics find her, and begin treatment for shock.

She'd be alright.

Superman then flew back towards the bridge, reviewing what he'd seen on his way; it seemed like there _was_ an 'Angel' in New York, and he'd initially saved that little girl and her family...and then that steel cable had caused him to accidentally knock the little girl over the edge, making it look like he'd done it on purpose.

And it had _worked_; after the "Angel" had fled, he'd overheard the crowd start calling him "freak," and "monster." Someone had wanted those people to mistrust him...someone capable of manipulating metal...

Superman scanned the surrounding area with his vision, acting on a hunch...and found high levels of electromagnetic energy in the area, concentrated on the bridge; someone had manipulated that cable from the sidelines.

_Magneto._

His eyes narrowing, Superman scanned the dispersing crowd from above, looking for any individual with electromagnetic abnormalities...but found none. Magneto had already escaped. Frowning, Superman turned, and headed back towards the New York Mall, to meet up with Alison.

Knowing Magneto, he'd find him soon enough.

After the two hours had passed, Scott and Jean headed back to the parking lot, meeting Clark and Alison at the car. "Did you get what you wanted, Ali?" Jean asked.

Alison nodded, smiling. "Jenny will be so _happy!_"

Clark looked worried. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, guys, but Magneto's in town." he said. "I spotted heavy electromagnetic activity near the Brooklyn Bridge; I think he tried to set up that 'Angel' guy."

Scott frowned. "Then that 'Angel' _has_ to be a mutant." he said. "We'd better stick around for a while, and make sure Magneto doesn't try anything."

"I agree." Clark said. "We should look around the city, and see if we can spot this 'Angel' or Magneto." With that, they all got in Scott's car, and drove out of the parking lot.

Scott spent the next few hours driving around the city, as Clark scanned the city with his vision, his hearing on full alert...but with no luck. It was nearly sunset when they pulled into a restaurant next to an outdoor skating rink, to get a few cups of hot chocolate.

It was Alison who suggested it. "Guys?" she asked. "How about we take a breather and just go skating for a while? If Magneto tries anything, Clark should be able to hear him, right?"

Jean thought about it for a moment...and smiled. "Well, I guess we could for a _little_ while." she said. She turned to Scott, smiling. "What do _you_ think, Slim?"

Scott grinned. "I suppose a _little_ break would be okay."

Clark chuckled. "And I guess I'm outvoted, either way." he joked. "Skating, it is, then." With that, they finished their mugs of hot chocolate, and then headed outside to the rink.

After they each rented a pair of skates, they headed out onto the ice, Scott and Jean skating together, holding hands, just as Clark and Alison were. Scott turned to Jean, looking into her beautiful emerald orbs, smiling. '_This was a good idea._' he sent to her.

Jean smiled at him, her eyes shining. '_I'm so glad you're coming to spend Christmas with me._' she telepathically cooed. '_I just hope my family doesn't scare you off._'

Scott laughed. '_Jean, **nothing** could make me give you up._'

'_You don't know my family, Slim...**especially** my mother._' Jean replied. '_My father is **great**; I know he'll just **love** you. My older sister, Sara...well, she's okay, if a little bit of a socialite; she'll probably be too busy talking about her fiancé to bother you. My **mother**, however..._' she sighed, '_...after five minutes with her, you'll never want to see me, again._'

Scott smiled, and kissed her cheek. '_Jean, I **love** you. Nothing your mother says or does is going to change that. Heck, she **can't** be all bad; she made **you**, didn't she?_'

Jean's smile doubled in radiance. '_Oh, **God**, Scott, I love you so much._' she mentally cooed, before she moved closer to him, her eyes closing in bliss. Scott smiled back, and leaned down to her, sealing her lips with his own.

Nothing could ruin the moment.

As Sabretooth walked through the crowded streets, people stayed _well_ out of his way. Victor grinned to himself; that was one of the advantages to being a mutant as intimidating as him.

He'd been in the crowd when Mags had pulled that stunt on Wing-Boy; he'd managed to catch his scent, and was currently prowling through the city, hoping to catch his trail. And while he was on the bridge, he'd caught _another_ scent, one that was familiar, but was wholly _unique_; it was a scent that Victor would _never_ forget.

_The alien's scent._

Sabretooth snarled to himself; he'd _never_ forgotten what that little green _runt_ had done. The first time he'd encountered the runt was when he'd been fighting Logan; he'd come to the rescue of Short-Stuff and two of his students...and almost punched Victor into _orbit_. Later, at Asteroid M, Mags' one-time home-base, he'd _had_ the runt – had him right in his hands – and the runt had _tricked_ him into dropping him off the Asteroid...right into the rising sun, which had refueled his powers, previously drained by that green space-rock. And _then_, during the fight on the Asteroid, the runt had punched him _straight through_ the Asteroid, and out into the bitter cold of the North Pole...forcing him to _walk_ all the way back to civilization!

'_Damn near took me six **months** to report back to Mags._' Sabretooth thought, still seething. '_I'm coming for you, runt, 'prophecy' or not..._'

Then, Victor caught a scent; not the scent of Wing-Boy, but he recognized it – there was no mistaking it.

_It was the scent of a being not born on Earth._

Victor smiled savagely, as his nose followed the runt's scent to an outdoor skating rink. Then, he saw him, in regular clothes, skating with a blond-haired girl. '_So, you found a little skirt, eh, runt?_' Sabretooth thought. '_Well, she's fair game, now!_'

He knew that Mags didn't want them to blow their cover...but there was nothing wrong with giving the runt and his bitch a little _scare_.

Grinning savagely, Victor stalked towards the couple, stealthily moving through the crowd on the ice, his eyes gleaming with savage light.

Clark and Alison were skating together on the ice, simply enjoying this peaceful, tender moment. Clark looked to Alison, smiling at her, and she smiled back.

He was _sure_, now; he _loved_ her. Part of him wanted to tell her, then and there...

Suddenly, his hearing caught something; it wasn't a distress call, or a transmission on the emergency channels – it was _nearby_. It was a voice, and it sounded familiar...

Alison noticed his expression. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure." Clark said, as he scanned the area, looking for what could have set off his hearing...and froze as he saw the gradually-advancing form of Victor "Sabretooth" Creed in the crowd, heading straight for them.

"Hang on." Clark instructed, and Alison nodded, taking hold of his arm. Clark then tapped the tiniest fraction of his super-speed, skating at impressive – but not _too_ impressive – speeds, away from Creed. He heard Victor snarl, and chase after them. Once they were relatively in the clear, Clark turned, and discreetly unleashed a minuscule fraction of his gale-breath; the resulting winds knocked Creed off-balance, and the ice did the rest, causing him to fall flat on his rear. Clark and Alison promptly skated away, as other skaters blocked their path behind them, hopefully causing Sabretooth to lose their scent.

Sabretooth growled in fury as he picked himself up. He'd lost the runt's scent; it was now masked by the other skaters that had passed in front of him.

Suddenly, Victor's communicator started to beep, and he picked it up. "Yeah?"

"_We've located him, Creed. Rendezvous with us at this location._" came Magneto's voice. Then, the coordinates appeared on the communicator's screen.

Victor scowled, glancing back to where the alien had been. '_You got lucky, runt._' he thought. With that, he headed off.

After they'd evaded Sabretooth, Clark and Alison came into a hidden part of the rink, surrounded by trees. Clark listened carefully...and smiled, hearing no signs of Sabretooth following them.

"Who _was_ that?" Alison asked.

"Victor 'Sabretooth' Creed. He's one of Magneto's goons...and likely the only one who could possibly hate me more than Pietro does." Clark replied. "The first time I encountered him, he was attacking Logan, Scott, and Kurt; I ended up punching him across the city."

Alison giggled. "I'll bet _that_ hurt!"

Clark chuckled. "Yeah, but probably not as much as when I knocked him all the way through Asteroid M." he said. "From the looks of it, ol' Vic hasn't forgiven me."

Alison smiled. "You can _so_ easily take him on." she cooed.

Clark smiled back. "Thanks, Ali." he said. Then, he looked worried. "But if he's here, then Magneto is _definitely_ here...which means that he may have Kryptonite."

Alison looked worried. "Well, _we're_ here for you." she assured him. "If he tries any dirty tricks, we'll back you up."

Clark smiled. "Thanks." he said. Then, his smile grew. "But Magneto will have a harder time using that advantage, this time around. I once told you about how I once went to Mars and Jupiter, right?" Alison nodded. "Well, I developed a nano-suit to use in space; I built it into my buckle," he added, lifting up his shirt to show his uniform's belt-buckle, "and recently, I've modified it to repel Kryptonite radiation. If Magneto tries to use Kryptonite on me again, I just have to flip on my nano-suit, and I'm A-okay!"

Alison smiled. "Super-powerful, super-handsome, super-sweet, _and_ super-smart!" she exclaimed.

Clark smiled sheepishly, his face going a bit red...and then, his hearing picked up a transmission...with a voice that he recognized. He took out his belt-communicator and snapped it open. "Scott, I just intercepted a transmission; Magneto's on the move. I'm activating my communicator's transponder; follow me and Ali as soon as you can."

"_We will._" Scott replied. "_Scott out._"

Clark folded up and clipped his communicator back on his belt. "I'd better suit up." he said. "Magneto's spotted this 'Angel' guy, and he's going after him."

Alison lightly smiled. "Good thing I brought my own uniform." she said. "I was going to bring it with me to our family-reunion; Jenny really wanted to see my 'superhero-uniform.'" she giggled. "I guess your habits are rubbing off on me, Clarkie; I wore it under my clothes!"

Clark grinned. "Oh, you are _so_ the girl for me!" he said, causing Alison's face to go a lovely rose color. Then, they both headed into the woods in opposite directions, to change.

In minutes, both Superman and Dazzler had shed their street clothes, now clad in their uniforms, leaving their street clothes – and skates – hidden in the forest. Superman then lifted Dazzler into his arms, and took to the sky, heading for the coordinates that Magneto had relayed to Sabretooth.

By the time Warren had found the hospital where the little girl had been taken, the sun had just started to set, the blanket of night just falling over New York. Still in his uniform, he could only watch as the little girl slept, her parents at her bedside. '_At least she's okay._' Warren thought, before he flew off.

He'd failed her.

'_How does Superman deal with things like this?_' Warren thought sadly. If Superman _was_ real, there was no _way_ that he could be there to stop _every_ crime, to save _everyone_. If the guy was real, Warren had a whole new respect for him, to do the things he _did_ do, and handle the things he _couldn't_.

Suddenly, Warren's eyes went wide, as he spotted a cape-clad silhouette ahead of him..._floating in the air_. '_No **way**..._' Warren thought. Could it be _him_..?

Warren flew after the silhouette, which quickly darted away, heading down into an old, abandoned cathedral. Warren flew down, and headed inside...only to find the place abandoned. "I must have been seeing things..." Warren said to himself.

"Not tonight, Warren Worthington the Third."

Startled, Warren looked up...in time to see an older man, in black-and-red armor, with a long black cape, and an armored, almost bucket-shaped helmet, descend to the ground. "You...you're not Superman!" Warren said. "Who are you?"

The man smiled. "You're right, Warren; I am not Superman." he replied. "I am called Magneto, and I am a mutant, like yourself."

"A...mutant?" Warren repeated. "Is...that what I am?"

Magneto nodded. "Surely you did not think that regular humans grew wings?" he said. "Mutants are blessed with abilities that humans do not possess; your gift is your wings."

Warren sighed glumly. "They sure don't feel like a gift, right now."

"Only because you used them for the wrong reason." Magneto said. "As admirable as it may be to try to use them to help humans, it is ultimately foolish. We are _better_ than they are, Warren. Helping them is a waste of time."

Warren didn't like where this was going. "Superman doesn't seem to think so." he countered.

Magneto frowned. "Superman simply needs to see the truth." he said. "He is blinded by idealism, Warren; he merely must be made to see humanity for what it _is_."

Warren frowned. "So what do you want from _me?_"

"Join us, Warren." Magneto said. "My recruits – my Acolytes – fight to protect our people from the humans that wish us harm. We will accept you, Warren...unlike those humans, who call you 'freak,' or 'monster.' Come with us."

Warren shook his head. "No thanks." he said. "No offense, but I don't think I like how you do things. Count me out." He flapped his wings, starting to fly away.

"I see." Magneto said coldly. "I'm sorry, Warren, but you've left me no choice."

Suddenly, a steel chain shot in and wrapped around Warren, knocking him to the ground. "_What the..?!_" Warren yelled.

"You never asked about _my_ gift, Warren." Magneto said. "I can manipulate electromagnetic fields; I am the Master of Magnetism." Just then, two other figures – a tall, burly-looking guy in brown leather, and a 16-year-old silver-haired youth, in a green bodysuit and silver armor – walked in. "Take him away." Magneto said to them. "We must leave before..."

But he was cut off as a red beam blasted him from the entrance, sending him flying. Just then, two more people – a 17-year-old guy in red shades, and a red-haired girl of the same age – ran in. "Still kidnapping recruits, Magneto?" the shades-guy shouted.

Magneto frowned. "So, Charles still thinks coexistence is possible, does he?" he yelled. "Then he's a _fool_, and you're both fools for following him!" He looked to his two 'Acolytes.' "Get them!" he ordered. Warren could only watch as the two Acolytes leapt at his would-be rescuers.

Scott had initially suggested that Superman and Dazzler keep back, while he and Jean went in first, on the hope that they could reach the 'Angel' first.

'_Hindsight strikes again._' Scott thought, as he unleashed his optic-blasts, knocking Sabretooth back, while Jean used her TK to catch Quicksilver...until the speedster whirled out of her psychic grip, and started running around the both of them. "Where's your powerhouse, X-Geeks?" Pietro taunted. "Is he still moping about his stupid planet blowing up? I say good riddance to bad – "

But a blast of pure white energy cut him off, sending him flying, as Dazzler stood at the cathedral entrance. "_Don't_ talk about my sweetie that way, Maximoff." she snapped.

By then Sabretooth had recovered, and had leapt at Scott...when a sonic boom shook the air, and a red-and-blue blur slammed into Sabretooth, knocking him back a good thirty feet.

Magneto smiled. "Ah, Kal-El!" he greeted. "I was wondering when you would arrive."

Superman glared at Magneto. "You have a _lot_ to answer for, Lensherr." he said. "I suggest you surrender before things get out of hand."

"Still playing the hero, I see." Magneto said. "Why, Kal-El? Why waste your time on those ridiculous _Homo sapiens_? Didn't you see how they turned on Warren?"

"We have _you_ to thank for _that_, Magneto." Superman parried. "That trick you pulled with the support cable? That's a _new_ low."

"They are unworthy of you, Kal-El." Magneto said. "But you will see that in time." With that, he summoned his powers, pulling a massive steel chandelier from the ceiling, and casting it at them.

Superman flew up and easily caught the chandelier, tossing it harmlessly aside. His eyes narrowing, Magneto pulled the metal bolts out of the inner framework of the cathedral, and sent them flying...towards Scott, Jean, and Alison...

Instantly, Superman darted in front of his friends, and caught every single bolt that Magneto sent at them. "Jean and I will get that guy Warren loose." Scott said. "Can you and Ali handle them?"

Dazzler turned to Superman, smiling. "I'm game!"

Superman smiled back. "Okay, then." he agreed. "I'll handle 'Tooth and Magneto. Can you handle Quicksilver?"

Dazzler giggled. "Piece of cake!"

"Okay." Scott said. "Good luck." With that, he and Jean darted towards the trapped Warren, as their friends held back Magneto and his Acolytes.

Superman's eyes narrowed as Sabretooth got back up, snarling. "It's been a while, runt." he growled. "I'll bet you thought it was pretty funny, knocking me _all the way through that asteroid!_ Do you have any _idea_ how long it took me to get out of the North Pole?!"

"Obviously not long enough to improve your disposition." Superman calmly quipped.

Roaring, Sabretooth charged at Superman, who easily caught his wrists, stopping his charge, his face inches from Superman's. "You're dead meat, runt!" Sabretooth roared. "You and your little chickadee's days are _numbered!_"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "I think you need to _relax_, Creed." he countered. "You could use a nice _flight_. Don't worry; _I'll help!!_"

_CRACK!!!_

Superman's fist slammed into Creed's solar plexus in less than a fraction of a second, striking the soft tissue not protected by the rib cage, knocking the wind out of Sabretooth. Creed doubled over, wheezing...

**_WHAM!!!!_**

Superman's follow-up uppercut sent Sabretooth _flying_ straight up, crashing through the ceiling of the cathedral.

A silver streak then zoomed past him, circling him at high speeds. "Foxy outfit that Alison's in, eh, Super-Dork?" Quicksilver taunted. "_Man_, wouldn't I _love_ to hit _that!_"

Superman's eyes narrowed at the crass mention of his girlfriend, but he wouldn't be baited.

"I'm surprised to see you out here, Mr. 'Last Dork of Crap-Tun'!" Pietro taunted. "I thought you'd still be all mopey after you lost your whole loser race! If you ask me, _good riddance!!_"

Superman ignored him, smiling as he realized Dazzler's plan.

Quicksilver's eyes narrowed. "What's so funny, loser?!" he snarled.

Superman just grinned, as a sparkling haze engulfed the both of them, courtesy of Dazzler. "What the..._I can't see!!_" Pietro cried, as he came to a stop.

"Really, Pietro?" Superman asked. "_I_ don't have that problem." With that, he darted at Pietro, flicking him with his finger, sending him flying, before moving at super-speed to intercept him, and flicking him back the other way. Superman did this several times, before stopping.

As the sparkling haze faded, a very dazed Quicksilver stood in front of Superman, and _three_ Dazzlers. Pietro blinked. "W-Wha..?"

The Dazzlers smiled. "You only have one chance to guess which is the _real_ me, Maximoff." they said as one.

Pietro gulped. "Uh...the one on the left?"

The Dazzlers on the left and right faded away. "Wrong!" the middle Dazzler – the _real_ one – said. "You lose!" With that, she punched him right in the face, her punch unleashing an electric charge from her quartz-laced glove, knocking him out.

Dazzler turned to him, smiling. "_Nobody_ insults my sweetie and gets away with it!" she cooed.

Superman grinned. "_That's_ my girl!"

Seeing that he was outmatched, Magneto levitated through the hole in the ceiling, escaping. Looking to Scott and Jean, Superman saw that they had freed Warren. "Go after him!" Scott said. "We'll be fine here!" Superman nodded, and took to the sky, flying after Magneto.

In seconds, Superman had caught up with the Master of Magnetism. "There's nowhere to run, Magneto." Superman said.

"I don't _intend_ to!" Magneto declared. He stretched out his hand, focusing...

Suddenly, a billboard behind Superman started to buckle, its support beams bending, and it began to tip towards the road below...

His eyes widening in horror, Superman darted to the billboard, pushing it back up and welding its beams back into place with his eye-rays, quickly mending it...and then a huge metal girder from a nearby construction site slammed into him, guided by magnetism.

"You see, Kal-El?" Magneto said. "Do you _see_ how caring for them weakens you? You should be _ruling_ them; you are a _god_ among _insects_, Kal-El! Why should you _bother_ with them?"

"Because it's _right_." Superman countered.

Magneto's eyes narrowed. "So help me, Kal-El, I _will_ snap you out of this foolish compassion for _them!_" he roared. He summoned his powers, pulling the bolts out of a wooden water-tower, splintering it...and causing the huge block of ice within to fall towards the street...

Instantly, Superman unleashed his eye-rays, melting the ice into a lukewarm, harmless shower. He turned, in time to see another girder come flying at him, and got ready to catch it...

...and then, a sphere of white light blasted it out of the way. Superman turned to see Dazzler there, standing on a floating disc of semi-translucent hard light. Dazzler smiled. "I hope the Invisible Woman doesn't mind that I borrowed one of her tricks!" she exclaimed.

Magneto snarled as he saw Dazzler, readying another girder...but Superman was ready for it; he unleashed his gale-breath, sending Magneto flying, right into the path of Dazzler's hard-light beams, knocking him for a loop. Magneto's face twisted in fury, as he used his powers one more time, buckling _two_ billboards.

Superman and Dazzler broke off their attack, flying to the billboards. Superman pushed one back, welding it back in place, while Dazzler generated a hard-light force-field, using it to keep the billboard in place until Superman could push t back and weld its support beams.

By then, Magneto was long gone.

Dazzler sighed in exhaustion, her hard-light "hover-board" starting to flicker. Superman promptly lifted her into his arms, causing her to smile, sighing happily. "I didn't think I'd be _this_ tired!" she exclaimed. "I guess that trick tired me out."

Superman smiled. "It looked like a difficult one to do, Ali." he said. "You did really well; I'm _very_ proud of you."

Dazzler smiled, a lovely rosy tint coloring her face. "Thanks!" she cooed. Smiling, Superman flew back towards the cathedral, with Dazzler in his arms.

Superman touched down outside the cathedral, setting Dazzler down on her feet. As they landed, Scott, Jean, and Warren came out to greet them. Warren had an amazed expression on his face. "Dear Lord...you're _real_..." he murmured.

Superman smiled reassuringly. "I try to stay under the radar for much of the same reason that you do." he said. "I think what you're doing is good, but it might be best for you to lay low, at least for now; too many people have seen you, and you could be putting yourself at risk."

Warren nodded. "That's probably a good idea." he agreed. "I'm not sure that I'm cut out for this hero-business. I don't know how you can handle it all, Superman!"

Superman chuckled. "Well, don't count yourself out, just yet." he replied. "I think you'd be pretty good at it."

"We're from the Xavier Institute, where mutants like us learn to control their talents, and use them for good." Scott added. "We'd be honored if you joined us, Warren."

Jean smiled. "But, unlike Magneto, we won't force you; we'll respect your decision, either way."

Warren smiled. "Well, you guys certainly sound better than that 'Magneto' guy...but no, thanks." he said. "I think I'll just be laying low, for a little while...but later, who knows?"

"That's fine by us." Superman said. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Warren said, and with that, he flew off.

"Well, I guess we'd better get back to the Institute." Scott said. "Jean and I were going to catch a ride with Logan in the Blackbird out to Boston, to see Jean's parents."

Superman nodded. "Ali and I need to head back, too. We were flying out to Smallville for our reunion." he said. Smiling, he lifted Alison into his arms. "We'd better get going as soon as we can; we're already a little late!"

"Okay, then." Jean said, smiling. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Superman replied, and he then took to the sky, with Alison in his arms, heading for the Institute.

After making a quick stop at the skating rink to pick up their street clothes, Superman flew them both back to the Institute, to get ready. After quickly changing into his street clothes, Clark had gathered together the few things he needed, as well as the presents he had for his Ma and Ali's family. He then headed to Ali's room, and helped her gather her things into her suitcase. Alison had opted to remain in her uniform, since her younger cousin had wanted to see Ali's 'superhero-uniform.' Alison gave him a radiant smile as he finished helping her pack. "You're so sweet, Clark." she cooed. "And I think that Jenny will just _love_ meeting you!"

Clark grinned; Alison's Aunt Bridget and Uncle Mike both knew that he was Superman, but Jenny didn't, yet. "I hope I don't freak her out." he said.

"Of _course_ you won't!" Alison exclaimed, laughing. "She'll _love_ you!" Then, she looked a bit nervous. "I just...hope Mrs. Kent approves of me."

Now it was Clark's turn to laugh. "Ali, my Ma just _adores_ you!" he said. "You have _nothing_ to worry about."

Alison smiled. "Thanks." she cooed. "Well, we'd better get going!" With that, they headed downstairs, with Clark carrying Alison's suitcase, his own knapsack over his shoulder.

As they reached the main floor, the Professor, Hank, Rogue, and Remy were there to see them off; everyone else had already left. "I hope you both have a nice time." the Professor said, smiling. "Be sure to give Martha and the Blaire family our best."

Clark smiled. "We will."

Rogue half-smiled. "Ah hear that ya met up with Bucket-Head, today." she said. "Ah can't believe that Ah was stuck listenin' ta Swamp-Rat's flirtin' all day while _that_ happened!"

Remy smirked. "Y' be in denial, chere." he said. "If y' _really_ wanted Remy t' stop, all y' 'ad t' do was tell 'im."

Alison giggled. "I think Remy's right, Rogue." she said. "If you _really_ wanted him to leave you alone, you would have told him off, by now."

Rogue half-heartedly frowned. "Aw, not _you_, too, Diva!" she said.

Hank chuckled. "I hope you both fly safely." he said. "Merry Christmas!"

Clark smiled. "Merry Christmas!" he replied. "We'll see you in a few days!" With that, he and Alison waved good-bye, heading outside. Clark then temporarily set their luggage down, as he took off his jacket and draped it over Alison. "It gets pretty cold at high altitudes, this time of year." he said. "You need this more than I do."

Alison smiled, lightly blushing. "You're such a gentleman." she cooed. Clark returned her smile, before putting his knapsack back on, and then lifting Alison into his arms, and then picking up her suitcase with one hand, before taking to the sky, flying for Smallville.

Within a few minutes, Clark touched down in front of the Kent family home, setting Alison down, smiling as he took in the sights of his childhood home, covered in a white blanket. They walked to the front door, and Clark rang the doorbell. Seconds later, Martha Kent answered it...beaming as she saw who it was. "_Clark!_"

Clark grinned, and gave his Ma a hug. "Merry Christmas, Ma!"

"Merry Christmas, honey! It's so good to see you!" Martha replied.

Alison smiled. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Kent!"

Martha then took a look at Alison, smiling. "_Alison?!_" she exclaimed. "Oh my _goodness_, _look_ at you! You're _beautiful!_" She gave Alison a hug. "Please, both of you, come in! Everyone else is already here! I was starting to get worried!"

Clark chuckled as he and Alison headed inside. "Sorry we're late, Ma. We had..._work_." At that, Martha smiled, nodding in understanding.

They were now in the living room of the household, where Mike – a tall, fairly lean man in his forties, with short brown hair, lightly spotted with grey, and green eyes, wearing a grey sweater and blue jeans – and Bridget Blaire sat, sipping tea. Bridget smiled as she saw Clark and Alison. "It's so good to see you both!" she exclaimed, getting up to hug Alison, and then Clark.

Alison smiled. "It's great to see you, too!" she said. "I missed you so _much!_"

Mike smiled, and got up, extending his hand to Clark. "It's good to see you again, son." he said. "You've been doing good things with your abilities. It's an honor to know you."

Clark smiled, and shook his hand. "Thank you, sir." he replied. "I do what I can."

"_ALI!!!!_"

Alison laughed as a little blur tackled into her, knocking her on her rear. Clark took a closer look...and smiled as he saw a little 10-year-old girl, with auburn hair tied in pigtails, green eyes, and freckles, clad in a light pink sweater and blue pants, hugging the stuffing out of Alison. '_This must be Jenny._' Clark thought.

"Hi, Jenny!" Alison said, smiling, returning her little cousin's hug.

"I missed you _soooooo_ much!" Jenny exclaimed. "I'm so happy to see you!" Then, she got a better look at her older cousin. "Is that your costume? It's so cool and pretty! Are you _really_ a superhero? What are your powers? Have you ever..?"

"Jenny, one question at a time!" Alison laughed. "Yes, this is my uniform, but I think I'm more of a 'superhero-in-training.' My code-name is 'Dazzler.'"

"Wow!" Jenny exclaimed, hugging Alison again. "I've got the _coolest_ cousin in the _world!_"

Alison smiled at the compliment. "As for my powers...why don't I show you?" she said. Jenny beamed, and then hopped off Alison's lap, quickly getting on her pink winter coat. Alison then headed outside, and, at a nod from Bridget and Mike, Jenny followed her.

"I'll just go unpack our stuff." Clark said. "Ali can use my room, and I'll take the couch." Then, Clark picked up Alison's suitcase, and brought it upstairs.

After laying Alison's suitcase on the bed in his old room, Clark turned to head downstairs...and came face-to-face with his Ma, who was smiling. "I'm so happy for you, honey." she said. "Alison was always a sweet girl, and now she's an absolutely _enchanting_ young lady; she's _perfect_ for you!"

Clark smiled. "Thanks, Ma." he replied. His smile became a bit nervous. "Ma...I think I..._love_ her." he confessed.

Martha's smile grew. "Have you told her?"

Clark shook his head. "Not yet." he admitted. "I was going to tell her when I give her the gift I have for her; I was going to step out for a few minutes, to put the finishing touches on it."

Martha nodded...and then her smile became a bit knowing. "Clark...I think we should have a little talk."

Clark looked confused. "About what?"

"It."

Clark blinked in confusion. "'It'??"

"_It._"

"Ma, what are you talking about..." Clark began...and then it hit him.

It hit him harder than _Kryptonite_.

"Ma..._really_, you don't have to." Clark said quickly. "_Please_, just stop talking."

Martha arched an eyebrow. "I'm not about to let my boy walk into something he might not be prepared for." she said sternly.

"I'm prepared, Ma. I'm _plenty_ prepared." Clark said quickly. "_God_, Ma, I spent four years learning from the Knowledge Chamber; I know more about 'the birds and the bees' than _any_ guy my age will _ever_ want to know. I know about 'It'."

Martha smiled. "I just wanted to make sure." she said.

Clark managed a smile. "I know, Ma."

"But there _is_ one thing you should know, Clark." Martha said, smiling. "A woman's heart is a very precious thing, and it is the most precious gift she has to give, and it can be the most fragile of things. Never forget that, honey."

Clark smiled, and nodded. "I won't, Ma." he promised. "Ali is the most important person in my life."

Martha smiled. "Then I needn't have worried." she said. "Well, I suppose you'd better go talk with your charming lady-friend."

Clark chuckled, before kissing his Ma's forehead. "I will, Ma. Thanks for the talk." he said, before he headed downstairs, and walked outside.

As he came outside, Clark had to smile as he saw Alison giving her cousin a ride on her hard-light "hover-board." "_WHEEEEE!!!_" Jenny squealed, as the ride came to a stop. "That was so cool! You're the best, Ali!"

Alison smiled. "Thanks, Jenny!" she said. As she spied, Clark, her smile grew, and Clark smiled back.

"Have you ever met Superman?" Jenny asked.

Alison smiled. "Yes, Jenny." she said, glancing at Clark. "I sure have."

"What's he like?" Jenny squealed. "Is he handsome? How fast does he fly? How strong is he? Please, tell me!"

Alison giggled. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" she suggested, gesturing to Clark. Jenny did so, at first looking confused...

...and then, her eyes widened. "Are...are you..?"

Clark smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Jenny." he said. "As for your questions, I can fly pretty fast, but I'm not sure _exactly_ how strong I am; I've never really tested my limits, which is probably for the best." Then, To Alison, he added, "I just need to step out for a while, Ali; I just have a few things that I need to take care of."

"Okay, Clark." Alison said, walking over and sweetly kissing his cheek. "Hurry back!"

"I will." Clark promised. With that, he took to the sky, flying away at high speeds, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

After Clark had flown off, Alison and Jenny headed back inside...and Alison couldn't help but smile at her cousin's excitement.

"_Mommy, Mommy!_" Jenny exclaimed, rushing to Aunt Bridget. "Ali's boyfriend is _Superman!_"

Bridget smiled. "Really, honey?" she asked. "Wow, Alison must be a very lucky girl!"

Alison smiled. "Yes, I am." she agreed. Then, as her cousin continued to rattle off happy exclamations, Alison headed into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Alison found Mrs. Kent, pouring herself a cup of tea. "Mrs. Kent, I just wanted to thank you for having us all." she said.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, sweetie." Martha said, smiling. "It's nice to have people around for Christmas. It's a welcome change from spending it alone, back when Clark was...away." Her smile grew. "And that uniform of yours is lovely, honey."

Alison smiled. "Thanks." she said. "Where's Clark gone off to?"

"Oh, he still has a few errands to run." Martha answered.

"Oh." Alison said. "I...was hoping to give him my present a bit early."

Martha smiled. "I hope you hid it well." she joked. "When Clark was a child, we had to wrap his presents in lead foil so he couldn't peek!"

Alison laughed. "Don't worry! _My_ present is the kind that can't be packaged!" she said. Her smile became shy. "Mrs. Kent...I think that...I might..."

"You love him, don't you?" Martha said with a smile. "I can't say I'm surprised; you always _were_ head-over-heels for Clark as a child." Her smile grew, as she hugged Alison. "I couldn't be more pleased, Alison." she added. "You're a perfect match for my son."

Alison smiled happily, hugging Martha tighter. "_Thank you._" she whispered.

"No, sweetheart; thank _you_ for making Clark so happy." Martha said. "Now, won't you have a seat, and chat with this old woman a while?" Alison smiled, and sat at the table with Clark's mom, and they started to talk.

It was late at night by the time Carter Blaire reached his apartment building. Carter was in his early fifties, fairly tall, and of average build, with short, light red hair, and blue eyes, wearing his trenchcoat over his business suit. He walked up the stairs, putting down his briefcase to unlock the doors...

"Carter Blaire?"

Annoyed, Carter turned to see a young man, around 20, tall and strongly built, clad in blue jeans and a black jacket, with short black hair and blue eyes, standing behind him. "What do you want?" Carter snapped.

"Just a few minutes of your time, sir." the young man said.

Carter arched an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of your daughter, sir." the kid answered.

Carter's eyes narrowed. "If she sent you here to get me to come to this ridiculous 'reunion,' then she wasted her time and yours." he snapped. "Then, of course, wasting time is something she's become an _expert_ at."

The man's eyes narrowed. "Like it or not, Carter, you're a big part of her life." he said coldly. "Just because you got hurt doesn't give you the right to cut her out of your life."

"Who the _hell_ do you think you are?!" Carter yelled. "You don't know the first _thing_ about..!"

"Who am I?" the man interrupted. "I'm a son who never met his real parents, and I'm an adopted son who hasn't spoken with his foster father for five years. They all left a big hole in my life, sir; the same kind you're leaving in _Alison's_ life." He turned around, as if to leave, saying over his shoulder, "There's only _one_ difference: my adopted father _died_ five years ago. My biological parents died when I was only a baby. _That's_ why they aren't in my life." He turned to look Carter right in the eye. "So, tell me, Carter...what's _your_ excuse?"

And with that, he turned, and walked away, leaving Carter alone with his thoughts.

It was just after midnight when Clark got back to the Kent farm, holding the flat silver box with Alison's gift in it. He'd put the finishing touches on her gift; he hoped she liked it.

He sighed to himself, sad that he hadn't had much luck with her father.

Opening the door, he tiptoed inside, softly closing the door, so as not to wake anyone. Taking off his shoes, jacket, and jeans, clad only in his t-shirt and black boxers, Clark walked towards the couch...

"Clark?"

Clark turned to see Alison, standing on the stairs, clad in her blue robe. "Ali?" Clark asked. "Why are you up so late?"

Alison smiled sheepishly. "I wanted to give you my gift early." she cooed.

Clark smiled. "Okay." he replied. "I'd like to give you my gift, too."

Alison smiled radiantly. "Can we...exchange gifts in my room?" she asked sweetly. Clark smiled, and nodded. Then, he simply followed Alison to her room.

As they entered Alison's room, Alison shut the door behind them, and they both sat on the side of the bed. "Can...I go first?" Clark asked.

Alison smiled shyly. "Sure." she cooed.

Clark smiled, and opened the box he held. "Merry Christmas, Ali."

Alison's eyes widened in amazement, as she let out a soft gasp, as she beheld the crystal pendant on the simple silver chain, the crystal carving on the chain depicting two people embracing, in front of what resembled a Mobius Strip – the symbol for infinity. "Clark...it's _beautiful_..." Alison whispered.

Clark smiled. "I made it at the Fortress." he explained. "It's a Kryptonian pictograph: _I'tu'ri Li'ru._"

Alison beamed. "And what does that mean?"

Clark took a deep breath. "_Eternal Love._"

Alison froze, almost not believing what she'd heard...

Clark continued. "Alison, the time we've been together has been _wonderful_; the best time of my _life_, and I _never_ want it to end." he said. "You make me happy, Ali; you make my heart glad, make everything I do as Superman _worthwhile_. Every time I see you, all the sadness in me just..._goes away_." He took a deep breath. "Alison...what I'm trying to say – what that pendant means – is that..."

"...I love you."

For a moment, Alison didn't speak, and Clark was deathly afraid that he'd goofed it all up...

...and then Alison smiled the most radiant smile of all, her powers activating, causing her to – _literally_ – _glow_ with happiness. She pounced on him, kissing him with all the joy and love in her heart, and Clark responded with equal loving fervor. "Oh, Clarkie..." Alison cooed, fighting joyful tears, "...I love you, too."

Clark smiled. "You do?"

"Of _course!_" Alison exclaimed, kissing him again. "How could I _not?_ I've been in love with you ever since we were _kids!_ This is like a dream come _true!_" She hugged him close. "Oh, _God_, Clark, I love you so _much!_"

Clark's smile grew. "And I love _you_, Alison." he whispered to her.

Alison's smile _doubled_ in radiance, as did her 'glow.' "Aunt Bridget was right." she cooed. "I'm a _very, very_ lucky girl."

Clark chuckled. "Yeah; I guess a lot of girls kinda _do_ want to go out with Superman."

Alison giggled, sweetly kissing him again. "That they do." she sweetly agreed. "But I don't love Clark Kent because he's Superman." Her eyes glittered with pure love at her next words: "It's the other way around: _I love Superman because he's Clark Kent._"

If Clark smiled any wider, he felt that his face would cramp up. He pulled Alison in close, giving her a passionate, loving kiss, which she happily returned. After the kiss had ended, Clark took the pendant, and undid the clasp for Alison, who smiled, and turned her back to him. Clark laced the pendant around her neck, closed the clasp, and then tenderly slid her hair back, letting the chain rest around her throat, marveling at the silky softness of her shimmery, strawberry blonde tresses.

Alison smiled radiantly. "I'll _never_ take it of...well, except for training and missions." she cooed. Her smile became shy. "Now, I'll give you _my_ gift." she said. Alison stood up, and undid the cloth belt of her robe, letting it pool around her feet, revealing her in her sleepwear.

Clark actually felt his brain _stop_.

Alison was a _vision_ in the simple blue bra she wore, accentuating her ample curves _perfectly_, complementing her creamy skin. She also wore matching blue panties...with the stylized red 'S' crest in the middle, surrounded by a red-outlined yellow diamond.

Alison smiled shyly. "This kind of sleepwear is almost _impossible_ to get." she commented absently, her arms shyly crossing over her chest. "You can probably guess why; for lots of girls, sleeping with your crest is likely the next best thing to _you_." She smiled. "Blue-and-red have kind of become my favorite colors."

Clark smiled gently. "Alison, you don't _have_ to do this..." he began; he didn't want to pressure her...no matter _how_ incredibly sexy and alluring she looked...

Alison smiled. "_Down_, boy." she sweetly teased. "I have something _else_ in mind." She smiled sweetly. "Take off your shirt, and lie face-down."

Clark blinked in confusion, but obeyed. As he removed his t-shirt, Alison smiled approvingly at his chiseled chest, and his powerfully muscled arms and shoulders. As Clark lay face-down, Alison moved on top of him, lovingly straddling him. "_This_ is my gift to you." she cooed. "Merry Christmas, lover."

At that, Alison's hands began to glide over his shoulders, lovingly massaging him, slowly working the tension out of his muscles. At first, Alison had difficulty; Clark's muscles were not only _big_, but incredibly _dense_, making it tough to get started. Soon, though, she felt him relaxing under her touch, the tension slowly leaving. She smiled as she felt him relax; she _knew_ he was a bit tense, though the tension hadn't started to get to him. He held the _world_ on his shoulders, without so much as a shrug; he was _amazing_. If she could just help him relax, just a bit, that would make all the difference...

"Ali, that feels _amazing_..." Clark whispered.

Alison smiled at her lover's voice, before she leaned forward and placed a kiss between his shoulder blades, as she continued her sweet ministrations. She then gave him another kiss...and another, before nuzzling into him, savoring the wonderfully inviting warmth of him, this man from across the vast ocean of stars, this selfless hero who went out, time and again, to help and protect a race that was not his own, who doubted his very existence...and who had completely and utterly captured her heart.

Then, Clark moved beneath her, and Alison let out a soft squeak of surprise...as Clark turned beneath her, sitting up, and embracing her, smiling at her lovingly. "That felt wonderful, Alison." he whispered tenderly.

Alison shyly smiled, self-conscious under his scrutiny, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I...do what I can." she cooed.

Clark noticed her shyness. "Please, Ali, don't hide your beauty from me." he said. "You have nothing to be self-conscious about. You're the most beautiful, most wonderful, most important person in my life, _taushi_."

Alison smiled, blinking. "'_Taushi_'?" she repeated.

Clark chuckled; it had felt so _natural_ to call her that. "It's a Kryptonian word." he explained. "The closest thing to it in English is 'sweetheart' or 'darling,' but that's not the _exact_ translation."

Alison's smile grew. "What does it _really_ mean?" she cooed.

Clark grinned. "Literally translated, it means, '_the other half of my soul._'"

Alison beamed, before she kissed him, her arms wreathing around his neck, and Clark held her close, returning her kiss. "That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard." Alison cooed, as their kiss ended. "Is there any beautiful word I can use for _you_?"

Clark chuckled, his nose touching hers. "The companion word to '_taushi_' is '_tausha_;' Kryptonian men used '_taushi_' to refer to the women they loved, and the women used '_tausha_' to refer to the men they loved."

Alison smiled. "So...can I call you '_tausha_'?"

Clark grinned. "Only if I can call you '_taushi_'."

Alison smiled happily. "_Yes._"

Clark smiled back. "Then, yes, it is." he whispered. "I love you, _taushi_."

"I love you, too, _tausha_." Alison cooed. Smiling, Clark leaned in, capturing her perfect lips in a tender kiss, pulling her close to him. Alison sighed happily, her arms encircling his neck, as she pressed herself to him, lightly giggling as she heard him let out a tiny, pleased whisper as her breasts pressed against his powerful chest.

Slowly, Clark's hands began to trace circles across her back, lovingly exploring her, savoring the feel of her silky-smooth skin, as well as her tiny gasps of pleasure. His hands slowly went to her hips, and slowly, tenderly traveled up to lovingly cup her breasts, causing Alison to gasp, and then softly moan, relaxing completely under his touch. Clark lovingly caressed her curves for a few wonderful seconds, lightly gliding his thumbs over the outline of her nipples beneath the fabric of her bra, as he lovingly kissed her, savoring her tiny noises of pleasure.

Clark's hands then glided back down to her hips, his thoughts guided by his love for her, as he kissed her shoulders, savoring her happy sigh, his hands finding the edge of her panties...

Alison's surprised gasp stopped him, and Clark froze, fearful that he'd upset her, moving back to look at her...

Alison just smiled sweetly, giving him a sweet kiss. "Clark, this is the most perfect moment of my _life_." she cooed. "_God_, I want you so _much_ right now..." her smile became shy, "...but, I'm just not ready for this step, yet."

Clark smiled, his arms simply encircling her waist in a loving hug. "Okay, Ali." he whispered. "I didn't mean to put any pressure on you..."

"You _didn't_." Alison assured him. "We just...got caught up in the moment."

"Okay." Clark said. "Do you...want me to leave?"

Alison shook her head vehemently. "_God_, no." she said. "I want you to stay here, with me." She smiled at him lovingly. "I trust you."

Clark returned her smile; he didn't know what his Ma would do if she caught him here, but he wasn't about to tell his _taushi_ no. "Okay." he said, as he simply lay down, letting Alison relax on top of him, his arms still around her slender waist, her head nuzzling into the space between his head and his left shoulder – a perfect fit for her.

"Clark..?" she said sleepily. "I love you..." Then, sleep claimed her.

Clark smiled, giving her a light kiss on her temple. "I love you, too, Ali." he said softly, before he closed his eyes, joining her in dreamland.

_Germany, Wagner residence, December 25_

In the German countryside, in the pleasant little home of the Wagner family, Kurt was just helping his mother prepare for their Christmas meal, as his father was bringing in wood for the fireplace. "_Kurti!_" his mother called, in German, using her nickname for him. "_Come and help your Mutter set the table!_"

"_Coming, Mutter!_" Kurt replied, in German, promptly hurrying to the dining room. Kurt's mother, Magda Wagner, was a bit shorter than Kurt, in her late forties, her kindly face just a tiny bit wrinkled, her brown hair held back by a kerchief, her light eyes a light brown, clad in a simple dress.

Magda smiled as Kurt helped her set the table. "_You're such a good boy, Kurti._" she said. "_Have you been a good boy at the Professor's school?_"

Kurt smiled, and nodded. "_Yes, Mutter._" he replied. Then, he remembered what Clark had suggested to him. "_Mutter, may I please call one of my friends in America on my cell-phone?_"

"_Of course, liebchen._" Magda replied. "_Be sure to tell them we said hello!_"

Kurt smiled, and hurried outside, to get a better signal, passing by the tall, strongly-built Johann Wagner, his father. Johann, in his fifties, with short, black hair, blue eyes, and clad in a simple shirt and overalls, simply waved to Kurt before heading inside. Kurt waved back, before taking out his cell-phone and dialing; he hoped he could remember the number...

"_Hello? Sefton residence, Amanda speaking._"

Kurt gulped, and switched back to English. "Uh...h-hi, Amanda."

There was a momentary pause. "_K-Kurt?_"

"Uh..ja, it's me." Kurt replied. "Listen, if zhis is a bad time..."

"_N-No! I'm...I'm really glad you called!_" Amanda stammered. "_I just...wasn't expecting it!_"

"Oh." Kurt said. "Vell, a friend of mine kinda gave me zhe idea to call you."

Amanda giggled. "_Well...remind me to thank him when I see him!_"

Kurt smiled, his nervousness evaporating. "I just vanted to say Merry Christmas!"

Amanda giggled. "_Merry Christmas, Kurt!_" she replied. "_How was your Christmas?_"

"Oh, pretty good." Kurt said, before starting to tell Amanda about where he was and what his plans were...while thinking joyfully to himself, '_Clark, I owe you **big** time!_'

_Pryde Residence, Northbrook, Illinois_

At her family's home, Kitty had just finished lighting her family's menorah, her parents, Alexander and Rebecca Pryde out in the kitchen. So far, this little visit had been great. Once she'd explained that Lance was a part of the X-Men, now, her parents had welcomed him, to Kitty's relief. Right now, they were getting ready for their meal. As the last candle on the menorah flared to life, Kitty turned to head to the kitchen...

...and bumped into Lance, who was slyly grinning. "I know that Jewish people don't celebrate Christmas," he said, "but I hope you don't mind _this_ one little Christmas tradition."

It was then that Kitty noticed the familiar plant-on-a-string that Lance was holding above his head: portable mistletoe. Kitty smiled. "Well," she said, her face getting a bit rosy, "I think I can let this one slide." Then, she stood up on the tips of her toes, and gave Lance a light kiss on the lips...which turned into a five-second kiss, the softest tasting of each other.

After the kiss ended, Kitty smiled. "_Wow_..."

"You can say that again." Lance said, a goofy grin on his face. Kitty could only giggle, as she took him by the hand, and led him into the kitchen.

_Grey Residence, Boston_

Out in the vast, snow-covered back yard of the Grey estate, Scott and Jean, in their winter gear, were talking a walk, holding hands. "I always love this place in winter." Jean said, smiling. "It's so peaceful, here."

Scott smiled, nodding. "It's amazing." he agreed. "But it's still not as beautiful as _you_."

Jean smiled, her face almost going as red as her hair. "_Flatterer._" she said. Scott only chuckled, as he leaned closer to her. Jean's emerald eyes closed in bliss, as she leaned into her lover's embrace...

"Jean Elizabeth Grey! Get back here this _instant!_ You're going to make us late!"

Jean let out a soft growl of frustration as her mother's voice carried out into the yard. '_How does she know EXACTLY when to ruin the moment?_' she mentally huffed.

Scott just chuckled. '_Come on, beautiful; let's not make your mother any madder than she already is._' Jean smiled, as she and Scott headed back towards her mother's call.

_Daniels Residence, New York_

At her sister's home in New York, Ororo and her sister, Vivian, were out on the back porch, in their winter gear, sipping hot chocolate. Vivian was in her mid-forties, around Ororo's height and build, with the same chocolate complexion, mid-length brown hair, and brown eyes. Vivian smiled at Ororo. "So, Sis, how's life at the Institute?" she inquired.

"Whoa! Heads up!"

With a mild frown, Ororo summoned a gust of wind to deflect the snow from Evan's new snowboard. "Evan! Be careful!"

"Sorry, Auntie O!"

Ororo chuckled. "Something like _that_, only to a larger extent." she joked.

Vivian laughed politely. "You have more patience than _I_ do!" she exclaimed. "I'd have gone nuts after the first week!"

Ororo smiled. "They're not always like that." she said. "They're all good kids. We do have a number of new students, but Clark keeps them from going overboard."

Vivian blinked. "Clark?" she asked. "Who's he?"

Ororo laughed. "Viv, you wouldn't believe me even if I _told_ you..."

_New York City_

In a pool hall in New York, Logan was just picking up his pool cue. "Hope Fury's given you a raise, lately, Steve." he said. "You're gonna need it."

Steve Rogers – A.K.A. "Captain America," the world's only Super-Soldier, and leader of the team of super-humans known as the Avengers – chuckled. "We'll see about that, Jim." he replied. Steve was tall, and powerfully built, seemingly in his twenties – though he was technically in his sixties or seventies, since he'd been frozen since World War II, and thawed out by S.H.I.E.L.D. – with short blond hair and blue eyes, clad in civilian attire.

James Logan just laughed, calling his shot, lining it up, and sinking it. "So, Boy Scout, what's old Iron-Pants up to, lately?"

Steve grinned. "Sorry, Jim. Can't talk about that." he said, as he sunk two balls; one with a direct hit, the other with a ricochet.

"Figured."

Steve smiled. "And what's the kid been up to, Jim?"

"Same old same old." Logan replied. He lightly scowled. "But as if Magneto wasn't bad enough, now that bastard Doom is gunnin' for Flyboy."

Steve frowned. "Well, if he ever needs us, the Avengers will back him up." he said. "He still has that communicator I gave him last year, I hope."

"Yep. Flyboy stashed it out in his old haunt." Logan said.

"Good." Steve said, grinning. "Now, Jim, let me show you how it's done..." Logan just smiled, as he continued to play pool with his old war-pal.

_Xavier Institute_

As Rogue and Remy were playing poker in the living room, Charles and Hank were sitting next to the window, both sipping mugs of hot chocolate. "Well, this has been quite a year." Hank said, smiling.

Charles nodded. "And a new one is about to start." he added.

"Hopefully, it won't be as hectic as the last one."

Charles smiled. "Somehow, I doubt that." he chuckled. He raised his mug. "To new years, and new challenges."

Hank smiled, joining in the toast. "And new friends." he agreed. At that, they both sipped from their mugs, watching the snow fall.

_Kent Farm, Smallville, Kansas_

After their Christmas dinner – yet another tribute to Martha's culinary skill – , Clark and Alison had helped Martha do the dishes. The day had gone very well; the Blaire family had loved the gift that Clark had given them: a holographic diorama of the Xerius Galaxy. He still had to give Jenny her gift, but he figured that she would like it.

As they put the last dishes away, Alison, in her regular clothes, headed to go outside, where Jenny was playing. Clark was about to follow her, when his Ma stopped him. "Clark," she said, smiling knowingly, "I didn't want to say this in front of Alison; I know you were in her room, last night, mister."

Clark gulped, wondering how on Earth his Ma could have figured it out. "Yes, I was." he admitted. "We did spend the night together, but we didn't do anything; yes, we kissed and cuddled a bit, but nothing else."

Martha smiled. "I know, Clark." she said. "I was just going to say that, as long as you two are careful, I approve. To be honest, your father and I weren't married the first time we..."

"Okay, Ma." Clark said quickly. "I...appreciate the heads-up."

Martha smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "Okay, honey." she said. "Now, you go on, before that sweet little Jenny gets too impatient." Clark smiled, and quickly darted up to his room, shedding his street clothes, clad in his uniform, now, before darting outside.

Outside, Alison and Jenny were standing in the snow as Superman walked up to them. Alison smiled, and knelt down to her cousin. "I think Clark's going to give you your present." she said.

"What? What is it?" Jenny asked, excited.

Superman smiled. "Ever wanted to fly?"

Jenny smiled. "_Really?_" she exclaimed.

Superman nodded, and knelt down. "Hop on, sweetheart." he said. With an excited squeal, Jenny hopped onto his back, holding on tight, as Superman flew up into the sky, stopping at a reasonable height above the ground. He then flew around the farm at a reasonable speed...which, to Jenny, was _amazing_.

"_WHEEEEE!!!_" Jenny exclaimed. "This is so _awesome!_"

After a few minutes, Superman touched down, letting Jenny hop off...in time to see a black car pull up to the Kent household, as a familiar face got out...

"Lex?" Superman asked, smiling.

Lex, clad in a long, black coat, smiled. "Merry Christmas, big guy!" he said. "I hope you don't mind a party-crasher!"

"Not at all!" Superman said. "Ma will be _thrilled!_"

Smiling, Lex nodded to Alison. "Hey, Alison." he greeted. "It's nice to see you, again."

Alison smiled pleasantly. "It's nice to see you, too, Lex." she replied. Her tone turned slightly warning. "No more pranks."

Lex chuckled. "I know, Ali; I'm sorry for all the times I pranked you." he said. He held out his hand. "Truce?"

Alison smiled, and shook it. "Truce."

Just then, Alison's cell-phone rang, and Alison answered it. "Hello?"

Her response made Clark smile. "_Dad?!_" Alison exclaimed, smiling. "Merry Christmas! It's great to hear you, too!" There was a pause. "Oh. Well, I guess if it's a really important case..." Another pause. "What?" Alison smiled radiantly. "_Sure!_ January sounds great! I'll see you later! Thanks for calling! Love you! Bye!"

"Who was that?" Superman asked innocently.

"Oh, like you don't know!" Alison laughed. "That was Dad! He called to say Merry Christmas, and that he couldn't come today, but he wants to take me to dinner in January!" She smiled at Superman. "He also said that _someone_ talked some sense into him, last night!" She hugged Superman. "Oh, _tausha_, thank you so _much_." she cooed. "You're a _real_ angel!"

Superman smiled, returning her hug. "You're welcome, _taushi_." he replied. "Merry Christmas."

Lex smiled. "I'm guessing there's a story here." he said.

Superman nodded...and then froze. "_Uh-oh._"

Alison smiled, releasing him from her hug. "I guess you'd better get going."

Superman nodded, giving her a quick kiss. "I'll be back soon." he promised. To Jenny, he added, "Now you be good while I'm gone, okay?"

"Okay!" Jenny said, smiling.

To Lex, Superman said, "My Ma made her famous fruitcake; if you hurry, you can get some!"

Lex grinned. "I _love_ that stuff!" he exclaimed. "Anyway, good luck!"

"Thanks!" Superman replied. Turning to Alison, he smiled, waving good-bye, before he took to the sky, flying off at top speed, a sonic boom echoing as he flew.

He was still needed.

_Coming Soon:_

_As Evan goes through a difficult phase, trouble brews…_

_What are these shadows that stalk Storm?_

_Are they merely figments of her fitful imagination?_

_Or something more sinister?_

_Can the Man of Steel and the X-Men save their beloved instructor?_

_Or will they need the help of someone from Storm's past?_

_Find out in "Stormy Weather," coming to your computer soon…_


	14. Stormy Weather

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: STORMY WEATHER

_Xavier Institute, February 4, 2008_

It was a frosty Tuesday morning, as the sun started to rise over the Institute, causing the snow-covered grounds to start to sparkle. In her room, in the few minutes before training began, Ororo was still asleep...though fitfully. Ororo tossed and turned in her sleep, her dreams anything but peaceful.

_She was alone in the darkness, running from the menacing shadows that chased her. The shadows quickly turned to the darkest jungle, with phantoms running after her, just beyond the foliage. She could hear an eerie chanting echoing around her, growing louder as she ran. Suddenly, the shadows swooped in on her, trapping her..._

Ororo awoke suddenly, her forehead drenched with cold sweat. '_I haven't had a nightmare like that since...**ever**!_' she thought to herself. Still feeling too nervous to go back to sleep, Ororo put on her emerald robe over her light blue nightgown, and walked to the bathroom, where she splashed some cold water on her face. Felling a little better, she raised her head...

...and came face-to-face with the image of a skull, smeared on the mirror.

Ororo screamed in horror at the sight, drawing the attention of the students, who were just waking up for training. Clark was the first one to arrive, followed by Logan and the rest of the X-Men. "Miss Munroe, what's wrong?" Clark asked.

"_Look!_" Ororo cried, pointing to the mirror.

Scott blinked. "But...nothing's there, Miss Munroe."

Ororo turned back to the mirror...only to find that the skull had vanished, as if it had never been there. "What..?" she murmured. "But..."

"Maybe you just had a bad dream, Miss Munroe." Jean suggested.

Ororo calmed, remembering her dream. Perhaps she _had_ just imagined it. "I...suppose so." she agreed. She managed a smile. "I'm fine, now."

"You sure, Auntie O?" Evan asked.

Ororo smiled. "Yes, Evan, I'm sure." she assured her nephew. "Now, I suggest you all get ready for this morning's sessions."

"Okay." Scott agreed. With that, the students headed off.

Only Logan remained. "You _sure_ you're okay, 'Ro?" he inquired, arching an eyebrow. "I've never known you to freak out 'bout anything, 'cept..."

"I'm fine, Logan." Ororo assured her old friend. "But...do you smell anything, here? Anything out-of-the-ordinary?"

Logan took a few sniffs...and shook his head. "Nope. Nothin'." he said.

Ororo sighed. "Then I _must_ have dreamed it." she said. She lightly smiled. "Thank you, Logan."

"No problem, 'Ro." Logan replied, before he headed off. Ororo took one last look at the mirror; it was clean, with no image at all upon it. Then, Ororo headed off, to get ready.

It hadn't taken Clark too long to get ready; he'd quickly donned his uniform and headed to the control room of the Danger Room, meeting the other X-Men and the New Mutants there, along with the instructors, also in uniform. Today, he was running a simulation designed to test the modifications he'd made to his nano-suit.

He'd spent the past few months adjusting it, first installing the micro-shield, then calibrating its energy consumption to provide the maximum defense without burning out the power-source in his belt-buckle. Then he'd had to calibrate its field-frequency to match the radiation frequency of Kryptonite, and modulate its phase to be in diametric opposition to Kryptonite's energy-emissions. And now, he would test it.

It had taken him all this time to get it working, between work at the Bugle, his duties as Superman and as the New Mutants' leader, his university workload – classes had started again in January – and his time spent with Ali...though spending time with the woman he loved was a _joy_, Superman thought with a smile.

January had been a busy month for everyone; they had all had mid-term exams shortly after returning to school, prompting hours of study, almost every night. Not only that, Ali had several concerts and CD recordings to worry about during exam time...prompting Clark to help his _taushi_ study. In the end, everyone had done well, including Alison; she'd passed her exams with flying colors, and earned standing ovations at her concerts and recordings.

He knew because he'd listened to her overhead; her voice was amazing, utterly _angelic_.

His reflection complete, Superman took the elevator down into the Danger Room. As he stepped out onto the silver-metal floor, he reached for his belt-buckle, and activated his nano-suit.

In seconds, the trillions of tiny nano-bots started to spread out over him; to an observer, it would have looked like silver liquid metal was spreading over his body, forming the molecular circuitry that operated the suit's higher functions. The nano-bots quickly covered his body, forming the suit: his uniform was now a metallic silver, his boots a metallic white, his cape and belt silver, the crest of the House of El now metallic white, with silver gloves forming over his hands. The nano-bots soon reached his head, forming the sleek helmet, as a hard-light visor snapped down over his face, feeding sensory data to him by a Heads-Up Display, as well as the status on the suit's shielding.

The shielding was fully charged.

"Okay, guys!" Superman called. "I'm good to go!"

"_Okay, Flyboy!_" came Wolverine's reply. "_Hope those new duds of yours are machine-washable...'cause they're gonna **need** it!_" With that, the simulation began.

Almost instantly, numerous laser-turrets popped up out of the ground, and began firing at him. Superman didn't even feel them, as his suit absorbed the impact, the shots hardly even _scratching_ the shielding. Superman simply activated the suit's scanners, tracking the frequency that the turrets were using...and quickly intercepted the data-stream, rerouting the turrets to accept commands from _him_, and simply sent a shut-down command.

Like magic, every single turret shut off.

Superman then felt something strike him, which took a modest chunk out of the suit's shielding, as the power-source tried to compensate. Turning, Superman spied a large training-drone, armed with a powerful laser-cannon, taking aim at him. Superman easily dodged its next blast, before flying at the drone, knocking its head off with one punch...and then got knocked back ten feet by the massive steel mallet that had popped up behind him; he was fine, but the shielding was now about half-depleted.

'_I'll have to work on boosting conversion efficiency in the micro-shield generator._' Superman thought. As the mallet swung at him again, he melted it with a blast from his eye-rays, his beams not so much as causing the visor-readout to shake; it was designed to let his rays pass through harmlessly...and it was working.

"_Simulation complete._"

Superman smiled as the Danger Room deactivated, tapping the controls on his belt, causing the helmet to retract, before heading back up to the control room. "Well, other than needing to improve energy-conversion with the shielding, I'd say that my nano-suit is working fine!" he reported, as he stepped into the control room. "Based on the diagnostics I ran, yesterday, the shielding is in opposition to Kryptonite radiation; if Magneto or Doom try to use Kryptonite on me, I'll be ready for them!"

"That' great, Clark!" Cyclops said.

"I'd like to see the look on Magneto's face vhen he realizes zhat Kryptonite doesn't vork, anymore!" Nightcrawler laughed.

"Okay, Porcupine, you're next." Wolverine said.

Spyke paused. "Uh...Mr. Logan, is it alright if I do my session this afternoon?" he asked. "I...kinda need to get to school early."

_That_ made everyone pause. "Is everything okay, Evan?" Storm asked.

"Sure, Auntie O!" Spyke said. "I just...need to take care of a few things."

Storm looked to Wolverine. "It's alright with me."

"Fine, fine." Wolverine grumbled. "You want to do the tougher session in the afternoon, it's yer funeral, Porcupine."

"Thanks!" Spyke exclaimed, and he hurried off, to get ready for school.

"Actually, I need to head off, too." Superman admitted. "Old JJ wants me in early; paperwork."

"Sure thing, Flyboy." Wolverine said, chuckling. "From what I've heard about Jameson, working for _him_ is a lot worse than _anything_ the Danger Room can throw at ya!"

That caused everyone to chuckle. "Mr. Jameson can be...a little harsh, at times." Superman said. "I'd better get going, because...patience is _not_ one of his virtues."

Dazzler smiled at him. "Have a good day, _tausha_." she cooed.

Superman smiled back at her. "You, too, _taushi_." he replied. With that, he headed off.

Within minutes, Clark had donned his work clothes and inducer, and gotten a quick snack, before heading out to catch the bus to work, his knapsack over his shoulder. He had just reached the gate...

...when he thought he saw something in the brush.

Clark's eyes narrowed as his vision focused on where he'd seen the shadow, but found nothing. Warily, Clark opened the gate and walked through, heading for the bus stop, his senses on high alert.

Something was up; he could _feel_ it.

_African airspace, 10 miles off the coast of Wakanda_

The small, sleek, one-man black aircraft lanced through the sky as it left its runway from the private airfield in the African nation of Wakanda, heading northwest, guided by its pilot.

He'd just heard the report from one of his operatives in America, who were keeping tabs on several of his enemies. '_I knew that the Hungan held a grudge against her, but I never thought that he would go this far..._'

He berated mentally berated himself; one of his father's favorite sayings was, '_Think two steps ahead of your enemies, and three steps ahead of your friends._' He should have watched the Hungan more closely, and now he had new associates.

He would handle this matter personally; his aircraft was invisible to radar, but at its maximum speed, it would take him until the early evening in America to reach his destination. He _hated_ this lack of speed, but the element of surprise was _vital_.

He took out a small photograph – one of a beautiful, snow-haired, chocolate-skinned woman – and gazed upon it. '_Ororo, my love...please be safe._' he silently prayed, as he guided his aircraft onward.

_Bayville High_

Evan took a deep breath as he walked up to his Physics teacher. "Sir?" he asked. "Uh...about that make-up exam..."

The teacher nodded. "Alright, Evan, I'm willing to let you re-do the mid-term." he said. "Based on your past assignments, I know you can do better, so I'll let you try again. However, there's no doing _this_ one over; if you still get a bad mark, I'm sorry, but that's all I can do."

Evan smiled. "Thank you, sir!" he exclaimed. "I won't let you down!"

"Good." the teacher said. "Just be here, after school, and be prepared for a two-hour exam." Evan nodded, and headed to lunch.

He was doing this make-up exam because he'd flunked his Physics mid-term. He hadn't been studying for it, and had gotten _slammed_ on exam day.

'_Good thing CK gave me that pep-talk, a couple months back._' Evan thought. If someone hadn't given him a metaphorical kick in the pants, there was no telling _what_ kind of academic hole he'd have dug for himself. Evan had managed to pass all his other courses...and had slacked off on the last one, Physics.

But now, after several extra-credit assignments – as well as copious begging – Evan had a chance to do it over, and he was _not_ going to blow it. Still, he was going to have to do it quietly, as he didn't want his friends – or Auntie O – to hear about it. He'd managed to keep his low mark under wraps, so far, since report cards didn't come out until two weeks from now, and exam marks would be posted _then_; once he did the rewrite, he could come clean.

Right now, he was going to eat lunch with his friends, and then head off to study.

As lunch hour came, Scott and the rest of the Institute students met at their usual table, sitting down to eat lunch. Alison was the last one to arrive, and she looked annoyed. Scott arched an eyebrow quizzically. "Anything wrong, Alison?" he inquired.

"Only _this!_" Alison said, obviously disgusted, as she tossed a magazine onto the table. Scott took a look at the article she was referring to.

The headlines said it all: "_ALISON BLAIRE AND MYSTERY MAN SPOTTED IN NEW YORK MALL!_"

"_AFTER SEVERAL ROMANTIC MISHAPS, COULD THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S PRINCESS HAVE FOUND HER 'PRINCE CHARMING'?_"

"_WHO IS 'KAL,' ALISON'S NEW SWEETHEART?_"

"_Argh!!_" Alison exclaimed angrily. "I don't _believe_ this! Can I get even a _moment's_ privacy?!"

Rogue shook her head. "Yet another reason Ah'm glad Ah don't read tabloids." she said.

"Dat's de price o' fame." Remy added.

Jean briefly looked over the article. "Well, they're certainly prying." she commented.

Alison nodded. "I called Aunt Bridget as soon as I saw this; she told me that _heads_ will _roll_ for this!" she said. "Why can't the tabloids just leave me _alone?!_"

Kitty lightly smiled. "Well...they _are_ right about the whole 'Prince Charming' thing."

Alison smiled at that. "Yeah." she agreed, her fingers lightly tracing the pendant around her neck, the one that Clark had given her for Christmas. "_Tausha_ is just _wonderful_..."

Kitty chuckled, and lightly elbowed Lance, her new boyfriend. "Why can't _you_ use beautiful words like that?" she sweetly teased.

Lance chuckled, looping an arm around Kitty's shoulders. "Because I believe that actions speak louder than words." he countered, punctuating the sentence with a kiss to her temple, causing her to blush.

Alison then frowned. "I just hope he doesn't see this." she lamented. "The _last_ thing he needs is more people asking about him. Even _worse_, they'll probably think we're having some...horrible, illicit affair!!"

Tabitha arched an eyebrow. "_Are_ you?" she teased.

"_TABITHA!!_" Alison cried, her face going red.

"What?" Tabitha asked. "It's a fair question!"

Alison frowned. "_No_, Tabitha. We haven't done _that_, yet."

"Well, why _not?_" Tabitha laughed. "Ali, you've landed _the_ most eligible bachelor on the _planet!_ You'd have to be _crazy_ not to!"

Alison blushed. "We're just...waiting for the right moment." she said. "I'm not ready, and Kal isn't pressuring me."

"Hey, guys!"

Kurt's expression brightened as Amanda walked over to them, sitting down next to him. "Hey, Amanda." he greeted. "How vere classes?"

Amanda lightly blushed. "Oh, you know; same as always." she said. "I...had a great time at the movie, last night."

Kurt smiled shyly. "Me...too."

Amanda turned to Alison, smiling apologetically. "I heard about that article, Alison." she said. "Sorry."

Alison sighed. "Well, I guess I should be _somewhat_ used to these kinds of things."

Amanda smiled. "This 'Kal' guy...is he that guy you like?"

Alison nodded. "He's a bit better at dodging cameras than I am." she joked, smiling.

"That's likely because he doesn't want to be seen with you."

Alison frowned as she turned to glare at Anita and her snobby clique, as they were walking by. "Get lost, LeRoux." Alison said.

Anita smiled coldly. "Why else would Kal avoid being seen with you?" she continued. "_I_ haven't seen him here to pick you up as school lets out. Being near you _must_ take its toll on him."

Alison frowned as Anita's clique giggled, and then smiled slyly. "There's _another_ explanation, LeRoux." she countered. "The reason he doesn't show up is because he can't _stand_ being within a 500-mile radius of _you_. Hasn't him continually telling you to get _lost_ taught you anything? Which reminds me: get lost, Little Miss Stalker." At that, Anita's face flushed angrily, as she turned up her nose haughtily, and walked away, her clique following her.

Amanda frowned. "_God_, she is such a _witch!_"

"_Tell_ us about it." Rogue agreed.

Alison nodded. "If it's not that little green-eyed monster, it's jerks like Pietro and Duncan pestering me for a date." she muttered.

"I _hear_ you." Jean agreed. "When it comes to jealousy, guys can be _just_ as bad as girls."

At that moment, Evan, who had been silent all through lunch, got up to leave. "Hey, Evan, where you going?" Scott inquired.

"Uh...I just need to take care of a few things." Evan said quickly.

"Like what?" Kitty inquired.

"It's nothing."

"Hey, man, maybe ve can help!" Kurt offered.

"Look, it's nothing, okay?!" Evan shouted. "I'll see you later." With that, he headed off.

Amanda blinked. "Wow." she murmured. "Is your friend okay?"

"I don't know." Scott said. "He's been like that since exams."

Jean nodded. "We're starting to worry."

"Hey, he'll be fine; Evan's tough!" Kurt said. "He'll pull through!" At that, the bell rang, indicating the end of lunch, and they all got up, to get ready for class.

It was late in the afternoon when Evan got back from school; he felt that he'd done better on the make-up exam – maybe not "genius-level" good, but better than the last time. He quickly dropped his knapsack in his room and promptly suited up, dashing to the Danger Room. By the time he reached the Danger Room, Storm was already there, waiting. "You're late, Evan." she said, her eyes narrowed crossly.

"I...had a few things to take care of, after school." Spyke said.

"Very well." Storm said. "For today's session, your objective is simply to protect me."

"Okay." Spyke agreed. "I'm ready." At a nod from Storm to Wolverine in the control room above, the simulation began.

The Danger Room's holographic projectors instantly changed the vast metal chamber into a narrow, dark blue, wire-framed corridor, with a light at the far end. Slowly, Spyke and Storm started to walk through the corridor. After they had taken a few steps, several laser-turrets emerged from the walls. At once, Spyke popped out bone-spikes from his forearms, and fired them at the turrets, destroying them, allowing them to continue on.

When they were about half-way through, several launchers popped up from the floor, firing hard ceramic discs at them. Spyke quickly generated a bone-staff, and smashed every single disc that came their way. Suddenly, the floor underneath Storm rose up around her, enclosing her completely. "Auntie O!" Spyke cried, as he ran to his Aunt's side, trying to crack her prison open with his bone-staff...

Just then, with a loud cry, Storm blasted herself free with a deadly surge of lightning, the shockwave sending Spyke flying. "The session is over!" Storm shouted, as the holographic emitters shut down. "You should have been paying more attention, Evan! If you can't protect your teammates in training, _how_ are you supposed to do it in real life?!" With that, Storm left.

'_Way to go, Daniels._' Spyke thought glumly. He _should_ have been paying more attention, _especially_ as far as that kind of trap was concerned; he knew that his Aunt was claustrophobic – she _hated_ enclosed spaces. She'd been that way ever since she was a kid, though Evan didn't know where that phobia came from...or much else about his Aunt, for that matter.

But he sure wasn't going to ask her _now_. Not when she was so steamed.

Sighing, Evan headed out of the Danger Room. '_Can anything **else** go wrong, today?_'

Ororo sighed to herself as she entered her room, changing out of her uniform and into her regular clothes. '_I was too hard on Evan._' she thought sadly. There was no way he could have seen that trap coming; anyone else could have stayed calm until they'd been freed...

...except her.

Ororo absolutely _hated_ her phobia; her logical mind _knew_ that there was nothing dangerous about some enclosed spaces...but every time she was in one – even an elevator – she got nervous. There was just no dealing with it.

As she left her room, Ororo decided to take a little walk outside, to clear her head. As she stepped outside, she saw that the sky was getting dark, as the sun began to dip behind the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, almost as breathtaking as the sunsets back in Africa.

Ororo's expression turned sad as she remembered her home, and all the memories thoughts of it evoked. She'd been born the daughter of a Kenyan princess and an American journalist; her childhood had been a happy one...

...until her parents had been killed in a rebel attack, which had caused her, as a child, to be trapped underneath a car for many days.

It was no wonder she was claustrophobic.

After she'd been freed, she'd wandered Africa, having to steal to survive...until her powers had emerged.

Once she'd learned to control the weather – to a degree – she'd been able to bring rain to barren, drought-ridden fields, make them green again. The tribes had mistaken her for a goddess, and for a time, Ororo's life had been simple...

...until _him_.

Ororo sighed, placing a hand to her lips, in memory of his kiss. '_T'Challa..._'

T'Challa. The young Crown Prince of Wakanda, the heir to the secrets of the Panther Clan, the descendant of generations of wise and powerful kings...and the only man she had ever loved.

It had been love at first sight. The attraction between them had been unmistakable, undeniable...and all-consuming. They had many adventures together, fighting against the racists and slave-traders that were all too common in those days.

And then, she'd met Charles Xavier – after trying to pick his pocket – and learned exactly what she was.

He'd offered her the chance to learn to control her powers, something she deeply desired...but it would mean going to America. At the time, T'Challa had slowly been growing distant; with the passing of his father, the strain of kingship was weighing heavily upon him.

And so, they had parted.

And that had been the last she'd heard of her beloved. From recent news, T'Challa had become a great king, and a beloved, progressive ruler of his country, turning it into an advanced, modern utopia-like nation, and yet still keeping ties with nature and the land's ancient traditions.

She couldn't have been more proud of him.

By then, the dark of night was fast approaching, and Ororo decided to head back in. She turned to go...

...and something rustled in the brush.

Ororo whirled around. "Who's there?!" she demanded.

At that, a single African man, in his thirties, clad only in a straw loincloth, wearing war-paint and carrying a simple spear, stepped into view. "Only me, Goddess."

"_Nirambo!_" Ororo exclaimed, both surprised and pleased to see her old friend again. "How are you?"

"I am well, Goddess." Nirambo replied. "But please, there is not much time; you are in danger!"

"What are you saying?" Ororo asked.

"The Hungan is after you!"

Ororo's eyes narrowed. The Hungan had been one of her old enemies back in Africa; he had been the shaman of her tribe before she had become its goddess-figure. He had fought her for control of the tribe, but she had soundly defeated him. Ever since then, the Hungan had _despised_ her.

"I have fought the Hungan before, old friend." Ororo said. "This time will be no different."

"Goddess, the Hungan is not alone!" Nirambo said. "After coming to this country, he has been joined by another organization!"

"Who?" Ororo asked. Before Nirambo could answer, they both heard more rustling in the brush...and then something pricked Ororo's neck.

_A dart._

Ororo felt herself starting to get drowsy, her legs getting wobbly. The last thing she heard was Nirambo crying out...

...and then darkness.

Superman was just flying home, soaring over the Atlantic Ocean, his evening patrol complete. He had just rescued an oil tanker in distress and flown off without anyone seeing him. Superman couldn't help but smile; he always felt pretty good when he was able to help people without anyone knowing he was even there...

Suddenly, his hearing picked something up; people were fighting...

..._near the Institute!_

Superman doubled his speed, soaring towards his home, stopping high above it and looking down; it looked like numerous African men – in tribal garment and weaponry – were fighting in the Institute's back yard. Specifically, about a dozen tribesmen had ganged up on one other tribesman, who was holding his own...but was still outnumbered.

His eyes narrowing, Superman rapidly descended, landing fast, shaking the ground as he did so, to let these guys know he was _serious_. His landing caused the attackers to turn towards him, as he inhaled, and unleashed a burst of gale-breath, sending all the attackers flying.

Superman walked to the lone tribesman. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The tribesman looked up at him, his eyes wide. "_Merciful Goddess..._" he murmured, "_...you're...you're REAL!!_"

"I won't harm you." Superman assured him. "Who are you, and who were those men attacking you?"

"I am Nirambo, operative of King T'Challa, and servant to the Goddess." the tribesman – Nirambo – answered. "And those men were the servants of the Hungan, the enemy of the Goddess." Nirambo lowered his eyes. "I failed her..."

"Who?" Superman asked.

"The Goddess...the Windrider." Nirambo explained. "The Hungan has captured her."

"'The Windrider'?" Superman repeated. His eyes went wide. "_Storm!!_"

By then, the rest of the X-Men had darted out, all in uniform. "What's going on, here?" Cyclops asked.

"Storm's been kidnapped." Superman said. "Nirambo, you'd better tell them what you told me." At that, Nirambo quickly explained what had just occurred.

"So this 'Hungan' guy kidnapped Storm?" Shadowcat asked.

"Yes." Nirambo replied. "I was sent to warn her of the Hungan and his allies...but I was too late."

"Sent by who?" Cyclops asked.

Suddenly, Superman's hearing began to pick up movement in the brush. "Wait." he said softly. "Someone else is here." He looked to the brush, scanning it..."_There!_"

"Impressive."

The figure that owned that calm, stately voice stepped into view. He was a bit taller than Superman, and strongly built, clad in a completely black bodysuit, which seemed to have a slightly metallic look to it, as well as black gloves and boots, with a long black cape, and a black leather belt around his waist, and a cross-belt over his chest, both belts laden with deadly-looking knives. His face was covered by a black cowl, with two slight points on top, resembling the ears of a deadly jungle cat, with only two white eyes visible, his face completely hidden.

"_My King!!_" Nirambo cried, instantly kneeling.

"Rise, Nirambo." the figure said, before he glanced to Superman. "Not many people can detect me in the brush, Superman. Well done."

"Who are you?" Superman asked.

"Men call me the Black Panther." the figure answered.

"My liege, please forgive me." Nirambo pleaded. "I have failed you..."

"The failure was mine, Nirambo." the Panther replied. "I did not anticipate that the Hungan would have allies." His tone turned grave. "We will discuss this later. All that matters now is finding Ororo."

"Agreed." Cyclops said. "Superman, do you have any idea where these guys could have taken Storm?"

Superman closed his eyes, _listening_. He could hear it, as plain as day. "Chanting." he said. "I can hear chanting coming from the old construction site on the far side of town!"

"That must be where the Hungan has taken her." the Panther said. "I will proceed there, and evaluate the situation."

"Superman, you'd better go on ahead, and check things out, too." Cyclops said. "The rest of us will follow in the X-Van."

"Got it." Superman agreed, and he took to the sky, flying towards the construction site. Below him, he could see the Black Panther moving through the brush at impressive speeds, following him. He wasn't sure who the Panther was...

...but he had a feeling that they could trust him.

When Ororo came to, she couldn't see anything; it was completely dark. She felt around with her hands, touching soft earth. There was no light above her.

_She'd been buried alive._

"_No!!!_" Ororo cried, summoning lightning and casting it about her prison. "_Let me out!!! LET ME OUT!!!!!_" Her lightning illuminated her prison: she was in some kind of underground cavern.

Ororo stopped casting lightning, forcing herself to calm down. '_The others must know that I'm gone._' she thought. '_They **will** find me. I have to stay calm; I have to keep up hope._'

Ororo curled herself into a small ball, trying to keep her fears at bay. Her eyes began to water, as she softly whimpered.

"_Please hurry..._"

As his followers chanted around their fire in the construction site, preparing the ritual that would allow him to take control of the Windrider, the Hungan, an older African man, in a cloth robe and straw loincloth, watched the covered pit that held the Windrider. '_Soon, "Goddess,"_' he thought, '_soon, your spirit will break, and I will then **take** it from you..._'

"Hey, Hungie! What's the holdup?"

The Hungan frowned, as he turned to his associate, hired by his allies. He was a tall, athletically-framed man, clad in a red bodysuit, with a vest laden with numerous weapons, a red-and-black cowl covering his face, with only his eyes visible.

Wade "Deadpool" Wilson, A.K.A "The Merc With the Mouth." He was a highly trained mercenary, supposed to be a survivor of a para-military project, and he apparently, he had a kind of rapid-healing ability, which, in turn, gave him enhanced physical abilities.

"The ritual required is complex, Wilson." the Hungan replied. "Furthermore, the Windrider is not yet ready."

"Hey, fine by me!" Deadpool said. "I get paid the same, either way; all this waiting is just makin' me nuts!"

The Hungan bit back his retort. "You don't have much more waiting left. We will be ready very soon, and your...employers will have the weather-witch under control."

The Hungan then frowned to himself. He hated having to work with Deadpool's employers, but if it meant _finally_ besting the weather-witch, then it was a small price to pay.

Superman and the Black Panther were watching the Hungan and his men from the brush when the rest of the X-Men, plus Wolverine, met up with them. "There are twenty-three of them, several with automatic weapons." the Panther said. "Ororo must be being held in that pit." He pointed to a pit covered by a large, steel plate. "When we attack, we must move swiftly, and strike the armed ones first."

"Leave that to me." Superman said.

"Once you take out those armed guys, we'll move in and distract them long enough to get Storm out." Cyclops added.

"Very well." the Panther said. "But I would best be wary of _that_ one." He gestured to the guy in the red bodysuit. "I am familiar with him; he is called Deadpool, and he is a mercenary."

"A hired gun." Spyke said.

Black Panther nodded. "And not a cheap one, either." he added. "The Hungan does not have the resources to hire him, so he _must_ be working with someone else."

"We can worry about that later." Superman said. "The important thing is rescuing Storm."

"Okay." Cyclops said. "Let's do this."

At that, Superman darted out of the brush, moving at super-speed, darting to and from the armed men, snatching each of their weapons, before crushing them into a pile of metal, which he tossed aside. By then, the Black Panther had stealthily snuck up on one tribesman, and knocked him out with a swift chop to the side of his neck.

At that, the rest of the X-men burst from the brush, rushing at the Hungan's men. Cyclops fired his optic-blasts, sending two tribesmen flying, while Jean levitated two more, crashing them into each other, knocking them out.

Nightcrawler 'ported to and from various tribesmen, delivering flying kicks to each one, before vanishing in clouds of brimstone. Shadowcat phased herself into the ground, and reached up to grab the feet of three of the Hungan's men, trapping them.

Spyke generated a bone-staff as two tribesmen ran at him, brandishing spears. He leaned out of the way of the first one's stab-attack, before slamming his torso with his bone-staff. As the first one stumbled away, Spyke ducked under the second's swing, and whirled into a back-spin strike, knocking him out.

As one of the Hungan's men tried to pin Rogue from behind, she pulled off her gloves and touched him, knocking him out as she absorbed his energy...as well as his spear-wielding skill. Rogue then picked up the tribesman's spear, and ran at another tribesman, parrying his stab-attack, and whirling her spear to envelop his, knocking it away, and then she slammed the staff of the spear against his head, knocking him out.

As three tribesmen closed on him, Gambit just smiled, and drew three cards from his deck, charging them. The tribesmen could only look on in confusion as he flicked the cards at them...and they promptly blew up, sending the tribesmen flying, out cold. "Dealer wins."

After he'd disposed of the weapons, Superman darted back into the fray, stopping next to Avalanche, turning to his earth-moving teammate; Avalanche nodded in understanding, and began to unleash a tremor _just_ as Superman slammed his foot into the ground with earthquake-force.

The resulting super-quake _literally_ caused the ground to _ripple_ as it sent every remaining tribesman flying, knocking them out, as the X-Men promptly dodged it, either by 'porting out of its path, or by Jean levitating them to safety.

After he'd knocked out the tribesman, the Black Panther drew two of his daggers, and headed towards the pit that held Storm. Two of the Hungan's men moved to intercept him, but the Panther was ready; he expertly dodged the first's stab-attack, and slashed his spear in two with one of his daggers, and then punched the tribesman, knocking him out. As the second came at him, the Panther blocked his spear with his dagger, lightly pushing the spear to the side, causing the wielder to run towards him...to meet his double-fist strike, which easily knocked the tribesman out.

Now only Deadpool stood between him and the pit that held Storm. "Well, looky here!" Deadpool said. "His Royal Highness, the King of Wakanda himself! Don't I feel special!"

"Stand aside, Wilson." the Panther growled. "I am in no mood for games."

"No? How 'bout a magic trick?" Deadpool said, as he drew an automatic from his vest. "_How to make a Panther disappear!!_" With that, he opened fire.

The Black Panther moved as swiftly and as gracefully as his namesake, effortlessly dodging every single bullet, closing on Deadpool; in less than two seconds, he had closed on the mercenary and stabbed him with one dagger, before whirling behind him to stab him under his shoulder-blade with the other.

'_That will not keep him out for long._' the Panther thought, as he sheathed his knives. He turned to the steel-covered pit, to try and free his beloved Ororo...

Suddenly, another tribesman closed on him, brandishing his spear. The Black Panther reached for his knives...

...and then Spyke ran at the tribesman, slamming him with his bone-staff, knocking him out. "My thanks." the Panther said.

Spyke smiled. "Just looking out for my teammate."

Under his cowl, the Panther smiled. "Now, help me get this covering off." he said. Spyke nodded, and started to use his bone-staff as a lever to pry off the covering, as the Panther grabbed the edge, lifting with all his strength...

Deadpool started to get up, his knife-wounds already healed. "That _hurt_, you lousy, son-of-a..." He started to draw his automatic, taking aim at Spyke and the Black Panther...

Superman instantly darted between his teammates and the mercenary. "I suggest you put that down." he said firmly.

"_What the bloody hell?!_" Deadpool yelped. "So, you _do_ exist!" He cackled gleefully. "First I get this sweet deal, and _then_ I get to take out the guy on top of the Kingpin's hit-list! This _has_ to be my lucky day!!"

"So it was _Fisk_ who hired you." Superman said. '_Should've known._'

"Nope! Wrong-o, Boy Scout!" Deadpool laughed. "I'm workin' for a _new_ guy, someone who wanted the power of this 'Wind-rider' chick! Why he wanted her, I don't know, but as long as I get paid, I don't _care!_" He cleared his automatic, aiming at Superman. "Time to earn my pay!" With that, he opened fire.

Superman didn't blink as the stream of bullets bounced harmlessly off of him. "Fisk never told you about me, did he?" he asked pleasantly. "So much for honor among thieves."

Deadpool snarled. "Cute, Boy Scout! Very _cute!_" he snapped. He reached for the grenades on his vest. "Let's see you shrug off one of these..._YEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW!!!!_"

Deadpool yanked his hand away from the glowing-hot grenades. Superman lightly smiled as his eyes stopped glowing. "I'd let those puppies cool down a bit before you get rid of them." he said. "I fused the pins to the handles, so they're pretty much useless."

Deadpool snarled in fury, as he drew two wicked-looking knives. "_Fine!_ I'll just do it the old-fashioned way!" With that, he ran at Superman, who didn't move an inch.

Deadpool didn't hesitate. Nor did he miss.

_CHINK!_

Deadpool's knife hit Superman's neck...and _shattered_.

Deadpool's eyes widened in horror as he looked upon his ruined blade. Superman's eyes narrowed. "_Enough_." he said firmly, as he reached over, and lightly _flicked_ Deadpool in the chest.

Deadpool went flying over fifty feet, landing hard with a sickening _crack_, as he coughed, holding his chest...until his ribs knitted back together. "So, you're bulletproof, huh?" he snapped. Then, he looked to the X-Men. "But what about _them?_" He drew an automatic pistol, took aim, and fired.

Superman's eyes widened in horror...and then narrowed, as he darted towards his friends at super-speed.

Superman raced after the stream of bullets, which seemed to be moving in slow-motion to his eyes. He couldn't risk the bullets deflecting off him to ricochet and hit the X-Men.

He put himself between the bullets and his friends, his hands moving like lightning, as he caught every single bullet in his hands. After Deadpool had emptied his ammo-clip, Superman opened his hands, letting the bullets clatter harmlessly to the ground.

Deadpool's eyes widened. "_Holy shit..._"

His eyes narrowed, Superman inhaled and unleashed a burst of his gale-breath, sending Deadpool flying far out of sight.

Turning, Superman spotted the Hungan, running away. He then heard Spyke call out, "_Big Blue, catch!_" At that, Spyke tossed his bone-staff to Superman, who caught it, took aim, and threw.

The staff stuck into the ground just ahead of the Hungan, causing him to trip, and fall flat on his face. Superman then saw that the covering was off the pit. "_All yours, Storm!_" he called.

Those words were all that Storm needed, as she floated out of the pit, her eyes glowing white. "_You wanted my power, Hungan?_" she shouted, her sentence punctuated by thunder. "_Well, here's more than you can handle!!_"

Storm pointed at the Hungan, trapping him in a whirling tunnel of wind, spinning him around and around, before tossing him into the air, and sending waves of hailstones to pummel him, as bolts of lightning arced dangerously close to him.

The Hungan landed on the ground hard, moaning piteously. The Black Panther was instantly upon him, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up. "Who put you up to this?!" he roared.

"I...I can't..." the Hungan whimpered.

The Panther drew a knife, putting it to the Hungan's neck. "You will tell me now," he snarled, "or, by the Panther God Bast, I will cut your skull open and extract the information _myself!_"

"If I tell..." the Hungan moaned...and then his eyes went wide. "No..._no, please!!_" he cried, to an unknown assailant. "_I won't tell!! I **swear** I won't!!! Please, Master, don't punish me!!! Have mercy, Master Mes_ – " Suddenly, his head snapped back, from an invisible blow...and his eyes went wide, unfocused, utterly catatonic.

Jean put her hands to her head. "A telepath did that." she murmured. "He's still alive...but he's brain-dead."

"Someone didn't want him to talk." Cyclops said.

Superman scanned the nearby area, looking for whoever could have done this. He thought he saw a shadow in the distance...and then, it was gone.

By then, Ororo had touched down, clearly still shaken-up by the whole experience. "Stormy, y' okay?" Gambit asked.

Ororo's gaze fell to the Black Panther. "_T-T'Challa?_" she cried. "You...you _came_..."

"Of _course_ I came." the Panther – T'Challa – said. "I came as soon as I heard what was happening."

At that, Ororo simply passed out, and the Panther quickly caught her, lifting her into his arms. "I think it best if we leave the Hungan and his followers to the authorities." he said. "We should return to your Institute."

"Right." Cyclops agreed. "We should go." At that, the X-Men, and the Panther, still carrying Ororo, headed back to the X-Van, and drove back to the Institute, as Superman took to the sky, flying home.

After he'd changed out of his uniform and into his regular clothes, Evan headed down to the infirmary, where his Aunt was sleeping. As he walked in, he saw the Black Panther there, by her bedside, holding her hand. The Panther looked up as Evan walked in. "Is...she okay?" Evan asked.

The Panther nodded. "She had a case of shock from being in there for a while, but it could have been worse." he answered. His voice turned warm. "She was fighting her fear."

Evan smiled. "Yeah; she's one tough lady."

The Panther looked to him, his voice uncertain. "Are you...her son?"

Evan lightly chuckled, shaking his head no. "Her _nephew_." he corrected. "Auntie O isn't even married!" Then, he gulped. "Who are you, really?" he asked.

"Someone who loves your Aunt very much." the Panther replied.

"How come she never mentioned you?" Evan asked.

The Panther sighed. "I suppose we both had a bit of growing up to do, back then." he said.

Evan gulped. "I...heard that Deadpool guy call you a...King..."

The Panther simply slid back his cowl, revealing the face of an African man, in this thirties, with dark skin, short, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. "I am T'Challa, King of Wakanda." he said.

Evan froze for a few seconds. "I'm...Evan Daniels." he murmured. "Should I...kneel?"

The Panther – T'Challa – smiled. "That is not necessary, my young friend." he assured Evan. He held out his hand. "It is an honor to meet you."

Evan smiled, and shook it. "Likewise!" He then looked to his Aunt...and the frowned sadly, remembering how he'd goofed in training today, because of how he'd messed up his Physics mid-term...

T'Challa noticed his expression. "Something is weighing upon you." he observed.

Evan nodded. "It's probably nothing you ever had problems with, Your Highness." he said. "I flunked my Physics mid-term exam. These past few weeks I've been doing extra-credit assignments to make up for it, and just today, I did a make-up exam...but I was late for training with Auntie O, and I messed up, and made her mad." He lowered his head. "I just couldn't tell her how I'd failed..."

T'Challa placed his hand on Evan's shoulder. "There is no shame in failure, Evan." he said. "When I was your age, I had to learn all sorts of difficult subjects, from the harshest taskmaster of all – _my_ father, T'Chaka. Not only that, I had to master numerous fighting styles." He chuckled. "I cannot recall how many times I got answers wrong, _or_ how many times I was knocked flat on _my_ back." He looked Evan in the eye. "If my father was upset when I made a mistake, it was not because I _made_ it, but because I did not _learn_ from it; our mistakes _teach_ us, Evan. If you have learned from yours...then your Aunt will not be angry."

Evan smiled. "Thanks." he said. "So...are you a mutant, too?"

T'Challa smiled, shaking his head. "Not exactly." he said. "My abilities came to me as the leader of the Panther Clan; when I became king, I ate the sacred heart-shaped fruit cultivated by my family, which gave me the strength, speed, and heightened senses of my namesake."

"_Cool!_" Evan exclaimed. "Is that where you got those knives?"

"No; they were of my own design." T'Challa answered. "They are made of vibranium, a rare metal that Wakanda has vast stores of. Vibranium has many unique properties; a vibranium blade is arguably the sharpest blade there is."

Just then, Ororo began to stir, opening her eyes. "Evan..?" she murmured.

Evan smiled at his Aunt, as T'Challa stepped back, giving them their space. "Hey, Auntie O."

Ororo smiled weakly. "I heard everything you said, Evan."

Evan's face fell. "Oh. Yeah...sorry, Auntie O."

Ororo smiled. "Evan, you could _never_ disappoint me." she whispered. She extended her arms to her nephew, and Evan zipped in to hug his Aunt.

"Hey, Auntie O," Evan added, "your friend T'Challa is still here."

Ororo smiled warmly. "He's _much_ more than a friend, Evan." she replied. "He was almost your _uncle_."

Evan smiled. "I'll...just give you two some time alone." he said, as their hug ended. He turned to go...

"Wait."

Evan stopped, turning to face T'Challa. "I would like to give you a gift, Evan...with your Aunt's permission." the Panther said. Ororo smiled, and nodded.

Evan's eyes widened as T'Challa unclipped a sheathed knife from his cross-belt, and handed it to him, handle first. "_Really??_"

T'Challa nodded. "Draw it not to _take_ life, but to _save_ the lives of those you love."

Evan felt like he had just been _knighted_. "_T-Thank you, sir!_" he said, as he reverently took the knife. T'Challa just smiled, and affectionately ruffled his hair. Smiling, Evan headed out of the infirmary, gazing upon the gift he'd been given by the King of Wakanda.

Ororo smiled as Evan left, her heart fluttering as she was alone with her longtime love. "He's a good boy." T'Challa said, smiling at her. "You must be very proud."

Ororo smiled back, slowly getting out of bed, hoping her knees wouldn't start wobbling. "It's...wonderful to see you, again, T'Challa." she whispered. "How...are you?"

T'Challa lightly smiled. "Well." he replied softly. "My country is prospering, and, with a few minor exceptions, we have peace, though I am getting increasing pressure to export vibranium and Wakandan technology."

Ororo nodded. "It...must be difficult."

"At times." T'Challa agreed. He lightly smiled. "But no more than guiding over a dozen teenagers with special powers."

Ororo laughed. "Yes, they can certainly be a handful, at times!" she said. Her tone turned a bit sad. "I'm sure that your...Queen must help you..."

T'Challa smiled wistfully. "I have no Queen, Ororo."

"You don't?" Ororo asked, excited. Then, she quickly calmed, adding, "I...see."

T'Challa smiled, walking to her, and took her hands in his. "There is only one woman I would have for my Queen, Ororo." he whispered. "And she is the only one who owns my heart."

Ororo smiled, feeling her face turn rosy. "T'Challa...there is no other for me but you..." she whispered, "...that has never changed...and it never _will_."

T'Challa smiled, and tenderly embraced her, his touch electrifying her. "Ororo, my darling...would you do me the honor of..?"

Ororo smiled gently, sweetly shushing him by placing her finger on his lips. "I know what you are about to say T'Challa." she cooed. "Nothing would make me happier than to be your Queen...but I _can't_ leave here; not yet. I am still needed, here; the Professor, Logan and I are teaching the students to control their powers and use them for the good of all..." she giggled, "...and, at times, keeping them from killing each other."

"_DRAKE!!_" came Rogue's scream, as Bobby ran past the infirmary door, followed by a very angry Rogue, her hair covered with shaving cream. "_AH SWEAR TA GAWD, WHEN AH GET MAH HANDS ON YA, AH'LL TURN YA INTO A **SNOW-CONE**!!_"

T'Challa softly chuckled, as a very embarrassed Ororo buried her head in his shoulder, trying to suppress her laughter. "So I see." T'Challa said. "I suppose it _would_ be selfish of me to ask you this when you are still needed."

Ororo lightly smiled. "Perhaps, in the _very_ near future, when things are settled, I won't be needed as much." she cooed. "Could you...ask me again in a year?"

T'Challa smiled. "In a year." he promised. "Until then."

Ororo felt her face burning. "I'm so out of practice at this."

"No more than I." T'Challa replied. "But there is a delightful saying in America for this sort of thing: 'It's like riding a bicycle: once you learn...you _never_ forget'." And with that, he leaned down to her, and Ororo stood up on the tips of her toes, meeting him.

And with that kiss, they were back in Africa, back where they belonged. Ororo sighed happily, savoring her beloved T'Challa's kiss; there was nothing more perfect, more _natural_ than being in his arms. After a few wonderful minutes, their kiss ended, and they just gazed into each other's eyes...

"Miss Munroe?" came Clark's voice from outside the infirmary. "The Professor wanted to see you when you were ready."

Ororo smiled. "I suppose I should go."

T'Challa smiled. "I should go, as well."

"Don't be a stranger."

"I won't." T'Challa promised. "Perhaps...in a few weeks, I might...take you out for dinner?"

Ororo beamed. "I'd like that." she cooed. "When you can, just...just call me."

T'Challa smiled. "I will." Smiling, her face flushed, Ororo left the infirmary, passing Clark – Superman, still in uniform – in the corridor, feeling like a schoolgirl all over again.

She couldn't have been happier.

Superman couldn't help but smile as he saw Ororo's happy expression, and chuckled as he saw a similar expression on T'Challa's face as he looked into the infirmary. "I...hope I didn't interrupt anything." he said. "I just didn't want to walk in on anything...again." At that, T'Challa arched an eyebrow quizzically, lightly smiling. "Long story." Superman explained. He smiled, and extended his hand. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty!"

T'Challa smiled, and shook it. "The honor, Superman, is mine." he replied. "Truthfully, I had hoped to meet you, to express my gratitude."

Superman blinked, confused. "For what?"

"For saving part of the Wakandan rain forest, several months ago; had you not contained that forest fire, the results would have been catastrophic." T'Challa explained. "That particular rain forest contains plant life that Wakandan botanists have been studying; they believed that many medicines can be made from compounds in those plants. Not only that, the forests are part of the ancestral grounds of my family, the Panther Clan. Superman, you have saved something very precious, both to my people and myself. Not only that, you have helped save the life of the woman I _love_." He lightly bowed. "I owe so much to you."

Superman lightly shook his head. "Your Highness, it was the _right_ thing to do." he replied. "_Anyone_ would have done the same. And as for Ororo...she's _family_."

T'Challa smiled. "Nevertheless, without your and the X-Men's help, I shudder to think what may have happened." he said. "My operatives watching the Hungan almost did not alert me in time." He chuckled. "My father always taught me to think two steps ahead of my enemies and _three_ steps ahead of my friends. How right he was!"

Superman smiled. "The words of a very wise man." he agreed.

T'Challa nodded. "Regardless, Superman, of what this hypothetical 'anyone' would have done, the fact remains that I am indebted to you; I owe you a debt of honor that I _must_ repay."

Superman lightly smiled. "Your Highness..."

T'Challa chuckled. "If you refuse, I will be most offended."

Superman grinned. "Well, Your Majesty, when you put it _that_ way, how can I refuse?" he said. Then, he remembered something. "Now that you mention it, Your Majesty, maybe there _is_ something you can help me with."

"Oh?"

"When I blew out that forest fire, I detected an unusual energy signature in part of the forest." Superman continued. "It was far away from any city, but it was a degree _higher_ than any of your power plants."

T'Challa nodded. "I know the place of which you speak." he said. "I will take you there now, if you wish."

"Thank you." Superman said, lightly bowing.

They were both about to leave when Alison walked in. "_Tausha_, I was wondering..." she began, but stopped as she saw T'Challa. "Oh, I-I'm so sorry!" she stammered. "I didn't mean to..!"

"It's okay, Ali." Superman assured her, smiling. "I just have to step out for a minute, _taushi_, but I'll be back soon, okay?"

Alison smiled. "Okay." she cooed, and she headed off.

T'Challa smiled. "I see that you, too, know the joy that the love of a good woman can bring."

Superman nodded. "Yes, sir, Your Highness; having a special lady in your life makes everything worthwhile."

T'Challa smiled...and then looked confused. "But that word you used – 'taushi' – I know a few languages, but none with anything close to such a word."

Superman lightly chuckled. "That's _another_ long story, Your Majesty." he said. "Let's just get going; I'll explain on the way." With that, they both headed out.

After finding T'Challa's small aircraft, they were underway, as Superman was content to be a passenger on this flight, as he told T'Challa of his origins. Within a few hours, they were flying over the Wakandan rain forest, and, sure enough, Superman's belt-computer was picking up the same power-signature he'd noticed before; it was coming from an ancient temple deep in the rain forest.

Superman had finished the story just as the aircraft had touched down. "_Astounding!_" T'Challa exclaimed as they stepped out. "I am actually conversing with a being from an alien civilization _millennia_ ahead of ours! This is _amazing!_"

Superman chuckled. "It was a surprise for _me_, too."

T'Challa's expression then turned regretful. "But I am truly sorry to hear of your people's fate." he said. "We of Earth – _all_ of us – could have learned a great deal from the people of Krypton. Their passing is a true tragedy."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Superman said. By then, they were walking into the temple. "Wow...this place must be hundreds of years old..."

"Five hundred, actually."

Superman then looked at the hieroglyphics upon the walls of the corridor that they were entering. "This tells of the people that built this temple." he said. "It was built in homage of Bast, the Panther God." He moved to the next section. "This tells of an event, shortly after the temple was completed...something fell from the sky."

"Very good." T'Challa said. "There are very few who can understand these writings."

"Languages are a hobby of mine; I guess it started after learning the Kryptonian language." Superman chuckled. Then, he frowned. "I...I must be reading this wrong; it says 'flying star,' not '_falling_ star'."

"You are reading it correctly." T'Challa assured him. "I myself wondered about that phrasing...until I saw it."

"Saw what?" Superman asked. T'Challa did not answer, but simply continued on, and Superman followed.

They came to an altar-chamber, with the altar in the center...and upon it was a fairly large, gleaming metal, high-tech-looking object, almost looking like a cannon, with crystals woven into the metal. It was producing the power-signature.

Superman knew what it was. '_I don't believe it..._'

"This was the object that fell from the sky." T'Challa said. "We have never been able to activate the device. The most that we have ever been able to determine is that it is composed of mostly a metal similar to vibranium, but with several unique properties...including incredible resistance to corrosion; not even vibranium can resist corrosion to this extent. For the longest time, my people have had no idea what it was...but I have long had reason to believe that it is part of an alien spacecraft that crashed on Earth, 500 years ago."

"You're right, Your Highness." Superman said softly. "It _is_ part of an alien spacecraft." Slowly, Superman reached out to touch it...

The instant he did, the device whirred to life, glowing lines tracing themselves in the metal, its crystal starting to glow as it powered up. Quickly, Superman pulled his hand away, and it shut down.

"A _Kryptonian_ spacecraft."

T'Challa's eyes widened. "You know what it is?"

Superman nodded. "Be thankful that you were never able to activate it, Your Majesty." he said. "This is an Ion-Pulse Cannon, from a _Swift Justice_-Class Speeder, the fastest type of ship in Krypton's Fleet. Even on the lowest setting, this Cannon has the equivalent firepower of a 100-kiloton nuclear weapon."

T'Challa's eyes widened. "This is...a _weapon?_"

Superman nodded. "Though my people were peaceful, there were several other races in the universe that were not on friendly terms with my people. They had to defend themselves." he explained. "Be thankful that it was not a more heavily-armed ship that crashed here; the Speeder had only _light_ weaponry. A more powerful ship – like a _Balanced Judgement_-Class Cruiser – would have a power-signature that every country on the _planet_ could detect." He lightly smiled. "Your Highness...you have just shown me that my people have _been here, before._" He bowed. "_Thank you._"

T'Challa smiled. "To be honest, I am somewhat reluctant to keep it here, now." he admitted. "I am already under considerable pressure to export vibranium and Wakandan technology to other countries, most notably the U.S. and Latveria."

Superman lightly frowned at the mention of Doom's country.

"I see that you have had dealings with Victor von Doom." T'Challa observed. "And from your expression, I gather that they were not pleasant."

"Hardly, Your Highness."

"Perhaps it would be better if _you_ took this weapon." T'Challa added. "Ultimately, it belongs to your people – to _you_. My people and I have no use for it, and if Doom were to learn that an alien weapon of such power were here, he would surely want it. Please, Superman, take it, with the friendship and gratitude of myself and my people."

Superman smiled. "Thank you, Your Highness." he replied. "I promise, I will store it where not even Doom will look for it. And even if he does look...he'll have the devil's own time getting in!"

T'Challa chuckled. "Very good." he said. "But there is one more thing: please call me T'Challa."

Superman chuckled. "In that case, you can call me Kal-El." He extended his hand.

T'Challa grinned, and shook it. "Well met, Kal-El of Krypton." he said. "Farewell." Superman nodded, and lifted the Ion-Pulse Cannon onto his shoulder, darted outside, and took to the air, flying _north_.

He knew _just_ where to store it.

It was almost midnight at the Institute, and Alison was sitting on her bed in her room, in her favorite blue bra and panties, the crest of the House of El – _Clark's_ crest – on them, her strawberry blonde tresses tied in a long ponytail, her guitar in her arms, as she absently strummed the cords, until she found _just_ the right one. Smiling, she took a piece of paper, and wrote it down, before she continued strumming, looking for the next one.

She smiled as she heard a familiar sonic boom echo above her head...seconds before a red-and-blue blur _whooshed_ through her open window, as Superman sat next to her on her bed.

Alison smiled. "Ever heard of knocking?" she sweetly teased.

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." he said. "I was just so excited; Ali, you won't _believe_ what I found out!"

Alison giggled. "Oh, how cute _are_ you, you goof!" she cooed.

"_They were here!_" Superman exclaimed. "My people, Ali! They've been on Earth, before!"

Alison's eyes widened, as she smiled in amazement. "Clark, that's _incredible!_" she exclaimed. "How did you find this out?"

"T'Challa showed me an artifact that fell in his country 500 years ago – an Ion-Pulse Cannon from a _Swift Justice_-Class Speeder, Ali! It must have been on a surveillance mission of Earth! But the Speeder is only medium-range; it couldn't have come from outside the system directly! That must mean that there's a World-Gate in this system! But it's unlikely that it simply crashed; the Kree and the Skrulls have used this system as a battleground in the past – they must have shot it down! The Speeder had only fairly light shields, so it's possible..."

"Clark, _slow down!_" Alison laughed. "Some of us only have _human_ brains, remember?"

"Sorry."

Alison giggled. "If you tell me what on Earth you're talking about, I might forgive you." she teased. "For starters, what's a World-Gate?"

Superman smiled. "World-Gates were how the Kryptonian people traveled through space before the advent of Trans-Warp." he explained. "The World-Gate network was established hundreds of thousands of years ago; Kryptonian pioneers set out into space, traveling across several star systems, until they stopped. They then built the Gate, programmed it, and entered the sequence to connect to the Gate in the Xerius Galaxy, and then just jumped home to re-supply, while the next team jumped to the previous Gate, and continued on. Each Gate has its own eight-symbol sequence; entering one Gate's sequence into another Gate synchronizes the Gates, allowing a wormhole to form, for instantaneous transportation. Over thousands of years, my people explored much of the universe this way."

"_Wow_..." Alison murmured, "...Clark, your people sound _amazing!_"

"Thanks!" Superman replied. "My people eventually made contact with many races in the universe. Most were friendly...but a few weren't."

"The...Kree and the Skrulls?" Alison asked.

Superman nodded. "The Kree-Skrull War has been going on for _millions_ of years, Ali." he said. "Chances are, those two races are _still_ going at it. The Kryptonian people literally stumbled onto a battle in that War over 2000 year ago, and tried to make contact."

"I guess even advanced races make dumb mistakes, on occasion."

"Immediately, both the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire recognized that Kryptonian technology was _infinitely_ superior to theirs." Superman continued. "Both sides want them as allies, to completely annihilate the other. My people, initially, tried to mediate for both sides, to end the conflict...but neither Kree nor Skrull would be satisfied until the other side was _destroyed_. My people then simply left, activated the nearest Gate, and headed back to Krypton."

"My people realized that neither side would take no for an answer; they would head to Krypton to try and _force_ my people to take sides. The Kryptonians then recalled every single one of my people back to Krypton, and shut down the entire Gate network, to prevent the Kree and the Skrulls from using it. It was around this time that my people starting encoding their technology so only Kryptonians could use it. But since the Kree and Skrull home-worlds were relatively close to Krypton, my people knew that it was only a matter of time before they came to Krypton, anyway."

"What did they do?" Alison asked.

"My people knew that both sides would have to pass through a certain galaxy to reach Xerius." Superman said. "So the most brilliant scientists of the age – led by one of my ancestors, Nir-El, and his longtime friend, Den-Lir, of the House of Lir – traveled to that galaxy, to construct one of the greatest technological feats in Kryptonian history."

"_Sentrius_. The first – and _only_ – _Steadfast Guardian_-Class Battlestation in history." Superman continued. "Sentrius was armed with the latest in weapons technology, scanners, shields, defenses, and Artificial Intelligence; it was designed to be completely automated – a mighty sentry, standing guard against Krypton's enemies."

"Did Sentrius work?" Alison asked.

Superman nodded. "Within several years, the Kree and Skrull fleets arrived at the galaxy that Sentrius was in." he said. "Both sides came ready to fight; over a million ships, _each_."

"Sentrius completely decimated both sides in a matter of minutes."

"_Whoa!!_"

"Yeah." Superman agreed. "After that, the Skrulls pretty much gave up on trying to compel my people to join them; having less than fifty of a million ships return tends to wreck morale. The _Kree_, however, wouldn't quit; over the next few centuries, they sent ships to try to defeat or get past Sentrius...and Sentrius defeated them easily, each and every time. As time went on, my people periodically upgraded Sentrius, as new technologies became developed. After about a thousand years, they gave up, too. Things were peaceful, then."

"Until the Shi'ar attacked."

"The who?"

"The Shi'ar were another race my people had contact with; relations between them were always friendly." Superman answered. "But some time after the World-Gate network was reactivated, the Shi'ar Emperor of the time, Kral'Nor, wanted to use the network to conquer nearby star systems. My people tried to reason with him, until they had no choice but to call back every Kryptonian to Krypton, and shut down the network. This time, however, Sentrius couldn't help, because the Shi'ar's system wasn't anywhere near Sentrius, so my people built a massive shield to protect Krypton, as well as massive plasma cannons to shoot down the Shi'ar Imperial Navy when it came. Soon, they came, and laid siege to Krypton for over five years. The Shi'ar could never pierce the shield or destroy my people's ships, and my people couldn't destroy enough of _their_ ships – they were vastly outnumbered, a million to one."

"Then, in the sixth year of the siege, the Kryptonian Defense Force – led by General Zod – had an idea." Superman said. "My father, Jor-El, developed a way to activate only _one_ World-Gate, leaving the others inactive. After Jor-El developed newer, more powerful weapons, a small team, including Jor-El, and another scientist, Yen-Lir, and led by General Zod, broke through the Shi'ar lines, and activated the Gate...heading to Sentrius. They managed to move Sentrius into position next to the Gate...where Zod used the Gate as a tactical weapon; he fired Sentrius' weapons _through_ the open Gate, programming them to automatically lock on to Shi'ar ships."

"The Shi'ar never knew what _hit_ them."

"_Wow!!_" Alison exclaimed. "That is _amazing_, Clark!" She giggled. "I'm dating a member of the most advanced race in the _universe!_" She smiled. "And your father helped save _his_ world...just like _you_ saved _ours_. Like father, like son."

Superman beamed at the compliment. "Thanks, _taushi_." he said. Then, he chuckled. "But my people were _not_ perfect, Ali." he added. "We made plenty of mistakes in our time. We just learned from them, and grew...just like humanity can."

Alison smiled. "Clark...did your people believe that there is a universal soul, a place that we all return to when our lives end?"

Superman chuckled. "I'm afraid that my people have puzzled over that question just as much as humanity has, _taushi_." he said. He smiled. "But when I'm with you...I feel a little closer to the answer." With that, he leaned in and kissed her.

Alison sighed happily, setting her guitar aside and sitting in her boyfriend's lap, encouraging him to deepen the kiss. After a few wonderful minutes, their kiss ended. Then, her expression turned sad. "So...when did Krypton..?"

Superman turned sad. "It was very shortly after the siege ended." he replied. "My father tried to warn Krypton's governing body – the Council of Twelve – that its core was going to explode, but Brainiac – the Brain Inter-Active Construct – refuted his claims, saying that the tremors were only a seismic shift." His tone turned dark.

"_But Brainiac lied._"

Alison's eyes went wide. "He...betrayed them?"

Superman nodded. "My father found out about Brainiac's deception, and managed to send me to Earth _just_ before Krypton exploded. If Brainiac had warned my people earlier, they might have survived..." He lowered his head. "But that's in the past; I shouldn't dwell on it, _too_ much."

Alison was silent for a few moments. "So...how did this Speeder get to Earth?"

"It must have crashed here during a surveillance mission." Superman reasoned. "As I said, this system was a frequent battlefield for the Kree and Skrulls; apparently, it occupies a strategic spot between their territories. My people had only sporadic contact with those two after Sentrius was constructed. The Skrulls basically left us alone, but the Kree _hated_ us, and blamed us for not helping them during the war. My people's technology was more advanced, but a Speeder was no match for an entire Kree battle-group." He sighed, worried. "That's _another_ reason I try to keep a low profile; the Kree and Skrulls occasionally send probes to scan Earth."

Alison gasped. "Are they...going to invade?"

"Probably not." Superman reasoned. "Other than this system's strategic value, Earth has no advantage to them; they have no reason to come here." His tone turned grave. "But they would recognize the crest of the Kryptonian House of El, and they surely know about Krypton's destruction, by now. The Skrulls might not do anything, but if the Kree learn that the sole survivor of Krypton was here..." he didn't finish.

Alison lightly smiled. "You'd stop them, _tausha_." she cooed. "You'd find a way to kick them off our planet."

Superman smiled. "Thanks." he said. "But I only found _part_ of the Speeder; the rest _has_ to still be on Earth, somewhere, and I need to find it before someone like Doom does."

"You'll find it." Alison said, smiling. "I _know_ you will."

Superman grinned. "How is it that you always know how to lift my mood?"

Alison giggled. "I'm your _girlfriend_, you big, blue _goof!_" she teased. Superman just smiled at her, before he inched closer to her. Alison just smiled, her eyes closing, as she leaned up to meet him...

Suddenly, Superman froze, his body stiffening, his gaze miles away. Alison chuckled; she knew _that_ look. "Duty calls?"

Superman smiled apologetically. "I'm so sorry..."

"_Don't_ be." Alison cooed, sweetly kissing him. "There are people who need you, so get _going!_" Superman smiled, quickly kissing her, and then darted out the window, flying off at supersonic speeds.

Alone in her room, Alison simply smiled, putting her guitar away, before climbing into bed, happy that her Clarkie had shared part of his people's history with her. She closed her eyes, content to let her thoughts of him turn to dreams.

_Undisclosed location_

In a dark room, numerous black-robed figures had gathered before a single figure as a cloaked individual entered. "The Hungan has failed to obtain the mutant Storm." he said. "Fortunately, I was able to silence him with the Master's power before he could reveal us."

The ancient, living-stone mutant known as Ozymandias turned to face the figure. Ozymandias seemed to resemble a man in his late sixties, his skin carved to resemble a simple robe, with a turban upon his head. "This is most troubling, Mesmero. If we cannot obtain mutants for the Master, then we cannot revive him."

The illusionist known as Mesmero lowered his hood. Mesmero was in his late forties, with light skin, dark eyes, and a bald head etched with arcane tattoos, clad in dark robes. "We still have time, Master Ozymandias. Soon, I will begin the search for the three keys to free Master Nur."

"See that you do." Ozymandias said. "Prophecy or no, we cannot delay."

Mesmero looked grave. "I believe that Irene Adler's prophecy may yet be true, Master. I saw the Child of the Star – the one called Superman. He exists."

Ozymandias' eyes narrowed. "Did he see you?"

"Possibly." Mesmero said. "He is indeed powerful, Master..."

"No man can match the power of Apocalypse." Ozymandias said coldly. "Master Nur will return, and soundly defeat this 'Superman,' no matter what hokum-prophecies that lesser mutants divine!"

"Yes, Master." Mesmero agreed. With that, they dispersed, heading to their individual quarters. One figure closed the door on their quarters, and threw back the hood on her robe.

Mystique frowned at what she'd heard; this 'Master Nur' unnerved her, and 'Apocalypse' sounded _worse_. She easily remembered her old friend Irene's words.

"_...and all around him, mutantkind shall unite, to drive back the dark in a terrible fight..._"

Well, it looked like she'd just found 'the dark.'

Still, she had to discover more, as part of the deal she'd made. Putting her hood back on, Mystique left her quarters, to look around.

'_No monster is going to start a war that could take the lives of my children._' she thought to herself.

The next day, as school started, Evan took a deep breath as he walked towards the posted mid-term exam marks. He stood before the sheet of Physics marks, and found his name...

"_YES!!_" Evan crowed; 90 percent. He'd _aced_ it!

Hearing him, his friends came over. "Hey, way to go, Evan!" Scott congratulated him.

Evan grinned. "Thanks!" he said. "Sorry I wigged out on you guys, yesterday!"

"Ach, vater under zhe bridge, mein friend!" Kurt replied.

"You could have told us!" Kitty exclaimed. "We would've helped you study!"

Evan laughed. "And end up wearing that goofy 'study-hat' you bought, a few weeks ago, K-Girl?" he quipped. "Thanks, but no thanks!"

Laughing, they all headed into class...pausing as a sonic boom echoed overhead. Evan just smiled up at the sky, as their friend went off to save the day again, before heading to class.

_Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. My creative well hit a brief dry spot. But I think I'm back on track now. I hope you enjoy! You guys rock!_

_Coming Soon:_

_After a tiff between her and Scott, Jean and some of the X-Girls decide to show the boys just what they can do._

_But have they bitten off a tiny bit more than they can chew?_

_Can Superman and Dazzler help their friends?_

_Or will they need the aid of one without fear?_

_Find out in "Night on the Town," coming to your computer soon…_


	15. Night on the Town

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: NIGHT ON THE TOWN

_Xavier Institute, February 21, 2008_

It was Friday afternoon at the Institute as Alison donned her uniform, trying to stay cool. School had let out for the day...but she still had one _doozy_ of a test, left.

The X-Man Qualifying Exam.

A few days ago, she'd managed to score the 100,000 points in her training session to be considered for the Exam. After several days of more intense training, she was ready for it.

Alison couldn't help but be nervous. Only Clark and Logan would be watching her, but that still didn't do anything for her nerves; fewer people would see it if she screwed up...but one of those few would be her _tausha_, the man she respected above all others.

Then, Alison smiled softly to herself; Clark would still respect her no matter _how_ she did, as long as she did her best. '_I **can** do this._' she thought. '_I can **ace** that test!_'

Alison turned to her computer, to just briefly check her e-mail before she headed to the Danger Room; she had a few minutes. She logged on to MSN...and frowned as she saw the countless e-mails she'd gotten. That on its own didn't bother her; she _enjoyed_ getting mail from her fans.

But half of the mail wasn't from her fans.

Alison rolled her eyes as she saw who had sent those messages; they were from a guy she'd once had the misfortune to date – of all the losers and creeps she'd encountered, _he_ was the worst: arrogant, pompous, chauvinistic, and he'd wanted to get in her pants from the get-go.

Essentially, he was the Anti-Clark; Clark was everything that he _wasn't_.

Alison promptly deleted every single one of his messages, and then promptly logged out of MSN. Taking a deep breath, Dazzler left her room, and headed for the elevator.

Reaching the control room, Dazzler saw that Superman – Clark – and Wolverine were already there, in uniform. Superman smiled at her, and Dazzler smiled back nervously. "Ready, Ali?" Superman asked.

Dazzler lightly giggled. "As ready as I'll ever be!"

"This ain't your usual session, Diva." Wolverine said. "This is the kinda stuff that the X-Men do in training. You take three hits, and the test's over."

Dazzler nodded. "Got it." she agreed.

Superman smiled. "Just do your best, Ali; that's all we ask." he added. "I know you can do it."

Her _tausha_'s vote of confidence made Alison blush. "Thanks." she cooed. "Well, here I go!"

"Good luck, _taushi!_" Superman said. Dazzler just smiled at her sweetie, before taking the elevator down to the Danger Room. As she stepped out into the Danger Room, she switched on her music, and took a deep breath, tapping the boundless confidence she used on stage, as the test began.

Almost instantly, countless laser-turrets popped out of the floor – _much_ more than she normally encountered in training – and began firing on her, with greater accuracy and force than usual. Dazzler quickly channeled her stored energy, forming the sparkling, shielded second-skin over herself, lightly wincing as laser-blasts pelted it; these things hit a _lot_ harder than the ones in her previous sessions.

Well, that was fine with her.

Dazzler clenched her fists, focusing energy into them, before pulling back and letting them fly, unleashing the light-bombs she'd just formed. The concussive blasts lanced through the air, landing in the center of the turrets, erupting in twin explosions that ripped the turrets apart.

Turning, Dazzler was just in time to dive out of the path of numerous robotic drones as they started to open fire on her. Her eyes narrowing, Dazzler quickly generated her hard-light "hover-board," and hopped on, flying over the small army of drones, firing sweeping laser-beams from her hands, utterly destroying them.

Seconds after the last robot was nothing but scrap, a powerful blast shook the air a few feet to her left, causing her to lose focus, her board dissipating. Dazzler fell towards the floor, but quickly rolled into the fall, landing unharmed...to see three large, powerful cannons.

'_I **hate** these things!_' Dazzler thought, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. She charged up one of her beams, taking aim...but the floor under her feet suddenly shot up, tossing her into the air, spoiling her aim, as the middle cannon took aim at her.

Dazzler quickly generated a cloud of sparkling haze around her as she turned the motion into a back-flip, causing the cannons to lose their lock on her...and she landed on her feet, unleashing her beam, blasting one cannon apart.

Darting to the side as the remaining two cannons fired, Dazzler formed two hard-light holographic versions of herself, sending extra energy into them; it was time to try a new trick. Concentrating, Dazzler focused the energy in her duplicates, as well as in herself; all three Dazzlers fired energy beams at the second cannon, slicing it in three places, utterly destroying it. Dazzler re-channeled the energy used to make her duplicates, focusing it into a sphere in her hands, and then let it fly at the final cannon, destroying it in a massive blast.

Seconds after the last cannon was destroyed a large buzz-saw extended from the wall, coming straight at her; Dazzler managed to back-flip away, giving herself enough time to generate a hard-light force-field dome around herself, protecting her from the saw, as it clanged harmlessly against the dome. Her eyes narrowing, Dazzler focused more energy into her dome, causing it to glow a brighter gold. She concentrated on the dome, taking aim at the saw; energy collected at one spot on the dome's surface, as a powerful beam shot from the dome, slicing the saw apart, as it clattered harmlessly to the floor.

"_Simulation complete._"

Dazzler breathed a sigh of relief as she heard that, her dome dissipating, as she sank to her knees, exhausted. She managed a weak smile as Superman walked into the Danger Room towards her, smiling. "Ali, you _did_ it!" he exclaimed. "I _knew_ you could!"

Dazzler smiled. "Thanks." she cooed. "I had no idea that the X-Men's training could be _this_ taxing!"

Wolverine's wry chuckled came in over the audio system. "_Well, you'd better get used to it, Diva. You're an X-Man, now, like it or not._"

Dazzler beamed at that. She was an X-Man, now. The Institute's finest; the best of the best.

Superman smiled. "I'm so proud of you, _taushi_." he said, as he helped her up.

Dazzler lightly blushed. "I couldn't have done it without you, _tausha_." she cooed. "Your training and encouragement really helped me." She smiled. "You're an amazing leader, and a great teacher."

Superman smiled. "You're a great student." he replied. "You've really earned this."

Dazzler smiled shyly. "I hope the other New Mutants aren't upset that I got promoted first."

Superman shook his head. "They're happy for you, Ali. Don't worry." he assured her.

"_Okay, show's over, Flyboy. You and Diva can flirt on your **own** time._"

Superman chuckled. "We should probably go." he said, smiling that utterly charming boyish grin, the one that made her knees get wobbly. "Can I buy the newest X-Man a soda?"

Dazzler nodded, smiling. "Definitely..._Flyboy!_" she teased, before she darted off, giggling. Laughing, Superman ran after her.

In less than a minute, Superman had caught up to Dazzler, and quickly lifted her into his arms, mercilessly tickling her, causing her to erupt in giggles. After a few minutes, Superman stopped, and set Dazzler down. Dazzler smiled up at her boyfriend, looking into his oh-so-impossibly blue eyes, the eyes of the man she _loved_, who always supported her and was there for her. "I love you, Clarkie." she cooed.

Superman – Clark – smiled, his powerful arms encircling her waist, causing her to sigh; his embrace always made her feel so safe. "I love you, too, Ali." he whispered, and he leaned down to her. Alison smiled, her eyes closing, as she stood up on her toes, anticipating his kiss...

"_Argh!!_"

The angry exclamation interrupted Clark and Alison's tender moment, as an angry Jean, in uniform, stormed by, followed by Cyclops. "Jean, wait! I didn't mean it like that!" Scott stammered.

"_Save_ it, Scott Summers!" Jean snapped. "Contrary to what you might think, I do _not_ need some 'big, strong man's' help, all the time!!" With that, she stormed off. Sighing, Cyclops headed off after her.

A bewildered Superman and Dazzler could only watch as their friends left. "Okay..." Superman said.

"What was _that_ about??" Dazzler exclaimed.

"Beats me." Superman replied. "We should probably go talk to them."

Dazzler smiled. "Damage-control?"

Superman smiled, nodding. "I'll go talk to Scott; something tells me that Jean doesn't want to hear from anyone with a Y-chromosome, for the moment."

Dazzler nodded. "Okay." she agreed. With that, they both headed after their friends.

Dazzler found Jean in her room, pacing angrily, in her street clothes. "Hey." Alison greeted. "Everything okay?"

"Oh, just _fine_," Jean said icily, before shouting into the wall, "unless you include having a chauvinist _jackass_ for a boyfriend!!"

Dazzler arched an eyebrow. "I'm guessing there's a story, here."

Jean sighed. "I was doing some one-on-one training with Amara in one of the lower Danger Room levels." she said.

Alison's eyes widened. "Aren't those a little dangerous?"

"I had kept the settings low." Jean replied. "Anyway, we were doing fine, until things started to get a bit hairy; I _could_ have handled things...until Mr. Macho shows up and 'saves the two damsels in distress'!!"

Alison lightly frowned. "He _said_ that?"

"Not in quite those words." Jean muttered. "He said something like, 'no need to thank me; that's what heroes do.'"

Alison frowned. "I'm surprised you didn't kick him, right there."

"I was honestly _tempted!_"

Alison looked worried. "But...you guys are still okay, right?"

Jean sighed. "I suppose...but I just don't want to deal with him, right now." she said. "I'm just going to hit the mall for a little while..." she smiled slyly, "...using Scott's car, of course."

Alison couldn't help but smile. "No-one would blame you." she said.

Jean lightly smiled. "Sorry if we wrecked yours and Clark's moment."

Alison shook her head. "Don't worry about it." she assured her friend. "Clark and I were going to go out to celebrate my passing the test."

"Congratulations!" Jean exclaimed, giving Alison a quick hug. "We all _knew_ you could do it!"

"Thanks!" Dazzler replied.

Jean lightly smiled. "I hope you and Clark enjoy your date." she said. "Right now, I'm just going to call Taryn and go hit the mall." With that, Jean headed off, heading downstairs. Sighing to herself, Dazzler went to find Clark.

Hopefully, things were better on his end.

Superman found Scott in his room, in his street clothes. "Hey, Scott." he greeted. "Everything okay?"

Scott grimaced. "I screwed up, Clark; _big_ time." he said.

"How so?"

Scott gulped. "I was just going to run a training simulation in the Danger Room – nothing _too_ dangerous – when I saw the monitors for one of the lower levels; Jean and Amara were there."

Superman's eyes widened. "Aren't those levels a bit dangerous?"

"That's what _I_ figured." Scott said. "I just figured I'd check things out, make sure things were okay."

"Sounds reasonable." Superman observed. "What went wrong?"

"When I got there, things were getting a little nutty." Scott continued. "When I saw Jean in danger, I...I panicked, and I blasted the training drones, before stopping the simulation."

"Okay."

Scott's grimace returned. "Jean...was mad that I'd interfered; she said that I thought that she couldn't handle it." he said. "What I'd said before...didn't help, either."

Superman arched an eyebrow. "And that was..?"

Scott gulped. "I'd said, 'No need to thank me; that's what heroes do'."

Superman slapped his forehead. "Scott...you _dumbass!_" he cried. "_Suicide!_ No _wonder_ Jean was angry!"

"I _know!_" Scott cried. "The minute I started to say it, part of my brain started screaming '_Abort! Abort!_' I _told_ you I was screwed!"

Just then, they heard a car start up, outside, and drove off...a _convertible_.

Superman grimaced. "I think she just swiped your wheels."

"Hey, I don't mind, right now." Scott said. "At the moment, I just need to lay _low_, until I can figure out a way to smooth things over with Jean; she can have one _scary_ temper, Clark."

"That might be a good idea." Superman said. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks." Scott replied. With that, Superman left, heading for his own room.

After donning his street clothes, his glasses and his image-inducer, completing his clumsy, nervous persona, Clark headed out of his room, into the corridor, meeting Alison, who was in her "incognito" outfit. "Ready?" Clark asked.

Alison smiled. "Ready!" she replied. Clark smiled, and extended his arm to her. Alison took it, and they headed off.

_Bayville Mall_

It hadn't taken Jean too long to get to the mall, and met Taryn there. After Jean had explained the situation to her friend, they had both went to the stores they'd needed to go to; Jean stopped by the music store to pick up the newest CD from her favorite group, and then picked up a pack of computer paper; her printer had run out, and there was a big essay coming up. She'd then gone with Taryn to the clothing store, to pick up the dress that Taryn had put on layaway for the annual Girls' Choice Sadie Hawkins Dance in the next month or two. After that, they had both headed to get a coffee.

"So, do you think you and Scott will be okay?" Taryn inquired, sipping her cappuccino.

Jean sighed. "Probably; we just need a little time to cool off, I guess." she said. She still _loved_ Scott, but she just couldn't deal with him, right now.

Taryn smiled. "_Good!_" she replied. "No matter _what_ he said, Scott's still _tons_ better than over half the guys in Bayville High!"

Jean had to smile in agreement. "True," she said, frowning, "but that doesn't change the fact that sometimes he can be so _stupid!_"

Taryn chuckled. "I guess when it comes to girls, _all_ guys are a little stupid!" she laughed. She sighed. "As loathe as we are to admit it, that's part of why we love them!"

Jean nodded, smiling. "Thanks for the talk, Taryn." she said.

Taryn smiled. "No problem, Jean!"

Not for the first time, Jean felt _horribly_ guilty about keeping her powers secret from her friend; she and Taryn had been friends ever since she'd come to Bayville, about five years ago. She'd always been Jean's best friend...

...next to a certain ruby-quartz-wearing boy, of course.

Part of Jean wanted to tell her friend her secret, to confide in her the biggest secret she had. She honestly felt that Taryn could handle it, would understand; Taryn was a sweet girl...if just a tiny bit spoiled.

Taryn smiled. "Did you hear about the latest Superman sighting?" she exclaimed.

Jean couldn't help but smile at her friend's infatuation with Clark – the Man of Steel – who had, a few days ago, rescued a medical supply-plane that had nearly been shot down over Afghanistan. "I think so." Jean replied, managing to keep the knowing smile off her face.

"He's so _awesome!_" Taryn gushed. "Why won't he _show_ himself? Why is he hiding?"

Jean shrugged. "Who knows?"

Taryn then checked her watch. "Sorry, Jean; gotta go." she said. "I hope you and Scott patch things up!"

Jean smiled. "Thanks!" she replied. "Later!" With that, Taryn headed off, and Jean headed for the parking lot, to head home...

"Hey, Jean! Wait up!"

Turning, Jean saw Amara and Tabitha run up to her. "Hey." Jean greeted. "Anything wrong?"

"We were hoping you could give us a lift back to the Institute." Amara said.

Tabitha chuckled. "We heard that you swiped Fearless' ride."

Jean chuckled. "I suppose I could give you a lift." she said. With that, the three of them headed to the parking lot, piled into the convertible, and drove off.

As they drove, Tabitha said, "Guys can be such _idiots_, sometimes."

Jean nodded. "They certainly _can_."

"And they can certainly be glory-hogs." Amara added.

"I hear you." Tabitha said. "I mean, _sure_, Clark does good stuff, and I'm sure he doesn't do it for the glory, but it still gets kinda old hearing about how Superman saves the day, again."

Suddenly, Amara pointed ahead of them, crying out, "_Look!_"

Jean quickly followed her finger...and spotted the black van, fleeing from police cars ahead of them. The van swerved into a sharp turn, as the police tried to follow, but missed the turn, careening into a dumpster.

Her eyes narrowing in determination, Jean quickly turned the car into a right turn, taking a road parallel to the one the van had taken...a road she _knew_ would turn onto the road the van was taking. "Jean!! What are you _doing?!_" Amara cried.

"Stopping the bad guys." Jean said. "Now, hang on!" With that, she gunned the engine, tearing down the street.

In seconds, they came out onto another street, the van just ahead of them; no-one else was on the road.

_Perfect_.

"Amara, use your flame-blasts to melt that van's tires." Jean instructed. "Tabitha, when they slow down, blast off the van's top as soon as they get into range."

Tabitha grinned. "Sure thing!"

"O-Okay." Amara agreed.

Jean accelerated, slowly catching up to the van. Amara took aim, firing a blast of pure flame at the back wheels on the van, superheating them and melting off the tires. The van started to slow down, getting closer to them; Tabitha charged up a few bombs and lobbed them onto the van's canopy as soon as it was in range, blasting a hole in it. At once, Jean used her TK to yank out the two criminals inside the van through the hole, using her telepathy to knock them out. Jean stopped the car, using her TK to hit the brakes on the van, stopping it, before setting the two crooks – drug dealers – in front of their van, and then drove off, leaving them to the police.

Once they were well out of sight, Jean stopped the car, to catch her breath. "_Whoa!_" Tabitha exclaimed. "Nice driving, Jean! Who'd have thought that Little Miss Perfect was such a maniac driver?"

Jean chuckled. "Thanks...I _think_." she said. "You two weren't so bad, yourselves." Then, she remembered what she'd seen in the minds of those two crooks before knocking them out. "We'd better head back to the Institute." she added. With that, she drove off, heading back towards the Institute.

_New York City_

The sun was just starting to set as Clark and Alison sipped their coffees, smiling at each other. It had been easy for Clark to fly them to New York, touching down in an empty alley. They'd gone for a nice walk in Central Park, before stopping at Alison's favorite coffee shop, enjoying the cool crispness of the February air, as well as the blazing orange light of the sunset.

Alison smiled. "This was a _great_ idea, Clarkie." she said. "The sunset is _beautiful_."

Clark smiled back. "I thought you might like it." he replied.

Alison giggled. "The _only_ thing better would have to be watching the sunrise at over 1000 feet."

Clark chuckled. "One of the perks of dating Superman, I guess." he said softly.

Alison smiled sweetly. "I have to share Superman with the whole world," she whispered, "but I'm content to keep Clark Kent all to _myself_."

Clark was smiling so much, he was surprised his face didn't cramp up.

Alison then looked worried. "But I hope that Scott and Jean work things out." she said.

"They will." Clark assured her. "Those two have been _crazy_ about each other for as long as I can remember. They'll work things out. This is just the first time that the 'respect' issue in their relationship came up, like it did for _us,_ a couple of months ago."

Alison nodded. "Yeah, I know!" she agreed. "I was _seriously_ mad at you, because I thought you didn't think I could handle the higher Danger Room settings, and I was also hurt that you doubted me."

Clark nodded sadly. "I'm really glad that we worked it out, soon, Ali." he said. "I don't think I could have stood you being angry with me for too long."

Alison lightly blushed, as her hand reached his, her fingers entwining comfortably with his own. "You needn't have worried." she cooed. "Angry or not, my heart was _yours_, the minute I saw you, again."

Clark smiled. "And I _do_ respect you, _taushi_." he said softly.

Alison sighed. "I'll _never_ get tired of you calling me that, _tausha_." she cooed. And with that, she leaned towards him, her eyes closing. Clark smiled, and leaned towards him, chuckling as Alison grasped his collar and pulled him the rest of the distance between their faces, to show him _just_ how delicious chocolate-laced mocha could be.

As their kiss ended, Clark smile warmly at the woman he loved...and then froze, as his hearing picked up a distress call. "_Uh-oh._"

Alison giggled, knowing that phrase all too well. "You'd better get going." she cooed. "I'll wait right here for you."

Clark grinned. "Have I told you lately how absolutely _wonderful_ you are?"

Alison giggled, her face taking an alluring rose color. "Not _lately_." she sweetly pouted.

"Well, you _are_." Clark said, punctuating the sentence with a quick kiss. "I'll be back soon, baby; I promise." With that, he hurried off, darting into an empty alley, before removing and hiding his clothes and inducer, revealing his uniform underneath, and then taking to the sky, flying off at top speeds, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

As Clark headed off, Alison smiled happily to herself; she _had_ to be the luckiest girl in the world...

Suddenly, her cell-phone started to ring, and she answered it. "Hello?"

"_Hello, my dearest Alison._"

Alison frowned, her good mood dispelled by _his_ voice as easily as thoughts of Clark could summon it. "What do you want, Shaw?"

The 20-year-old Shinobi Shaw chuckled on the other end of the line. "_Oh, not much. I was merely hoping that we could have dinner, tonight._"

Alison suppressed her disgust. "Didn't you hear? I already _have_ a boyfriend!"

"_So I've heard._" Shinobi said, his voice edged with disdain. "_Alison, my dear, you can't be **serious** about some **nobody**!_"

"_Don't_ talk about my sweetie that way!!" Alison snapped.

"_But honestly, what can this 'Kal' give you that I cannot?_" Shinobi asked. "_Next to my father, I am one of the wealthiest..._"

"_That's_ your problem, Shaw!" Alison snapped. "You always think that the world will revolve around _you_ if your wallet is big enough; that if you throw enough money around, everyone will bend over backwards for you!!"

Shinobi chuckled. "_That didn't stop you from going to dinner with me._"

Alison gritted her teeth, remembering the one time she'd gone on a date with him. "I dated you, Shaw, because I honestly thought that your cultured, gentlemanly _act_ was _real!_" she retorted. "Now, I _know_ better! Not only _that_, I'm _with_ someone; someone who's _better_ than you in _every_ conceivable way!"" She smiled wryly to herself, as she remembered putting him in his place after he'd tried to persuade her to come to _his_ place. "I suggest you stop calling me, Shaw, _and_ that you stop sending me all those e-mails; otherwise, I'll track you down, and kick you in _that_ place, just like I did before! And _this_ time, I'll be wearing _steel-toed boots!_" And with that, she hung up.

Alison sighed to herself. '_I can't believe I even dated that jerk._' she thought. It had been when she'd just started her career, when doors were opening for her; she'd been a little star-struck by the whole thing, and at how all sorts of hot guys were showing interest in little her. She'd quickly learned that most guys on that scene were absolute _jerks_...with Shinobi Shaw – the son of the richer-than-sin industrialist Sebastian Shaw – was the biggest jerk of them _all_; his lifestyle was disgustingly decadent, and he assumed that anything – and _anyone_ – was his to buy.

Well, not _her_. After realizing her mistake, Alison had tried to leave their date, but Shinobi had tried to coax her into coming back to his place...

...at which point, Alison had kicked him in the groin.

Suddenly, Alison overheard a radio bulletin, snapping her out of her recollection: "_...reports are coming in of five known drug dealers on the run from police; two have been chased to Bayville, while the other three are on the run in New York..._"

Alison stopped listening to the report as a black car streaked in front of the coffee shop...followed by four police cars. The crooks were heading down a side street...towards a populated area.

She had to do something.

Quickly, Alison zipped into an empty alley, shedding her own street clothes, revealing her own uniform underneath; like she'd once said, Clark's habits were rubbing off on her. After hiding her clothes, Dazzler concentrated, forming her hard-light board, and flew up out of sight, above the building-tops, and flew after the crooks. As she flew, she snapped open her communicator. "Dazzler calling Superman." she said. "I'm tracking three perps over New York; I may need backup."

"_I'm on my way._" Superman replied. With that, Dazzler shut off her communicator, and chased after the crooks.

Dazzler followed the car into a particularly nasty part of New York – one less-than-affectionately known as Hell's Kitchen. Dazzler kept the car in her sight as she followed it from above, out of sight. Suddenly, one of the crooks leaned out of the car window, opening fire at the police cars, causing the lead police car to swerve, blocking off the others, allowing the crooks to get away.

Her eyes narrowing, Dazzler formed a flare-blast, flew down a bit, and lobbed it in front of the getaway car; the flare erupted in a flash of light, blinding the crooks, causing the car to spin out of control...

...towards a little old lady on the sidewalk.

Dazzler gasped in horror, and tried to form a force-filed to protect the old lady, hoping it wasn't too late...

Suddenly, a powerful gust of gale-force wind picked up from nowhere, blowing the old lady out of the way, taking her well away from the car, which crashed into a building, at the spot she'd just been in. Confused but grateful, the old lady hurried off.

Dazzler breathed a relieved sigh, and lightly smiled as Superman hovered beside her. "Oops..." she said sheepishly.

Superman looked at her sternly. "Be more careful, next time, Ali." he said.

Just then, the three crooks got out of the wrecked car. "L-Let's get out of here!" he cried. "T-This is the _Devil's_ turf!!" With that, the three crooks started to run.

With expert aim, Superman unleashed a blast of his freeze-breath, coating the asphalt with ice, causing the last crook to slip and fall, out cold. Concentrating, Dazzler formed a hard-light wall in front of the second fleeing crook; the crook ran right into it, knocking himself out.

Only the last crook managed to escape into the nearby alley...as a blur of dark red darted above the alley.

Dazzler's eyes widened. "What was _that?_"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "I think I might know." he said. He flew towards the alley, floating above it, and Dazzler followed.

The last remaining crook ran through the alley, his eyes wide with fright, his breathing ragged, his heart racing. '_Oh man, Mikey and Jimmy are gone...the Devil got 'em...and he's gonna get me, too, I **know** it..._'

Suddenly, the crook heard _something_, and nearly jumped out of his _skin_, whirling around...and saw nothing. He turned back to run off...

...and was suddenly yanked right off his feet, dragged screaming straight up...to come face-to-face with _him_.

He was tall, his frame athletic, his entire body completely red, with only a jutting of human flesh at his chin and mouth – like an afterthought – and a belt around his waist, with his crazy billy-club-cable-shooter in his hand, the cable around his ankle, and red boots on his feet...to hide his cloven hooves, probably...and his _eyes_...

...his eyes were pure, glassy red, no iris or pupil whatsoever.

_It was the Devil himself._

"_Oh, God, don't hurt me!!_" the crook bawled.

"_Who put you up to this?!_" the Devil roared.

The crook whimpered. "I...I can't..."

The Devil snarled, and held him over the edge menacingly. "**_TELL ME!!!_**"

"It was the Kingpin!!" the crook cried, tears of fright streaming from his eyes. "He wanted this job taken care of quickly, 'cause he's got some new client coming in!"

"_Who?!_"

"I swear to God, I don't know!!!" the crook bawled. "All I know is that this new guy wanted some shipment of heavy-duty firepower; it's coming through Bayville, tomorrow night! That's all I know, I _swear!!!_"

The Devil's mouth twitched with disgust, as his fist slammed across the crook's jaw, knocking him out.

After knocking out the crook, Daredevil lowered him to the ground, for the police to find, flicking his wrist to release the cable of his modified billy-club, retracting the cable and clipping the club to his belt. His job finished, he turned to go...and stopped.

_Someone else was here._

He could _feel_ them; a regular sound was pulsing through his enhanced senses. His world was dark, illuminated by the sounds around him. '_Heartbeats._' Daredevil thought, tracking the regular pulses of blue-silver illumination that rippled his "second sight." '_There's **two** of them...and they're fliers; they're right above my heads...wait._' Daredevil paused. '_One heartbeat is normal, but the other one...the pulse-pattern...it's all **wrong**..._'

Daredevil looked up, his senses now perceiving his 'guests'; one was a man, and a powerfully-built one, judging from the silhouette his senses were picking up, and he was _floating_ there, in the air; it was _his_ heartbeat that was different – it was regular, but its pattern was _nothing_ like that of a regular human's. The other was a young woman, and she was also flying..._no_, she was standing on something, judging by her stance, as his senses picked up something beneath her feet; it barely registered with him, but it was there.

"Daredevil." the man said. "Spider-Man said that you patrolled this neighborhood; hope you don't mind us on your turf."

Under his cowl, Daredevil blinked...and then that statement registered with him. "Word is that Spider-Man has a friend in high places," he said, "and I'm guessing that's _you_..._Superman._"

The silhouette nodded. "We managed to get the other two criminals." he said.

Daredevil's eyes narrowed behind his cowl. "If you're expecting a 'good job,' don't hold your breath." he growled; this 'Superman' was just a _kid_...just like Spider-Man.

Superman didn't even bat an eye, judging from his heart-rate. "There's an arms shipment coming through Bayville, is there?"

Daredevil nodded. "I'll have to pay Fisk's goons a little _visit_." he said; he'd been _waiting_ for the Kingpin to make a move.

"Need any backup?" the girl asked.

Daredevil frowned. "I work _alone_." he snapped. "Stay out of my way." With that, he darted off, running across the rooftops, leaping from one roof to the next, until he was _certain_ that he hadn't been followed.

Superman and the girl weren't following him.

Changing direction, Daredevil headed for an old clock tower, using his cable to climb to the highest level, standing before the massive steel door with three combination locks in it. Reaching out, Daredevil spun them all at once, listening, and then stopping each one as it clicked, before opening the door, and closing it behind him.

He was home.

Alone, Matthew "Matt" Murdock removed his cowl, before hanging it up, and then hanging up his belt and billy-club, before changing out of his costume, to take a long shower, to soothe his aching muscles.

He'd been doing this for a while, now...and it didn't get any easier.

As the hot water soothed him, Matt frowned, his sightless eyes narrowing. He _finally_ had a chance to strike at the Kingpin, the man who'd taken his sight...and his father.

Matt had lost his sight as a child, from a leaky vat of radioactive waste that Fisk had been moving illegally through Hell's Kitchen; it had taken his sight...and super-enhanced all his other senses. Then, when his father, the boxer Jack "The Devil" Murdock, had refused to throw a fight...Fisk had him killed.

That was why Matt fought criminals as a lawyer during the day...and as Daredevil during the night.

Getting out of the shower, Matt headed for the specially-constructed vat of Epsom-salt-water that he slept in, to take a brief nap before starting his nightly patrol.

Crime never slept...and neither did he.

Superman and Dazzler could only watch as Daredevil darted off. "So...that's Daredevil." Superman commented.

Dazzler frowned. "Nice guy."

"Yeah; Spider-Man said that he was an...'acquired taste'."

Dazzler lightly chuckled, before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about that mishap." she said. "I guess I still have more training to do."

Superman lightly smiled. "Well, no-one was hurt, so no harm done."

Dazzler nodded. "I guess you're going to check out that arms deal, tomorrow night." she said. She chuckled. "Won't Daredevil be surprised!"

Superman nodded, smiling...before he froze. "_Uh-oh_."

Dazzler smiled. "Trouble again?" she asked.

Superman nodded. "Sorry."

Dazzler shook her head, before kissing him on the cheek. "Don't worry about it." she said. "Just get going; I can catch the bus home!" Superman smiled, and then took off at top speeds, as Dazzler flew her light-board back to the alley near the coffee shop, to pick up her clothes and go home.

By the time Jean, Amara and Tabitha had returned to the Institute, it was very early in the evening. Jean had time to think on the drive back to the Institute...

...enough to get an idea.

After parking Scott's car, Jean quickly sent a telepathic message to Rogue and Kitty, telling them to meet them in the living room, which was thankfully empty. Once they were all there, Jean simply popped a DVD into the DVD player, and sat down to watch. '_Everyone sit and watch, so no-one gets suspicious._' she sent to them.

Confused, the other girls complied. '_Why are we talking like this?_' Rogue thought.

'_So Clark doesn't hear us._' Jean answered.

Kitty blinked. '_Why don't we want him to hear us?_' At that, Jean quickly informed the others of what she'd discerned: there were two arms shipments coming through Bayville – a large one, tomorrow night...and a smaller one _tonight_.

After Jean had finished, Amara thought, '_Shouldn't we tell Clark?_'

Jean shook her head. '_Clark's hopelessly honest; if we told him about it, we'd also have to tell him **how** we found out...at which point he'd be obligated to tell the Professor._' she sent to them. Smiling slyly, she added, '_Besides, I thought **we** could handle this one._'

Tabitha lightly grinned. '_So, what's the plan?_'

Kitty's eyes widened. '_Wait...we're actually **doing** this?!_'

Rogue shrugged. '_I'm in._'

Amara nodded. '_Okay._'

Jean turned to Kitty. '_What do you say?_'

'_O...Okay._' Kitty agreed.

'_Good._' Jean sent to them. '_Now, here's what we'll do..._'

Night had fallen over the warehouse district of Bayville, and a calm silence had fallen over one warehouse...which was broken by the sound of engines.

Several black vans pulled up to the warehouse, stopping as numerous armed men got out, several of them opening the back doors of their vehicles...revealing numerous heavy-looking crates.

"Okay, guys, we gotta make this quick." the leader said. "The boss wants this stuff moved in as soon as possible, on account of the rest comin' in tomorrow night, on the other side of the district." At that, the criminals got to work, lifting up the crates and starting to move them into the warehouse.

Suddenly, two crooks stopped in mid-carry, as a single, small glowing sphere rolled in front of them. The criminals looked at the sphere in confusion...

_Pop!_

The sphere exploded in a loud burst, startling the crooks and forcing them to drop their crate, which crashed on the ground, spilling its contents – high-powered rifles – onto the street.

At that moment, streams of pure flame streamed in from the darkness, setting the crates ablaze. The crooks let out a yell, and ran to put out the fires consuming their contraband cargo; they managed to extinguish the flames, but the weapons were damaged beyond repair.

As the criminals looked at their cargo in despair, an unseen force suddenly yanked their firearms from their hands, tossing them aside. "_What the hell is goin' on?!_" the leader yelled...and then he saw them.

Five figures – five girls – standing at the edge of the shadows. One had darker skin, and long brown hair, clad in black leather pants and a black halter-top. One had light skin, with mid-length white-streaked auburn hair, wearing black pants and a black jacket. One had mid-length blond hair, in black pants and a black backless halter-top. One had long brown hair tied in a ponytail, in a black halter-top and black pants. And one had long red hair, clad in a black vest and black pants. All five were wearing black shades.

_They_ had done this.

Enraged, the criminals ran at the five, murder in their eyes. As two closed on her, the redhead whirled into a spin-kick, taking out one, and then following with a foot-sweep, taking out the other.

The blonde backed away from the three crooks that were closing on her...before she grinned, holding out a handful of glowing spheres, before tossing them at the crooks; the bursts temporarily blinded them, allowing her to take them out with ease.

The pony-tailed brunette ran at one crook...and seemed to go right _through_ him, before leaping towards a wall, and then leaping off of it, tackling him and knocking him out.

The dark-skinned girl's eyes narrowed, as she pointed at two criminals, unleashing blasts of flame, sending them running.

The auburn-haired girl slammed one criminal with a side-kick, before getting a second with a back-kick, and then finishing with a split-kick, taking out two more.

By then, the gun-runners had decided enough was enough, and ran for their vehicles, piling inside and starting the ignition...and then the pony-tailed girl ran _through_ the engines, shorting them out, somehow. Then, as police sirens began to echo in the distance, the five girls slipped away, leaving them to their fate.

As they darted away, to watch the police arrest the gun-runners from a distance, Jean felt a surge of triumph. '_Well, **those** weapons won't be seeing the light of day._' she thought.

"That was _awesome!_" Kitty exclaimed.

Tabitha grinned. "We _rock!_"

Jean smiled, and then her expression turned a bit grave. "This was a good start," she agreed, "but there are probably _plenty_ more criminals out there."

Rogue smirked. "Then whah don't we go teach 'em a lesson?"

Amara nodded. "So...what should we call ourselves?"

Jean smiled. "How about...'the Bayville Sirens'?" she suggested, and the others all nodded. "Let's go!" With that, they darted into the night, to find more crimes to stop.

It was very early in the morning when Deadpool got the call. Granted, he wasn't too thrilled at having to come in at this hour...

...but when the Kingpin himself told you to report in, you didn't say no.

Deadpool had quickly reported to the high-tech office that was the hub of the Kingpin's criminal empire, and stood in front of the desk where the big man himself sat. "I understand that you were involved in a small debacle, some short time ago, Mr. Wilson." he said.

"Yeah...I admit it, I goofed." Deadpool said, as he remembered how those freak kids – and Superman – had made a mess of his job with that weirdo Mesmero.

Fortunately, he'd demanded a deposit on that job.

"Indeed." Fisk said. "I have just heard of another such debacle, involving a shipment of mine."

"Ouch."

"Yes." Fisk agreed. "I have another such shipment coming in, this coming night, and I require some...protection for my investment."

Under his mask, Deadpool grinned. "Is that right?"

Fisk nodded, smiling. "I assure you, you will be well compensated for your time."

Deadpool chuckled. "Consider your stuff safe, big guy!" he laughed.

The Kingpin smirked. "I appreciate the sentiment, Mr. Wilson, but I am afraid that I require more than your services alone." he said. "On this assignment, you will have assistance."

It was at this point that Deadpool noticed someone else standing in the shadows...who walked into view.

He was fairly tall, and of athletic build, his head completely bald, with a target-reticule-shaped tattoo in the middle of his forehead, and a thin beard around his mouth, and cold blue eyes, clad in a black overcoat and black pants.

'_Bullseye._' Deadpool thought. '_Terrific._'

The assassin known only as Bullseye smirked, walking fully into view. "I think I can give ol' Wadey a hand." he said, his voice having an Irish accent.

"Good." the Kingpin said. His tone turned cold. "Do not fail."

Deadpool nodded. "We won't, boss." he said. "Anyone tries anything, we'll stick it to 'em good."

It was Saturday morning at the Institute when Superman returned from his patrol. After changing in his room, Clark headed down to the kitchen, where the others were having breakfast...all except Scott and Alison. Scott, he knew, was avoiding Jean for the time being, but as for Ali, he didn't know.

"Hey, CK." Evan greeted. "Busy night?"

Clark shrugged. "A little."

Kitty giggled. "Crime-fighting sure can be strenuous, huh?" That statement earned a giggle from Amara and a knowing smile from Tabitha.

Clark arched an eyebrow, and was about to ask what on earth that was about, when Bobby spoke up. "Hey, did you guys hear? A whole bunch of crimes got busted up by a group of vigilantes calling themselves the 'Bayville Sirens,' last night!"

"Yeah, I know!" Jubilee agreed. "Hey, Clark, did you see them, last night?"

Clark shook his head. "Sorry; I was mostly over Europe and Asia, last night; there were a few incidents that I had to help with." he replied. "Hey, has anyone seen Ali?"

As if on cue, Alison walked into the kitchen, in her blue bathrobe, holding a heart-shaped box of chocolates, a frown on her face. "Wow, Clark, chocolates?" Kitty exclaimed. "_You_ sure know how to treat a girl right!"

Alison smiled weakly. "If _only_ these were from Clark, Kitty." she explained. Frowning, she added, "_These_ are from Shinobi Shaw, an ex-date of mine who can't seem to take a _hint!_ _God_, first he calls me, yesterday, and now _this?!_" Her eyes narrowed. "If he thinks a few dumb candies are going to win me over, he's even _dumber_ than I thought!"

Clark suppressed a sheepish smile; he remembered accidentally overhearing part of that cell-phone conversation. At the time, it had made his blood start to boil, to think of his precious _taushi_ being mistreated by someone like that...and he had been _proud_ to hear how she'd handled herself. "I'll just go ask Scott if he wants anything." Clark said...noting the light frown on Jean's face at the mention of Scott's name.

She was still a little mad.

"Good idea." Alison said. Chuckling, she handed the box of candies to Roberto. "Don't say I never gave you anything, DeCosta." she quipped.

Chuckling, Clark excused himself, to check on his teammate...and stopped as he realized that Alison had followed him. "Clarkie," she said sweetly, a knowing smile on her face, "when Shaw called me, yesterday...were you listening in on me?"

Clark's face _had_ to be as red as his cape. "Uh...well...a little." he admitted. "But it wasn't on purpose! I was just checking the emergency frequencies when I happened to hear your voice...and then I heard that guy Shaw's voice..."

Alison smiled, and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Then you know what I said to him." she cooed. "Clark, he's _nothing_ compared to you; he's just a spoiled, chauvinistic _creep_." She smiled at him lovingly. "I love _you_, _tausha_."

Clark smiled. "I know that, _taushi_." he said. Frowning, he added, "It just makes me mad to actually think of someone like him mistreating you. You deserve _so_ much better than someone like him."

Now it was _Alison's_ turn to blush. "Well, I _did_ give him a swift kick when he started acting up."

Clark chuckled. "I would have given _anything_ to see that!" he chuckled. His expression saddened. "I just wished I could have met you again _sooner_, Ali."

Alison lightly chuckled. "Maybe it's for the best that we reunited when we did." she cooed. "I would have _loved_ to date you a year ago, Clarkie, but I think I would've been _terrified_ if you'd asked me out, back then." She smiled. "I'm just happy to be with you, _now_."

Clark smiled. "Me, too, Ali." he said, and he embraced her, holding her close, savoring her happy sigh. Looking down, he saw that the hem of her robe had slightly loosened, revealing the creamy skin of her swan-like neck, as well as the blue strap of her sleepwear over her shoulder. Clark leaned down, and placed a gentle kiss upon the side of her throat.

Alison lightly gasped with pleasure. "_Wow_, Clarkie," she cooed, "Kitty was _right_; you _do_ know how to treat a girl."

Clark lightly smiled. "I just wish I _could_ give you chocolates, _taushi_." he said. "As an intern at the Bugle, with a boss as tight as JJ, my salary is practically nonexistent."

Alison giggled, sweetly kissing the tip of his nose. "You big blue _goof_." she teased. "You've already given me the _best_ gift of all; something that Shinobi Shaw – with all his money – can't give me." Her eyes shone at her next words.

"_Love._"

Clark smiled, and leaned down to his _taushi_, to capture her lips with his own...

...when his hearing picked something up.

Clark must have groaned out loud, judging from Alison's giggle. He chuckled. "I must have the _worst_ sense of timing!" he joked.

Alison laughed. "Probably!" she teased. "But that's one of the many reasons why I love you." She smiled. "I guess you'll be helping Daredevil, tonight?"

Clark nodded. "As much as I'd love having a crime-fighting partner as lovely as you, Ali, you might want to sit this one out; these guys are going to be moving some high-powered weapons..."

"Don't worry, Clark." Alison assured him. "After that little mess-up, yesterday, I think – at least for now – I'll leave the crime-fighting to _you_."

Clark smiled. "Thanks for understanding."

"Don't worry...now get going!" Alison laughed. Chuckling, Clark darted into his room, shedding his clothes, clad in his uniform once more, and then darting to the nearest window, opening it, and flying off at top speeds.

The sun was just beginning to set by the time Scott ventured out of his room. He'd spent the entire day working on his upcoming English paper...

...which also served as the perfect excuse to stay out of Jean's way.

Coming down into the living room, Scott saw that no-one else was there; the New Mutants – most of them, at least – were off doing other things, and Jean had gone out...as well as Amara, Tabitha, Kitty and Rogue, which Scott found a bit odd.

Shrugging, Scott sat down to watch some TV, as well as think of a way to make up with Jean...

...when he saw it.

It was a video clip of those vigilantes, the Bayville Sirens, caught on tape as they fled the scene. The image was slightly blurred...

...but the ruby-red hair of one of the Sirens was unmistakable.

Scott quickly hurried out of the living room, meeting Kurt just as he was coming back into the Institute, returning from his date with Amanda. "Kurt, I need your help." Scott said.

"Vat happened?" Kurt inquired.

"Suit up and meet me outside, Kurt; I'll explain on the way." Scott replied. With that, they both hurried off, to help their friends.

Alone in her room, Alison was sitting at her computer, checking her e-mail; thankfully, all her new messages were from her fans. Absently, she clicked on MSN News...

...and saw the video clip of the Sirens.

Alison's eyes widened in horrified recognition. '_Jean, Kitty, Rogue, Amara and Tabitha are the Sirens...and they're probably going to go after that arms shipment! The one that Clark and Daredevil are going after!_' she thought. Her friends could be walking into a war-zone...

She had to tell Clark.

Quickly, Alison suited up, before forming her hard-light board and flying off, hoping she had enough energy to get there.

She hoped she wasn't too late.

As the darkness of night fell over Bayville, Daredevil crouched on the rooftop overlooking the warehouse where the deal was to take place. His brow furrowed as his senses probed through the warehouse's walls. '_There's a good twenty guys in there, all with access to heavy firepower...this is gonna be tricky..._'

Suddenly, his senses caught another sound; a heartbeat...but it was like no heartbeat he'd ever heard before...except for _one_ time...

"Need any help?"

Daredevil softly cursed under his breath as Superman touched down. "Didn't you hear me, kid?" he snapped. "I work _alone_."

"Well, since you were in _my_ neck of the woods, I figured I'd do the neighborly thing and help you out." Superman replied. "Looks a bit tricky, in there."

"I know." Daredevil muttered. "Twenty guys, all with access to high-powered weapons."

"I counted twenty-_two_." Superman corrected. "Two of them aren't your regular crooks. I recognize one of them – Deadpool – but the other's new; he's in a black overcoat, all bald..."

Behind his cowl, Daredevil arched an eyebrow. "...and a targeting symbol tattooed on his head?"

"How did you know?"

"_Bullseye._" Daredevil said, his voice edged with ice. "We've met." '_And I damn near lost the woman I loved because of him._'

"I see." Superman said. "Is he dangerous?"

"He's one of the deadliest assassins in the business." Daredevil muttered. "He can kill _anyone_ with _any_ thrown object."

Daredevil could _hear_ the frown in Superman's voice. "Great."

Suddenly, Daredevil's senses picked up _another_ heartbeat; this one was normal. Seconds later, his hearing revealed the glowing echo-outline of a young woman hovering in the air, standing on some kind of board.

It was the same girl from yesterday.

"Dazzler?" Superman said. "What are you doing here?"

"The Bayville Sirens are our friends, Superman!" the girl – Dazzler – exclaimed. "They're Jean, Kit, 'Mara, Rogue, and Tabby! They're probably going after the same crooks _you_ guys are!"

Daredevil's eyes narrowed as his senses picked up the sounds of conflict coming from inside the warehouse. "Sounds like they're here." he muttered.

Superman nodded. "We'd better get moving; they have no idea what they're in for." he said. Daredevil nodded reluctantly, before firing his cable, swinging towards the warehouse, followed by Superman and Dazzler.

Inside the warehouse, the Kingpin's hired goons were busy unloading the crates of weaponry, as Deadpool and Bullseye looked on. Bullseye scoffed. "This is stupid. Why are we gettin' paid to babysit a bunch o' chumps?"

Deadpool chuckled. "Hey, money's money!"

Suddenly, several small glowing spheres rolled into view near one crate...and exploded, sending high-tech rifles flying everywhere. Deadpool whirled around. "_What the fu..?!_"

Seconds later, blasts of flame streaked in from the shadows, setting numerous crates ablaze, sending the goons into a panic. "_Can it, ya wankers!_" Bullseye cursed. "Someone get the fire-extinguishers!"

As several workers ran for the extinguishers, an unseen force lifted them up into the air, before slamming them into each other, knocking them out. Scared, the rest of the workers ran for it, leaving the two of them to deal with this. Deadpool snarled, and drew his machine-gun...as five teenage girls, all in black, walked into view.

The "Bayville Sirens."

Deadpool took aim at them, his eyes narrowing, as he recognized some of them. "Still sticking your noses in other people's business, huh?" he snarled. "_Not this time!!_" With that, he opened fire.

The redhead raised her hand, forming some kind of shield in front of her, which repelled all of Deadpool's bullets. At that, Bullseye grinned, before pulling out a handful of throwing-stars, and throwing them at an angle...causing them to ricochet _around_ the shield...

...only to be blasted away by a red beam, seemingly coming from nowhere.

Cackling like a maniac, Deadpool opened fire again, peppering the spaces the Sirens had been with bullets. As he quickly reloaded, the pony-tailed brunette ran at him, grabbed the barrel of the gun...and somehow made it slip right out of his hand, as she tossed it aside. Snarling, Deadpool drew his knife to slash at her...but she just passed right through him.

Bullseye had taken notice, and threw a handful of throwing-stars at her, causing her to dodge them, messing up her counter-attack. Bullseye grinned, and readied another barrage...

...when a cable with a heavy grappling-tip lanced in at him, knocking him back.

Bullseye staggered back, momentarily dazed as a figure in red dropped from the ceiling. "Fisk doesn't pay you enough for what I'm about to do to you, Bullseye." he growled.

Bullseye's face twisted in fury. "Killing _you_, Devil, is something I'd do for _free!!_" With that, he let fly a barrage of throwing-blades...

Suddenly, a sonic boom echoed overhead, as Superman dropped through the skylight, landing effortlessly, Bullseye's blades bouncing off his chest harmlessly.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to throw things at people?"

Bullseye's eyes widened in surprise...before they narrowed in pure _rage_. "_You...made...me...MISS!!!!_"

Deadpool was _just_ as steamed as Bullseye at the sight of Superman. "_YOU!!_" he snarled. "Bet you thought it was pretty _funny_, watching me scorch my hands on my own grenades, eh, Boy Scout?!" He quickly drew a grenade, and pulled the pin. "That ain't happening, _this_ time!!" With that, he lobbed the grenade at Superman...

...only to have it hit a shimmery force-field that had just appeared, to come _flying back towards him._

Deadpool's eyes widened in horror. "_Oh...FUCK!!!_"

Deadpool only had enough time to dive out of the way of his own weapon, which blasted a hole in the warehouse wall. At that, he heard a feminine giggle, as a blonde-haired teenage girl in a silver uniform stepped into view. "Superman just _said_ not to throw things." she said. "Weren't you listening?"

Deadpool snarled, drawing another firearm. '_The Devil's right...I ain't gettin' **paid** enough for this..._'

Superman's eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation; if those burning crates weren't contained, the fire could spread. "Dazzler, use your force-fields to smother those flames!" he instructed. Dazzler nodded, and generated a force-field around several burning crates, depriving the flames of oxygen.

By then, Jean and the others had recovered enough to realize what they were doing; Jean quickly formed a telekinetic shield-bubble around Dazzler, giving Superman the opportunity to use his freeze-breath to extinguish the rest of the flames.

Snarling in fury, Bullseye picked up a few sharp pieces of wood, and threw them at Superman...but Daredevil intercepted the attack, using his billy-club to deflect each and every one, before closing on Bullseye and slamming him with a haymaker-punch, knocking him back...right into the waiting hand of Rogue, whose bare hand instantly drained the assassin, knocking him out.

By then, Deadpool had started to rummage through some of the wrecked crates...and found a flamethrower. His eyes glistening with mad glee, he strapped on its pack, took aim at Kitty and Amara, and fired a constant stream of flame at them...causing them to fizzle into nothingness.

Deadpool was confused...until a beam of light sent him flying, as Dazzler chuckled, standing next to the _real_ Kitty and Amara. Deadpool growled in fury, and pulled the trigger...but nothing happened.

The fuel line to the flamethrower had been pulled, as a cloud of brimstone lingered where he'd just been.

Amara darted over to Deadpool, lightly igniting the pack, forcing him to remove it, and stamp on it to put out the fire...giving Kitty enough time to grab the rest of his weapons and phase them off of him.

After Deadpool had extinguished the flames, he noticed that he was standing in a small field of glowing spheres.

Tabitha laughed as her bombs started to go off, causing the mercenary to start hopping around like a character in an old western movie whose feet were being shot at. Once all the blasts had gone off, Deadpool fell, out cold.

By then, police sirens had started to sound, and Superman knew that they had to go. "Well, it was nice working with you, Dare...devil?"

Daredevil was gone; he'd left without a sound. At that, Superman, Dazzler, and the others promptly left the warehouse, leaving things to the police.

Superman, Dazzler, and the "Sirens" had regrouped on a rooftop. Superman frowned, his arms folding as he looked at his friends. "What exactly were you five _doing_ in there?" he said sternly.

Jean frowned. "The same thing _you_ do."

"Yeah!" Tabitha agreed. "_You_ go out every night and bust a few heads! Why can't _we?_"

"Here's _one_ good reason." Superman countered. "I'm _bulletproof_, Tabitha. When I fight crime, I have a little less to worry about than you do." He looked to Jean. "Can you _honestly_ say that you can cover the others from gunfire _all_ the time, Jean? You – _all_ of you – could have been _seriously_ hurt. Is _that_ what you want?"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "If you wanted to fight crime because you wanted to make a _difference_, that's a different issue altogether." he continued. "But if you did this just to prove a point...that's just plain _stupid_. None of you needs to earn anyone's respect at the Institute; you've always _had_ it," he glanced to Jean, "from _everyone_."

Dazzler nodded. "The only reason _I_ came out here was to warn Kal that you guys might show up." she agreed. "I'm not in any hurry to try this stuff again."

The five Sirens looked thoughtful at those words. "Are...you going to tell the Professor?" Kitty asked.

Superman's expression was neutral. "I don't think it's my place to tell him." he said. "I'll let _you_ decide whether or not to tell him...provided that tonight was the _last_ appearance of 'the Bayville Sirens'."

Jean nodded. "That's fair." she said.

Superman smiled. "Let's go home, then." he said. With that, he took to the air, as Dazzler generated her light-board, and the others headed down to their vehicle, to head back to the Institute.

It was nearly midnight when Wilson Fisk got the news; he was meeting with his buyer, hoping to inform him that his merchandise was safe and sound.

"I've just received word of the operation." he told his client. "There was another...incident. The merchandise has either been destroyed or confiscated." He sighed. "I am truly sorry for this, Mr. Shaw. I assure you, these kinds of failures are _not_ tolerated in my organization."

Sebastian Hiram Shaw – CEO of Shaw International – smiled calmly. Sebastian was tall and lean, in his late forties, his black hair kept tied back, his green eyes glinting with cold mirth. He was wearing black pants under a dark purple overcoat, with a white silk shirt underneath it. Sebastian calmly sipped his glass of wine. "There's no need to get too upset, Mr. Fisk." he replied. "These things do happen."

Wilson lightly smiled. "I hope this will not affect any future dealings of ours."

"Of course not." Sebastian said. "I still trust your organization; tonight was an unfortunate mishap, through no fault of yours."

"I appreciate your understanding." Wilson answered.

Sebastian lightly nodded. "Handling employees is like raising children, at times; you must have both discipline and compassion to get the best results." he commented. He got up. "I am afraid that I must be on my way; I have my own matters to attend to." He turned to go, heading out of the Kingpin's office, and into the elevator, heading down to the ground floor, before heading outside, and into his waiting limo.

As the limo drove off, Sebastian heard his cell phone ring, and took it out. "Hello?"

"_Shaw._"

Sebastian lightly smiled. "Ah, Victor," he greeted Dr. Doom, "things are well, I trust?"

"_Did the exchange proceed as planned?_"

Sebastian smiled wryly. "_Perfectly_, my friend." he answered. "Mr. Creed and his associates purchased the components, as expected; I must say, it was one of the most lucrative deals I've ever made."

"_Excellent._" Dr. Doom said.

Sebastian chuckled. "But what intrigues me the most is what you've told me of this 'Superman'. Truth be told, I'd dismissed him as mere myth, until now. And he's an _alien_, you say? _Most_ intriguing; what was his name, again?"

"_Kal-El._"

Sebastian nodded. "I see." he said. "Well, once your scheme is carried out, perhaps the Hellfire Club and its Inner Circle will take an interest in him."

"_As you wish._" Doom replied. "_If your assistance is required again, I will contact you._" With that, he hung up.

Sebastian smirked to himself, putting his phone away. '_So, he's destined to lead our race, is he? Interesting._' he thought. In truth, Sebastian was a mutant, as was his son, and the rest of the Inner Circle. His own ability allowed him to absorb many forms of energy that were used against him. Under the right circumstances, it was quite useful.

But it was as _nothing_ compared to the power of that 'Superman,' Sebastian had to admit. He would undoubtedly be a formidable foe, if it ever came to that.

But in battle, it was not the mightiest who gained victory, but the _smartest_.

Still, it was easy to see why Doom and his associate wanted to enlist Kal-El in their cause. '_With him at our side...the Inner Circle could dominate the world in **days**._' Sebastian mused. '_Possibly **less**._'

He knew he would have to one day step down as the leader of the Circle – the Lord Imperial – and he would need a successor. His own son was unsuitable; his decadence repulsed Sebastian – Shinobi was unsuited to lead. But Kal-El...

Sebastian smiled to himself. '_Interesting, indeed._' he thought. Then, he simply sat back, as his limo took him home.

It was late at night by the time Rogue and the others had gotten home. Thankfully, the rest of the Institute's residents were sound asleep. Rogue snuck up the stairs, heading for her and Kitty's room, as Kitty had stopped at the bathroom. She reached for the door...

"Busy night, _chere?_"

Startled, Rogue whirled around, to see the red-on-black eyes of Remy LeBeau, as he casually leaned against the wall. "_Gawd_, Swamp-Rat, ya scared the livin' _daylights_ outta meh!"

"_Desole, cherie._" Remy replied. "It's jus' dat Remy couldn' 'elp but notice dat y' be comin' in pretty late...which wouldn' be _too_ strange, norm'ly, but when y' add in dat outfit...Remy be t'inkin dat a certain _jolie_ _fille_ been up t' somet'ing...wit' four other _filles_."

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Are ya gonna rat on meh?"

Remy arched an eyebrow. "Remy ain' no snitch, chere; 'e ain' gon' spill de beans on y'...provided dat y' consider Remy's request."

'_Oh, **Gawd**._' Rogue thought. "What do ya want, Swamp-Rat?"

Remy grinned. "One date." Remy said. "Next week. Y' get t' choose what we do; jus' as long as Remy get t' spend an evenin' wit' y', 'e be 'appy."

Rogue's eyes narrowed. Sighing, Remy added, "An' if y' still don' like Remy after de date, Remy swears, on de 'onor o' de T'ieves Guild, 'e won' ever bother y' again."

Rogue sighed. "_Fahne._"

Remy grinned. "_Merci, mon cherie._" he said, and he headed off.

Groaning, Rogue went into her room, and flopped face-down on her bed. '_How do Ah get mahself into these messes?_' she inwardly lamented. She closed her eyes, trying to get a little sleep...

...but it was difficult...due to a fluttering in her stomach that she just was too tired to explain.

It was midnight when Jean, in her nightgown, decided to get a little snack before turning in. She walked into the kitchen, opening the freezer and taking out a carton of Cookie Dough ice-cream; it was her and Scott's favorite, ever since they'd been kids.

Suddenly, Jean paused...and smiled, despite herself. "You can come out, now, Scott."

Slowly, Scott, in his sleeveless t-shirt and shorts, stepped into view. "I...was just going to get a snack."

Jean arched an eyebrow. "What's stopping you?"

Scott didn't answer.

Jean sighed, lightly smiling. "You can help us at the warehouse, but you can't have a snack with me?"

Scott's face went neutral; his perfect poker face was a trait Jean had long envied. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jean chuckled. "_Sure._" she said. Frowning, she added, "I admit, at the warehouse, we _did_ need your and Kurt's help, but yesterday, I really _could_ have handled things myself!" Calming, she added, "It was the thought of you not respecting me enough to trust me that got me mad."

Scott frowned. "Well, _excuse_ me for not wanting to lose anyone _else_ I love on that stupid day." he muttered.

Jean froze. "_What_ did you say?" she murmured.

Scott froze, his face going neutral again. "Nothing."

Jean wasn't about to let that go. "Scott...who did you lose, yesterday?"

Scott's face looked pained. "_Don't._"

"The only people I ever knew you lost were...your..." Jean said...and she gasped. "Oh my God...Scott...yesterday...was the day your parents died, wasn't it?"

Scott's automatic flinch told it all.

Jean felt tears start to burn in her eyes, and she got up and hugged him tight. "You big _idiot_," she whispered, "why didn't you _tell_ me?"

Scott's voice _echoed_ with pain. "Because I've always tried to _forget_ that stupid day." he murmured, as he hugged her. "But when I saw you and Amara, yesterday, Jean, I...I _freaked_. I saw it all again; I saw my parents try to save Alex and I, and I was just a stupid little kid who just _let it happen..!!_"

Jean hugged the man she loved tighter. "Scott...there was _nothing_ you could have done."

"But that wasn't the case, yesterday." Scott whispered. "_This_ time, I _could_ do something, and I _did_." He grimaced. "And then I screwed it all up."

Now Jean felt _incredibly_ guilty for wigging out on Scott like she had; she understood, now – she understood _completely_. She gave him a tiny kiss on his cheek, smiling lightly. "How did we ever let this happen?"

Scott lightly smiled. "Well, I don't know about you, Jean," he said, "but I have it on good authority that I'm a dumbass."

Jean laughed. "Yeah, you are!" she teased. "Now _kiss_ me, dumbass." Scott grinned, and leaned down to meet her lips with his own.

After a few wonderful minutes, their kiss ended. "So...are we okay?" Scott asked.

Jean smiled. '_What do you think?_' she sent to him.

Scott smiled. '_So, what was it like being a vigilante?_'

Jean chuckled. '_It was nice, using our powers to do good, even though our reasons **sucked**._' she sent back. '_For now, at least, I think I'll leave the super-hero business to Clark._' She smiled. '_Pull up a chair, handsome, and I'll tell you more._' Smiling, Scott got a bowl, and sat down across from Jean, as they each took a few scoops of ice-cream, and started to talk.

_Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. Between university and trying to find a job, I haven't had much time. Hopefully, I should have more time, this week._

_Coming Soon:_

_Wolverine's past comes back to haunt him, as an old friend needs his help…_

_As the Master of Magnetism steals dangerous technology, heroes new and old race to get it back…_

_Can the Man of Steel help his friends stop Magneto's schemes?_

_Find out in "War Wounds," coming to your computer soon…_


	16. War Wounds

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: WAR WOUNDS

_Bayville, March 7, 2008_

The spring thaw had come to Bayville, as the snow gradually faded under the warm rays of the sun, leaving only a few sparse piles of white, spotted over the landscape.

It was the perfect time for motorcycle riding.

On his favorite bike – a vintage Harley-Davidson – Logan tore across the inter-state highway, enjoying his little Saturday ride. He'd been going _nuts_, being cooped up in the Institute during the winter months. Finally, he could get out on the road...

Suddenly, a soft whirring cut the air...as a jet-black helicopter dropped out of the clouds, hovering behind him.

It did _not_ look friendly.

His eyes narrowing behind his helmet's visor, Logan gunned the throttle, and drove into the forest to his right. He darted through the trees, trying to keep out of sight of the helicopter as it pursued him from above. Coming to a ravine, Logan drove up a fallen log, using it as a ramp to jump over the ravine, before popping out his claws on his right hand, using them to catch a boulder to his right, making a sharp right turn, to throw his pursuers off. It seemed to work, as the helicopter flew on ahead, as he escaped to the right...

...until he emerged from the forest...with only a cliff in front of him.

Logan hit the brakes, and started to turn his bike around, when the helicopter flew in, touching down between him and the forest. Snarling, Logan removed his helmet, and popped out his claws. Whoever this was, they were in for a _world_ of hurt...

As the rotor blades stopped spinning, the cockpit door opened...and out stepped Brigadier General Nick Fury himself. "It's been a while, James."

James Logan scowled, his claws still out. '_Oh, what the hell do you want?_' he thought; there was only _one_ reason Fury would drop in like this, and that was if he needed help. "Forget it, Fury." Logan said. "Whatever it is, get someone _else_. I'm _done_."

"Nice to see you, too." Fury replied. "There _is_ no-one else, Jim. I need your help. I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't serious."

Logan retracted his claws, before walking back to his bike. "Sorry you wasted your time."

Fury frowned...and then smiled slyly. "Normandy. September 13, 1945. The Howling Commandos were sent in to reinforce a Canadian reconnaissance unit..."

Logan scowled, turning back to Fury. "Yeah; I should've _known_ you'd bring that up." he muttered. "I do this, Fury, and we are officially _even_."

"Slate's clean."

Logan groaned. "_Fine_, I'll do it." he muttered. "But what I don't get is, if it's so all-fired important, why can't you just get Steve and _his_ team to handle it?"

"He _did_."

That voice came from the helicopter, as Steve Rogers stepped into view, in his uniform: a blue, kevlar-reinforced battle-suit, with a white star across the chest, and red-and-white stripes just beneath the star, a brown utility belt around his waist, with red gloves, black combat boots, a circular red-white-and-blue shield on his arm, and a blue cowl covering his face, a white 'A' on the cowl's forehead.

Captain America lightly smiled. "Sorry we had to drag you into this, Jim." he said. "Some of the Avengers are off on other missions, and we're going to need all the help we can get for _this_ one."

Logan arched an eyebrow. "What exactly is goin' on, Steve?" he asked.

"We'll explain later." the Captain promised. "But right now, we're going to need to fill up the rest of our mission-roster."

Logan sighed. "Wait, let me guess who you have in mind..."

_Xavier Institute_

In the Cerebro chamber, Clark stood perfectly still as Professor Xavier used the powerful supercomputer, scanning the earth...and then sighed with mild exhaustion as he removed the helmet, deactivating Cerebro. "I'm sorry, Clark," the Professor said, "but I could find no trace of the ship you mentioned."

Clark sighed, saddened by that revelation. Ever since learning that a Kryptonian _Swift Justice_-Class Speeder had crashed on Earth, he'd been on the lookout for its power-signature during his patrols...but so far, he'd found _zip_. He'd even asked Professor Xavier to help by using Cerebro, using one of the Fortress of Solitude's crystal-processors to boost Cerebro's computing power enough to hopefully be able to detect the Speeder.

'_So much for **that** idea._' Clark thought. He lightly smiled, as he moved to the console and removed the crystal and its adapter. "Thanks anyway, Professor." he said.

The Professor smiled, putting a hand to his head. "I must admit, having Cerebro connected to that crystal was certainly...illuminating." he replied. "To think, that one little crystal more than _quadrupled_ Cerebro's power."

Clark chuckled. "That's Kryptonian know-how for you."

The Professor nodded, before bringing up Cerebro's big screen on the metal panels of the spherical room. "While I could not locate the Speeder, I _did_ manage to get a glimpse of the mutant population of the Earth." he added. The screen now showed a picture of the planet, with the continents colored either blue – normal humans – or red – mutants.

All the continents were mostly blue, but there were now very large splotches of red within the blue...with the _largest_ ones in the United States.

Clark whistled. "That's a _lot_ of potential students."

"Indeed." Professor Xavier agreed, his expression grave. "If mutant birth-rates continue at this pace, mutants will not be able to remain a secret for much longer."

Clark nodded. "I guess it had to happen, sooner or later." he commented.

"True, but that does not make it easier." the Professor said. "We have no _idea_ how the general population will react to our existence, when it does happen." Then, his smile became less forced. "Though, hopefully, your existence will help show that we are no threat."

Clark smiled. "It's nice to know I'm good for _something!_" he joked, causing the Professor to chuckle. "Anyway, I just need to drop this crystal-processor back at the Fortress; I'll be back soon!" At a nod from his mentor, Clark headed out of the Cerebro chamber, took the elevator up, before darting into his room to don his uniform, and then finding the nearest window, opening it, and flying off, heading north, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

Today looked to be a quiet day; so far, there hadn't been any emergencies. Scott and Jean were at the library, working on a group project with Taryn, and one of Scott's friends, Paul. Lance and Kitty were out on a date; Evan was out skateboarding; Remy and Rogue were going on a date – Superman couldn't help but chuckle guiltily at how Remy had basically blackmailed Rogue into the date – and Ali was supposed to be coming back from a CD recording, today. So far, it looked to be only him, Ali, Kurt, and the New Mutants in the Institute for most of the day.

Well, that was okay. As much as he enjoyed having his friends around, a _little_ quiet time was okay. He'd been planning to watch the new science-fiction movie-DVD he'd picked up recently...with Alison curled up next to him on the sofa, of course. Smiling to himself, Superman flew on, towards the Fortress.

After Clark had left, Charles rolled his wheelchair out of the Cerebro chamber, taking the elevator up. He was about to head to his office...when his telepathy picked something up.

'_Hey, Chuck, meet me out in the back yard. You're gonna want to see this._'

Mildly surprised, Charles wheeled himself out into the back yard, where Logan was waiting beside his motorcycle...as a black, stealth helicopter touched down beside him. As the rotor blades stopped whirring, the cockpit door opened, and out stepped General Fury...followed by a tall, strongly built man, in an unmistakable uniform, a well-known shield on his arm.

"General Fury," Charles greeted, "Captain America, it's an honor to have the two of you here."

Captain America smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor."

"Sorry to drop by unannounced." the General added. "This is a bit of an emergency."

"I'm still anxious to hear what this is all about, Fury." Logan said.

"Perhaps it would be best to discuss this in my office." Charles said. The others nodded, and they headed inside.

As Charles sat at his desk, he asked, "Now, General, what exactly is it that you need our help with?"

"Twelve hours ago, a top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility was broken into." General Fury answered. "The culprit used high-powered electromagnetic fields."

"_Magneto_." Logan muttered. "What'd he steal, Fury?"

The General closed his eyes. "Rebirth."

Logan's face twisted in anger. "_Rebirth?!_" he shouted. "That project was supposed to have been _killed_, Fury! Rebirth was supposed to have been _destroyed!_ How the _hell_ did Magneto get his hands on it?!"

"Easy, Jim." Captain America said.

"And what exactly _is_ 'Rebirth'?" Charles inquired.

"Back in the 1940's, just before the States entered World War II, Project: Rebirth was formed; its goal was to produce the first ever 'Super-Soldier'." Fury answered. "Only one 'Super-Soldier' was ever produced."

"And that was Cap, here." Logan said. "After Cap got stuck in the Atlantic, Rebirth was shut down..." he glared at Fury, "...or at least, it was _supposed_ to be."

The General's expression remained neutral. "Some time ago, research on Project: Rebirth was reinstated." he said. "_Two_ Rebirth devices were created; only the _first_ was destroyed – the backup device is still intact."

"Terrific." Logan growled. "Next you're gonna tell us that Magneto stole the formula for the serum!"

"No, Logan; we've never been able to re-create the Super-Soldier Serum, and Magneto never so much as _touched_ the notes that the lead researcher had on it." Fury replied. "The device is deadly without the serum."

"That thing damn near _killed_ Steve, even _with_ the serum!" Logan snapped. "So what's Mags want with that thing, anyhow?"

"We don't know." Fury replied. "But he _also_ kidnapped one of the lead scientists on the project: Dr. Bruce Banner. Banner was working on the device itself; he's the only one capable of getting it into working order."

"I see." Charles said. "So you intend to rescue Dr. Banner and neutralize the Rebirth device."

Fury nodded. "We've tracked the magnetic interference to a decommissioned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in the Sahara." he said. "Magneto's powers have enabled him to reactivate the defenses without the proper codes. We need a team capable of infiltrating the facility, stopping Magneto, destroying Rebirth, and retrieving Banner."

"Several of the Avengers are still out on other missions, Professor." Captain America added. "A few of them will complete their missions and report back in time to help, but we need additional assistance."

"In other words," Logan said, "they need _our_ help, Chuck."

Charles nodded in understanding. "General," he said, "I understand the urgency of your request, but I am afraid that most of my students are unavailable, at the moment, and the newer students – the New Mutants – are not yet ready for this kind of mission."

"Just tell me that your golden boy is up for this." Fury said. "We're going to _need_ his kind of power, especially if Lensherr knows about Banner's..._condition_."

Charles paused. "His condition?"

"Some time ago, Dr. Banner was on the Gamma Bomb project; he was irradiated with gamma rays." Captain America explained. "He survived...but if he gets too agitated, he _changes_, becoming the Hulk."

Logan arched an eyebrow. "'The Hulk'??"

"The Hulk, Jim, is a force of _nature_." Captain America said. "He's pure power, and pure rage. Once he starts, I honestly can't think of anything that can stop him...except, possibly, Superman."

"And that's why we need him, Xavier." General Fury said. "We'll need a team capable – or at least with a halfway decent chance – of pacifying the Hulk, if it comes to that...and that includes _you_, Xavier. In the past, the Hulk has responded to ones he knows being able to reach Banner's mind inside him. Your telepathy should enable you to reach Banner, should that scenario occur."

Charles nodded. "Well, General, Superman _is_ still available, as well as the X-Men Nightcrawler and Dazzler." he answered. "If Magneto is involved, we will do all we can to assist you."

"Much appreciated." Fury said. "I'll radio a carrier to meet us in your hangar." To Captain America, he added, "Captain, how many of the Avengers will be available for this mission?"

"Based on their last reports, I'd say Iron Man and Thor, General." Captain America said. "I'll contact them and tell them to meet us at the hangar."

"And I'll inform my students to meet us there." Charles said.

"Good." General Fury said. "Much appreciated, Professor." With that, they headed to the vehicle hangar, as Charles contacted his students.

He hoped they were up for this.

It was mid-afternoon when Alison returned to the Institute from her CD recording. After getting settled back in her room, she decided to look for Clark; she'd been half-expecting him to greet her as she got back, and she was looking forward to spending time with her sweetie...

As she came down into the living room, she found that only Kurt and the New Mutants were left in the Institute. "Hey, Kurt." Alison greeted. "Where is everybody?"

"Scott and Jean vent to zhe library for a project zhey vere vorking on vith Taryn and Paul." Kurt replied. "Rogue and Remy just vent on zheir date, Lance and Kitty vent out, Evan vent skateboarding, and Clark just vent to drop somezhing at zhe Fortress! I zhink it vas one of zhe crystals zat he used vhen zhe Fantastic Four vere here!"

"Oh." Alison said, smiling; she remembered, now. Clark had told her he was going to ask the Professor to use Cerebro to help him search for the Kryptonian Speeder that had crashed on Earth; he'd borrowed a "crystal-processor" from his Fortress, and must have brought it back. "Did he have any luck in finding that ship?"

Kurt shook his head. "Probably not." he reasoned. "I zhink zat if he had, ve vould all probably be going to get it, by now."

Alison nodded, and then chuckled. "Hey, weren't you and Amanda going to go out, today?"

Kurt groaned. "Ve _vere_, but zhen her parents got a call from Amanda's aunt; it seems zat her cousin is having marriage trouble, so zhey had to go visit her, and zhey didn't vant to leave 'Mandy zhere..."

Alison grinned. "_'Mandy?_" she repeated, causing Kurt to blush.

Just then, a sonic boom echoed overhead, and Alison automatically smiled. Seconds later, Clark, in his regular clothes, walked down the stairs. As he saw her, he smiled. "Hi, _taushi_. How was your recording?"

"Pretty good." Alison replied, happily accepting her boyfriend's hug. "How did your search go, _tausha?_"

Clark sighed. "Not so good." he said. "Professor Xavier combed the planet with Cerebro powered-up by a crystal-processor; we found _zip_."

Alison looked stricken. "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks, sweetheart." Clark replied. "There are two possibilities: either the Speeder is so deep underwater that Cerebro can't pick it up...or it's giving off no power-signature because its EPMs are depleted."

Alison blinked. "'EPMs'?" she repeated.

"Entropic Power Modules." Clark explained. "They're the basis for all Kryptonian power-systems. The reader's-digest version of how they work is that they provide energy by existing in an initial state of low entropy – low disorder – and continually going to a more disordered state, which drives anything that the Module is connected to."

Alison blinked. "Uh...okay..." she said, smiling sheepishly, "...I..._think_ I understand..."

"Good, 'cause _I_ sure don't!" Kurt laughed.

Clark chuckled. "It's a form of energy production that humanity hasn't really thought of, yet." he added. "In a few hundred millennia, people should start to pick up on the theory."

"How vell do zhey vork?" Kurt asked.

"One EPM can provide enough energy to run ten thousand New York-sized cities for a year."

"_Whoa!_" Alison exclaimed. "Does your...Fortress use those?"

Clark nodded. "It uses five." he admitted. "And a Speeder would use two. Thankfully, EPMs can be recharged, so if we find the Speeder, provided it isn't too badly damaged from whatever shot it down, I could – theoretically – get it working, again."

Alison smiled, and then playfully pouted. "When do I get to see this Fortress of yours?" she teased. "We've been dating for almost half a year, and you _still_ haven't shown me!"

Kurt laughed. "Hey, he's known _us_ for over a _tear_, and _ve_ haven't been zhere!" he joked.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "I honestly don't go there too often, myself." he admitted. "I only go there for essential things, or maybe the odd training session. The Fortress is really cool...but it's so lonely, there; the silence is almost _deafening_." He smiled wistfully. "I'm not trying to keep it under wraps; I just haven't felt the _need_ to be there."

Alison nodded, understanding; after Clark's father had died, the Fortress had been his sanctuary, to mourn, and learn about himself. There were likely a lot of sad memories that Clark associated with it. Alison hugged her boyfriend. "Don't worry about it, Clarkie." she cooed. "I don't mind; there's no big hurry."

Clark smiled. "Thanks, Ali."

'_Alison, Kurt, suit up and head to the vehicle hangar, and tell Clark to do the same._'

Alison blinked as she heard the Professor's telepathic summons. "Clark, the Professor just told us to suit up and head to the hangar." she informed Clark, as he couldn't hear telepathy. Clark nodded, and the three of them darted off, to don their uniforms, and meet their mentor.

Within minutes, Superman, Dazzler, and Nightcrawler had suited up, and taken the elevator down to the vehicle hangar. As they stepped out, Dazzler saw the Professor there, as well as Wolverine, in uniform, standing in front of a fairly small aircraft, with an eagle-insignia on its side. Next to the Professor was a middle-aged guy in a black jacket and an eyepatch...and then, she saw someone she'd honestly _never_ expected to see. "_Whoa..._" she murmured.

"_Mein Gott..._" Nightcrawler added, "_...zat's..._"

Superman just smiled, and walked over to his childhood hero. "Captain, sir!" he greeted. "It's good to see you again, sir!"

Captain America grinned. "It's 'Cap,' remember?" he joked. He extended his hand. "And it _is_ good to see you again, son." Superman smiled, and shook it.

Dazzler's mind was still a bit shocked. She was standing in front of _Captain America_. The leader of the Avengers. Arguably the greatest hero of World War II. The man who'd inspired Clark.

The Professor chuckled at their expressions. "I see that you need no introduction, Captain." he said.

At that, Nightcrawler suddenly looked self-conscious. "I'm...sorry if my appearance alarms you, Herr Captain." he said softly.

Cap just smiled. "Son, I've seen _much_ stranger things than someone with blue facial hair. Don't worry about it." At that, Nightcrawler smiled.

"What's the situation, General Fury?" Superman inquired.

"No time to explain." the General replied. To Captain America, he added, "How long until Thor and Iron Man get here, Captain?"

"Any time, now, General." Cap replied. "Thor said he'd pick up Stark on the way."

Suddenly, the air started to get warm, almost _muggy_. "What's going on?" Dazzler asked aloud. "It feels like there's going to be a _lightning-storm_ in here..."

Superman chuckled. "I think it's more of a _thunder_-storm, Ali."

Just then, a powerful flash of lightning burst in from nowhere, a few feet away, as a mighty thunderclap shook the air. When the lightning dissipated, two figures stood where it had been. One was a very tall, powerfully built man, with long blond hair, and a trim beard around his mouth, and blue eyes, clad in a dark blue, mail-like vest, with four silver circles reinforcing its front, as well as black tight pants, and steel-toed boots, with a weapon that looked like a cross between a war-hammer and a battle-axe in his hand. The other was a fairly tall, well-built man in a high-tech, red-and-gold-colored suit of armor, the helmet completely covering his face.

The hammer-wielder strapped his weapon over his shoulder, and then smiled as he spotted Superman. "Greetings, my young friend!" he boomed. "It has been quite some time since we last fought Doom's minions! You have done good work since then; well done!"

Superman smiled, and accepted his firm handshake. "Thanks, Thor." he replied. "It's good to see you, too."

Cap chuckled. "And these are the last two members of our task force: Thor Odinsson, and Tony 'Iron Man' Stark."

At that, Iron Man removed his helmet, revealing the face of a 25-year-old young man, with short black hair, a trim black beard, and blue eyes. "I've heard good things about all of you." Tony greeted. "It's an honor to be working with you."

"Stark, any reports from the rest of the team?" Fury asked.

Iron Man put his helmet back on, turning his voice metallic. "_Wasp and Giant Man are still handling things in Afghanistan, General, and Black Widow reports that she'll still be a while before her mission is complete._"

Fury nodded. "Looks like we're it, then." he said. "Okay, people, we need to move out! Superman, Thor, Stark, you three take point ahead of the gunship, and provide air support for when we land; Stark, Thor, while you're at it, get the kid up to speed on things. Everyone else, in the gunship; I'll explain the situation on the way. We've got no time to lose!" At that, the General, Professor Xavier, Wolverine, Dazzler, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine all headed into the gunship. After they had strapped themselves in, the gunship took to the air, flying off at high speeds, with Superman, Iron Man, and Thor flying in escort formation around it.

_New York_

'_Ah can't **believe** Ah got talked into this._'

Rogue could only sigh to herself as she and Remy – on Remy's bike – pulled up to the restaurant that they had decided to go to on their "date." Remy lightly smiled at her as he hopped off the bike, removing his helmet, his red-on-black eyes hidden behind black glasses, before he politely extended his hand to her. Rogue rolled her eyes before she humored him, taking his hand as she hopped off, removing her own helmet.

The place they'd chosen was a Southern-style eatery, which, according to Remy, had "de bes' gumbo in de _country_, next t' m' _Tante_ Mattie's, o' course."

Remy smiled. "Y' ready t' go in, chere?"

Rogue sighed. "Ah suppose." she replied. With that, they both headed inside.

After being seated and placing their orders, Rogue and Remy could only sit back and wait in awkward silence. Rogue felt a bit guilty; she knew that at _least_ she could _try_ to have some civil conversation with Remy – he wasn't a bad guy, despite him more or less blackmailing her into a date – but she honestly could not think of a _thing_ to say. It seemed that Remy was having the same problem, as he took out his deck of cards and began absently shuffling them.

Rogue took notice of his habit. "Whah cards?"

Remy blinked. "Pardon, chere?"

"Whah do ya always use cards?" Rogue asked.

Remy lightly smiled. "Well, Remy would 'ave t' say dat goes back t' when Remy was wit' de T'ieves Guild." he explained. "It was after Remy's first job, an' _mon pere_ an' some o' de other members o' de Guild were playin' poker; Remy cleaned up at de table, dat night. Ev'r since den, cards 'ave always been lucky for Remy, an' when Remy's pow'rs started up, Remy figured dat it was logical t' use 'em wit' 'is pow'rs."

Rogue nodded. "And whah _do_ ya call yerself 'Gambit'?"

Remy grinned. "Dat's jus' 'cause mos' o' Remy's life been a game o' chance, an' Remy t'ink he been pretty good at drawin' a lucky hand." he answered. "An' since we on de subject, why do y' call y'self 'Rogue,' chere? Remy always been curious 'bout dat."

Rogue lightly blushed. "Ah don't know." she admitted. "It just...seemed ta fit me."

"Remy guessin' dat it ain' y' real name, den."

Rogue smirked. "No, and Ah'm not tellin' ya mah real name, Swamp Rat!"

Remy chuckled. "We'll jus' save _dat_ for de _second_ date, den."

Rogue groaned, burying her head in her hands...though she couldn't help but start to laugh at his persistence. "_Gawd_, LeBeau, ya don't quit, do ya?" she laughed.

Remy grinned. "Not when somet'ing important be at stake."

Rogue automatically blushed at that. Remy was a good guy; he'd been a perfect gentleman during the entire bike-ride to the restaurant, and he was charming, witty...and _definitely_ a handsome guy – there was no point in denying it.

And that meant that there was no point in denying that he had absolutely no _reason_ to pursue the untouchable Rogue.

By then, their meals had arrived, and they simply enjoyed them; Remy was _right_ about this place, Rogue admitted – the gumbo _was_ amazing. After they were done, Remy promptly left the payment on the plate with the bill. "Now, chere, why don' we jus' catch a movie? Any dat y' wanted t' see?"

Rogue lowered her head. "Whah, Remy?"

Remy paused. "Why, what, chere?"

"Whah do ya want ta be with _meh?_" Rogue continued. "Ah'm _untouchable!_ Ya can't touch meh, Remy! Ya can't hug meh, and ya can't kiss meh – not without meh suckin' the life out of ya!" The sheer bleakness of her situation brought tears to her eyes. "Ah'm a _vampire_, Remy..."

"_Don' say dat._"

The sheer fierceness of Remy's voice startled Rogue. His expression was stern. "Vampires got no _souls_, chere; y' _do_." he added. "Y' _care_ 'bout people; if y' didn', y' wouldn' be worried 'bout dem touchin' y'. Remy don' want y' t' say dat 'bout y'self ev'r _again_, y' hear me?"

Rogue didn't move. "Remy..." she began.

"As fo' why," Remy continued, "Remy don' rightly know, fo' sure. Dat's difficult t' explain." He took a deep breath. "It ain' jus' 'cause y' _belle_, chere, even though y' like an _angel_."

Rogue lightly blushed, lowering her eyes. "Remy, Ah am _not_ beautiful..." she said.

"_Yes_, y' _are_, chere." Remy said firmly. "An' Remy don' ev'r want y' t' say diff'rent." He continued, "An' it ain' jus' 'cause y' intelligent. It ain' 'jus 'cause o' one t'ing, chere; it's all de little t'ings. Remy 'onestly can' explain it; all he knows is dat...Remy want t' be wit' y'." He lightly smiled. "An' dat's de truth."

Rogue was fighting tears, now. "But...ya can't ever touch meh..."

"Dat may be true at de _moment_, chere, but dere ain' no-one dat loves a challenge more den Remy; he figure out a way." Remy said, smiling. "Remy ain' gon' give up on y'; not now, not _ev'r_."

At that, Rogue smiled, and Remy grinned. "Y' got a beautiful smile, chere." he said softly. "Remy t'ink y' should show it, more often."

No-one had ever made her blush as much in a single date as Remy had, Rogue knew. "Remy," she began, "instead of goin' to a movie...could we just...go for a ride around the city? Just for a while?"

Remy smiled. "_Sure_, chere." he replied. With that, they both headed outside, donned their helmets, and hopped on Remy's bike. Remy gunned the engine, and they rode off into New York City. As they rode, Rogue leaned into Remy's back, her hands lacing together over his heart, as she lightly nuzzled into him, feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Outpost Theta, Sahara Desert, Africa_

As he heard his father coughing in the darkened hallways of the abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, Pietro, in uniform, came running. "Father, are you alright?"

In his improvised study, Magneto took a few deep breaths, before fully standing upright. "I will be, son." he said softly. "I will be." With that, he strode out of the room, and Pietro followed him.

Pietro followed his father to the main research lab, or what was left of it, where the massive Rebirth device had been stored...and where the kidnapped S.H.I.E.L.D. technician worked on it, under the guard of Magneto's other three Acolytes. One of them was the Australian pyro-kinetic mutant St. John Allerdyce, who called himself "Pyro." John was 17, and around Pietro's height and build, with short, flaming orange hair, and green eyes, clad in a flaming red-and-orange bodysuit, with light aqua-colored goggles, and a fuel-tank strapped to his back, to power the twin lighters on his wrists; that was the paradox of Pyro's power – the could _control_ fire, but not create it.

Pietro wasn't too fond of John; he was likely the _second_-craziest member of the Acolytes, only to _Sabretooth_, who was also standing guard in the lab.

The remaining Acolyte was Piotr "Colossus" Rasputin, a Russian mutant who Magneto had recently recruited; Pietro didn't know the details, but he figured that his father had somehow coerced Piotr into joining. Piotr was a very tall, strongly built young man of 18. His short hair was black, and his eyes were a dark blue, and he was clad in black pants and a red reinforced vest. Piotr's ability allowed him to turn his skin into organic steel, giving him incredible strength and near invulnerability.

These were the only Acolytes that his father had recruited, Pietro knew, but he also knew that his father had plans to recruit _more_. And if the Rebirth device _worked_...

By then, Magneto had walked up to the technician as he was working. "What is your progress, Dr. Banner?"

The technician – Dr. Bruce Banner – was of average height, and lanky, in his thirties, with short brown hair and blue eyes framed by glasses, clad in a white shirt and blue jeans under his white lab coat, with a high-tech collar around his neck. "It will be ready within the hour," Banner reported, "but without the serum, it's useless!"

Magneto suppressed a cough. "_I_ will worry about that." he said. "Just make sure it's ready."

Banner's eyes went wide. "You're...you're going to use it, anyway!" he cried. "Are you _insane?!_ Using Rebirth without the serum is _suicide!_"

Magneto's eyes narrowed. "Just get back to work." he ordered, gesturing to the collar around Banner's neck. "This collar currently keeps your 'other half' at bay, but it can _easily_ invite the Hulk to our little party." At that, Banner got back to work.

Pietro momentarily shuddered at who they were working with; he didn't want to be anywhere _near_ the Hulk if that thing got loose. Then, he smiled to himself. '_I'd like to see Super-Loser handle the **Hulk**!_' he thought.

By then, Magneto had walked over to Pietro. "Son, have you activated the defense network?" he asked, before coughing.

Pietro nodded. "It's up and running, Father."

"Good." Magneto said. "It is unlikely that General Fury will let things go, and it is likely that he will recruit some of Charles' students to assist him...including Kal-El."

Sabretooth grinned savagely at that. "Fine by me." he growled.

Pyro chuckled. "'ey, I'd sure like ta take a crack at this 'Superman' wanker!" he said, in his Australian accent.

Colossus said nothing.

Pietro smiled to himself. Once the Rebirth machine was repaired, Banner was expendable. His father might want the Last Dork of Crap-Tun to join them...but he never said anything about what to do with Banner _after_ the fact. All that was required was a little high-speed collar-tampering...and it wouldn't matter _what_ his father said.

'_You're gonna **get** yours, Super-Loser,_' Pietro thought, '_and I'll be right there to see it happen._'

_African airspace_

Inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. gunship, Dazzler could only look out the nearby window at the vast Sahara Desert, below them. Occasionally, she could catch glimpses of Superman as he, Thor and Iron Man escorted them to the facility that Magneto had taken over.

'_I can't believe it._' Alison thought to herself, lightly smiling. '_We're going on a top-secret mission alongside the country's **first** superhero, a guy in high-tech armor, and the supposed-to-be-mythical Norse thunder-god. If anyone had said they'd done something like this a year ago, I'd have asked them what they were smoking._' It was amazing how her life had changed, and for the _better_; she could still pursue her singing dream, _and_ she got to do something _worthwhile_, too...

...and, of course, reuniting with her childhood sweetie had been the _best_ part.

Just then, General Fury walked into the passenger section of the gunship, where the rest of them were. "We'll be coming up on the facility in a few minutes; knowing Lensherr, he'll have been expecting us, so we should expect to take some fire, but our three fliers should be able to handle the anti-air turrets quick enough that we can land safely."

"Herr General, vhy _does_ Magneto vant zhis 'Rebirth' device?" Nightcrawler inquired.

"_That_, son, is the million-dollar question." Fury answered. "But _none_ of the possible reasons are anything good; he could be trying to get it to Doom so that bastard can make his _own_ super-soldiers. The truth is, we don't know what he's up to, which is why we need to locate and destroy Rebirth as soon as possible."

Logan snorted. "You should have destroyed that thing _years_ ago, Fury." he muttered.

Fury frowned. "The decision was made by the joint-chiefs, James; with the threat of the Soviet Union looming after the war, _plus_ the incident with the Chitari, the U.S. government decided that it might need _more_ super-soldiers in the near future."

Dazzler blinked in confusion. "Okay...does anyone _else_ know what you two are talking about?"

"_I'll_ explain, Miss Blaire." Cap said. "It was back in 1945, near the end of the Second World War. Hitler had committed suicide, but there was one Nazi stronghold that still remained. My squad and I were ordered to take it."

Logan chuckled. "After meeting heavy resistance on the ground, this lunatic here crashes a whole B-32 into the front gates of the castle to crack it open!"

Cap laughed. "Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time!" he replied. Then, his expression sobered. "Inside the castle, Kleiser – one of Hitler's top lieutenants – was supervising the construction of a huge missile – a _nuke_."

Alison gasped. "But...but the Nazis didn't know _how_ to make nuclear weapons!" she exclaimed. That was one of the historical facts of the war; the Nazis had been stopped before they could construct nuclear weapons...

"You're absolutely right, Miss Blaire." Cap agreed. "The _Nazis didn't._"

Nightcrawler blinked in confusion. "Vat do you mean..?"

"After fighting with Kleiser, I managed to wound him...enough to draw what should have been blood," Cap continued, "but all I got were green tentacles."

"That bastard was an _alien_." Fury explained. "Specifically, he was of a nomadic race called the Chitari, who had decided that Earth looked like a good home for _their_ people...once they got rid of the human race."

Cap nodded. "The bastard managed to launch the nuke at the States, but I managed to grab hold of the missile and short it out from a service panel; the nuke went off too soon, and it actually took out one of the four Chitari ships in orbit over Earth. As for me, I plunged into the freezing Atlantic Ocean; I honestly thought my number was up, right then and there."

"We managed to find him stuck in an iceberg, a few years back." Fury finished. "After thawing him out, Cap took command of the Avengers, in time to handle the return of those other three Chitari ships."

Professor Xavier spoke up. "Logan, were you there during the Captain's last mission in World War II? Is that how you two know each other?"

"Nah; we were pals _long_ before that." Logan answered. "Probably our _first_ mission was back when the States were just starting to push into Germany; we were assigned to liberate one of the bigger concentration camps."

Cap nodded. "Heavy fighting, all around." he reminisced. "We had to do a fast drop; no parachutes."

Logan chuckled. "Luckily, we were tough enough not to need 'em."

Cap grinned. "True enough!" he agreed. "Anyway, it was tough, but we managed to take out the Nazis in command of the camp and liberate its prisoners...including a thin, gangly kid by the name of Erik Lensherr."

Kurt's eyes widened. "_Mein Gott_..."

Alison nodded. '_No **wonder** he hates humanity...he's seen so much of it at its **worst**..._' she thought. Still, that was no excuse for what he was doing. Then, something occurred to her. "Wait...Wolverine, if you were in World War II, how come you're not old?"

Wolverine chuckled. "I guess my healing factor takes care of that."

"And vat about you, Herr General?" Nightcrawler inquired.

Fury chuckled. "The Super-Soldier Project yielded some interested technology _other_ than the Super-Soldier Serum." he answered. "I was given an experimental treatment that slowed down my aging process a good deal. I was selected for that process because of my war record with my unit, the Howling Commandos. The government felt that having me around for the next few decades was a good idea, if those alien bastards ever decided to come back."

That last statement made Dazzler worry. '_Professor,_' she thought, '_General Fury doesn't know where Clark's from, does he?_'

'_No, Alison; I thought it best not to divulge that information._'

Alison couldn't help but feel for her boyfriend; based on Cap and the General's past experiences with aliens, it was possible that they might be less than thrilled to be working with _another_ alien.

It almost broke her heart, to think of Clark being despised by someone he'd looked up to since childhood.

"General Fury, sir! We're approaching the target!"

Fury nodded at the pilot's call, before pulling out his radio. "Stark, you, Thor and the kid better be on your toes; we're coming up on the target. Lensherr could try something any minute, now."

"_Roger._"

At that, Dazzler could only look out through the window, silently cheering her sweetie on.

It was go-time for Superman and the Avengers.

As they flew over the Sahara Desert, Superman could see the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility up ahead of them. If Magneto was going to try something, he would have to do so now...

Suddenly, his vision spied something coming from the ground below. "Incoming!" he called out. "Missiles! Dead ahead!"

"_I see them!_" Iron Man answered, taking aim ahead of them, as small launchers popped out of the wrists of his armor. At once, he fired, sending numerous small rockets lancing towards the missiles, impacting them with pin-point accuracy, destroying half of the missiles, but leaving the other half intact, and still searing towards them. Superman's eyes narrowed, and then started to glow red, as he unleashed a powerful sweeping eye-ray, incinerating the rest of the missiles.

"Well done, my friend!" Thor declared. Then, his eyes narrowed as he looked to the ground. "But it would be unwise to declare victory just yet!"

Looking down, Superman saw countless laser-shots streaming up at them, coming from numerous laser-turrets popping out of the ground. "Well, it's nice to see that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't skimp on its security budget." he said.

"_Yeah._" Iron Man agreed. "_Too bad for us._"

At that, the three of them quickly deflected any shots that got near the gunship. Iron Man fired his palm-lasers at the ground, as Superman fired his eye-rays, hoping to take out enough of the turrets to clear their path.

Suddenly, Thor took a laser-shot to the head...which only angered him. "Soulless machines!!" he boomed. "You _dare_ strike the son of Odin?!" With a yell of rage, he drew his hammer – Mjolnir – and raised it above his head. In seconds, the mighty war-hammer began to crackle with energy, as Thor swung it downwards in a powerful arc.

His swing summoned an _enormous_ bolt of lightning from the heavens, which streaked down towards the ground, striking the earth with terrible force, utterly annihilating the turrets, and superheating the sand where it struck, turning it to _glass_. For a few moments, there was silence...

...until _more_ turrets popped up, and resumed firing, at a _much_ faster rate than before.

"By the All-Father's _beard!_" Thor exclaimed. "Is there no _end_ to this?!"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "Enough is _enough_." he said firmly. "Guys? _Cover_ me."

With that, Superman dove towards the earth at supersonic speeds, the very air shaking as he passed. As he drew near the ground, he pulled his fist back...

...and he _struck_ the earth, tapping _half_ of his maximum strength.

The very earth _shook_ at his strike, kicking up a massive _wall_ of sand, radiating out from him, demolishing the turrets that had popped out, just as the shockwave annihilated the turrets still below ground.

As the sand settled, Superman saw that there was no turret in sight, with only the facility a few miles ahead. '_Well, I guess it's safe to say that Magneto knows we're here._' he thought. Then, he flew back up to resume escorting the gunship, before they touched down a few meters away from the facility.

"Good work." General Fury said as the others disembarked. "The rest of you proceed inside; I'll stay here and keep an eye out for trouble."

"What kind of trouble are you expecting, General?" Dazzler asked.

"In issues of national security, twelve hours is enough time for scuttlebutt to travel far." Fury answered. "It's entirely possible that Old Thunderbolt will try to drop by and blast this place to kingdom come with Banner still inside."

"'Old Thunderbolt'?" Superman asked.

"Brigadier General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross." Fury replied. "He's a good man, but he's always been the loudest voice to have the Hulk _permanently_ neutralized. If he's gotten wind of this, chances are he'll be right behind us, with a whole tank platoon to blast this place _flat_. Ross is an old pal of mine; if he shows up, I might be able to get him to cool his jets enough for you to do your jobs."

"Understood, sir." Cap said.

"We won't let you down." Superman agreed. With that, they all headed inside, as the General headed back into the gunship.

They first came into a long metal corridor, with the lights still dimmed. "So far, so good." Wolverine observed.

"Hold it, Jim." Cap said. "This seems a little _too_ easy. Superman, do you see anything out-of-the-ordinary?"

Superman's eyes narrowed, as he extended his vision outside of the normal spectrum...and frowned. "No-one move." he said. He inhaled, and lightly exhaled frost into the corridor.

The frosty gust revealed the presence of countless laser-beams spaced through the corridor.

"_Laser-trip beams._" Iron Man observed. "_Those could activate some of the **nastier** defenses around here._"

Thor frowned. "Quite the insidious design." he muttered. "Loki _himself_ would be hard-pressed to craft something more diabolical."

"Iron Man, can you detect where the beams are drawing power from?" Cap asked.

"_The main control panel for the beams is at the far end of the corridor,_" Iron Man reported, "_but the panel is protected by another set of trip-beams._"

Superman smiled. "Dazzler, do you think you can re-direct those beams?"

Dazzler smiled. "_Sure!_" she said. She flicked on her music, and then concentrated, pointing both hands at the control panel at the far end.

Almost instantly, eight prism-like hard-light blocks appeared in front of and to the side of the panel. To the normal eye, nothing appeared to have changed, but Superman could see it clearly: the laser-beams had been re-directed away from the panel without being broken.

The Professor smiled. "Kurt?"

"_Jawohl!_" Nightcrawler exclaimed, and he instantly 'ported himself to the panel, before opening it and shutting off the system.

"The beams are down." Superman confirmed. "It's safe to continue."

"Good." Cap said. "Let's go!" With that, they headed further into the facility.

Magneto and his Acolytes were still in the main laboratory when they felt it.

The massive earth-tremor shook the entire lab, rattling the machinery, nearly knocking everyone on their backs. "That's odd." Dr. Banner observed. "There aren't any fault lines around here."

But Magneto and the others knew what was _really_ going on.

Kal-El was here.

Magneto suppressed another fit of coughing; his condition was getting worse. Pietro looked worried. "Father..."

"I'm fine." Magneto said firmly, though that was _far_ from reality. _Pneumonia._ His aged immune system was finally losing. His years had caught up with him, and would soon overtake him...

...unless the Rebirth device was operational, soon.

He needed more time. Recently, he'd felt his age, slowly but surely creeping up on him. He couldn't die, yet. Not until the future of the mutant race was secured.

"Banner," he said softly, erupting into more coughing. "Is it ready?"

"Almost." Banner replied. "A few more minutes, and it'll be ready." He frowned. "But unless you manage to miraculously obtain the serum, this will _kill_ you."

"I'm dead, either way, Doctor; you must have realized that, by now." Magneto coughed.

Banner slowly nodded. "If that's what you want...it's ready for you."

Just then, an alarm went off, as a screen dropped down, activating. Sabretooth frowned. "We got company."

"So I gathered." Magneto said. He glanced to the screen. So, Charles had come...along with the Captain and two of his Avengers.

Pyro whistled at the screen. "_Blimey_..._that's_ the sheila ya said the E.T. was with?" he said. "_Damn_...wouldn't mind havin' a 'close encounter o' the third kind' with the likes o' _her!_"

Magneto erupted into another fit of coughing, as he entered the main chamber of the Rebirth device, closing its door behind him. His Acolytes knew their orders: to protect him until the process was complete.

Soon, he would be well again.

Shortly after exiting the hallway, the small task-force came to a wider corridor. "_Based on the energy-output of the room beyond, I think it's safe to say that the Rebirth device is behind that door._" Iron Man observed.

"Hopefully, we're not too late." Superman said, as they headed towards the door...

Almost instantly, about three-dozen robotic drones, armed with laser weapons, zipped out from open panels in the walls.

Wolverine's eyes narrowed. "I'm gonna have to have a _talk_ with Fury, after this."

At once, the drones opened fire...but Dazzler instantly threw up an energy-barrier, the shots harmlessly bouncing off of it. "I'll protect the Professor!" she declared. "You guys will have to handle these rust-buckets!"

Wolverine grinned. "Fine by me, Diva."

Cap chuckled. "Just like old times, eh, Jim?"

Wolverine laughed, popping out his claws. "Wouldn't miss it!"

As the drones closed on them, Superman fired his eye-rays, incinerating six drones in an instant, before unleashing a blast of gale-breath, knocking the rest off-balance. Cap took devastating advantage of the gale, throwing his shield into the crowd of robots, its deadly arc slicing five drones before it returned to him, in time to slam a sixth and boot a seventh towards Wolverine. "Heads up, Jim!"

Wolverine laughed as he sliced the drone apart with his claws, before diving head-first into the mass of robots. He sliced two in half with a diving tackle, and then rolled into a fourth, stabbing his claws into its torso. As one drone tried to creep up on him, Wolverine dove under its swing, stabbing it through its neck, before picking it up and throwing it at a sixth drone.

Iron Man took aim, and fired his palm lasers, taking out three drones with pin-point accuracy. One drone took the opportunity to attack from behind, pinning him, but Iron Man kicked on his boot jets, slamming the drone against the ceiling, crushing it. As he landed, he punched a fifth drone, crushing its face-plate. When a sixth tried to grab him, he was ready, and activated his armor's fail-safe system; instantly, a high-voltage surge transmitted through the robot, utterly scrambling its systems.

Scowling, Thor threw his war-hammer in a deadly arc, smashing three robots before Mjolnir returned to his hand. He then slammed one drone with his hammer, before pulling back and slamming his weapon into the ground; the sheer force of his strike made the ground tremble, bouncing two more drones into the air, making them easy targets for his hammer.

Nightcrawler 'ported in and out of the crowd of robots, easily evading their attacks. He hopped onto the back of one, ripping out a few wires, shorting it out, before 'porting over to a second, kicking it into a third, taking them both out. He turned to see another drone loom over him, taking aim...

...only to be blasted by an off-white energy beam.

Nightcrawler turned to see that Dazzler had dropped her barrier in order to attack, since the drones were busy. Smiling, she formed a sphere of light, and tossed it at the last two drones, which were blasted apart as the light-bomb went off. Once the last drone fell, utterly destroyed, the small task-force headed through the door, into the room where Rebirth was being stored.

The room beyond was obviously a laboratory, with the large Rebirth machine in the very center. "Okay," Cap said, taking out a few plastic explosives, "we'll set these around Rebirth; they'll destroy the device without bringing the place down around our heads..."

"Oh, I think you losers have _other_ things to worry about."

Superman turned to see Quicksilver step into view, followed by Sabretooth and two newcomers: a youth in a flaming red-and-orange bodysuit with lighters on his wrists, and a tall young man in a red armored vest and black pants...who suddenly changed, his skin turning to metal.

"Father said that you guys might be paying us a visit," Quicksilver continued, "so we figured we'd _welcome_ you."

Sabretooth smiled wickedly. "Been a while, Short-Stuff."

Wolverine snarled. "Not long _enough_, 'Tooth."

Cap's eyes narrowed, as he handed the explosives to Nightcrawler. "We'll keep them busy, son; you set the charges and blow that thing to kingdom come."

Nightcrawler looked nervous...and then nodded. "I vill." he said. With that, he 'ported towards the Rebirth device.

Snarling, Sabretooth turned to pounce at Nightcrawler, but Wolverine tackled him, slashing with his claws. "Why not try _me_, bub?!" he roared, stabbing his claws into Creed's gut, before unleashing an uppercut, knocking Sabretooth back. Wolverine was about to finish his old enemy off, but Sabretooth back-handed him, before slamming him with his shoulder, knocking him aside.

Growling, Sabretooth closed on Wolverine, but was driven back by a laser-blast from Iron Man, giving Captain America enough time to charge into Sabretooth, shield first, slamming him with his shield, before giving him a solid punch to his gut, followed by driving his shield into Sabretooth's face, knocking out a few teeth.

The kid with the lighters grinned insanely. "'ow 'bout I turn up the _heat?_" he cackled, with an Australian accent, as he took aim at Cap, sending a massive stream of flame at him.

Instantly, Superman intercepted the fire-blast, unleashing a burst of gale-breath, blowing out the fire. The youth was completely shocked. "What the bloody hell?!" he yelled. "_Nobody_ puts out Pyro's flame!!"

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with matches?" Superman said calmly. Angered, Pyro readied another flame-blast, but Superman unleashed a small burst of frost-breath, chilling him, rendering his powers momentarily useless. Just then, the metal man barreled into Superman, tackling him through the wall.

As Sabretooth fell back, dazed, Cap was about to press the advantage, when he found himself surrounded by a silver blur. "What's the matter, old timer?" Quicksilver sneered. "Too fast for ya?"

Cap stayed calm, watching Quicksilver's pattern of movement...and saw an opening. He pulled back his shield and _threw_ it; the shield missed, but then bounced off one wall, then another, and came back, striking Quicksilver right in the ankle.

"_Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!!_" Quicksilver cried, hopping around on one foot...and hopping right into Dazzler's aim, where she promptly blasted him with an energy beam.

The metal man continued his tackle, driving Superman through two more walls before Superman turned himself just so, falling back to toss the metal man away with his feet, knocking him through two _more_ walls. As he got up, the metal man stomped back in, charging at him and unleashing a punch, which Superman easily blocked, countering with his own punch.

The punch connected solidly with the metal man's face, causing him to take several steps back before he recovered. "You are holding back, comrade." he said, in a Russian accent, his voice almost regretful. "You should not be pulling punches against Colossus."

As Colossus swung at him, Superman easily evaded it. "_You_ shouldn't be telling me how to beat you." he parried. And with that, he tapped _twenty_ percent of his maximum strength, punching Colossus straight through _five_ walls, to land hard, out cold. Turning, Superman darted back to where the others were fighting.

As Sabretooth recovered, he snarled at Iron Man, leaping at him, but Iron Man kicked on his boot-jets, darting to the side, peppering him with laser-blasts, before charging in to unleash a mighty uppercut, knocking Sabretooth back...as Wolverine leapt at Creed, slashing with his claws. Sabretooth howled in pain, before tossing Wolverine into Iron Man. Snarling, he closed on the two, but Thor intercepted him, knocking him aside. Roaring in fury, Sabretooth leapt at Thor, who blocked the attack with the handle of his hammer. Thor's eyes bored into Sabretooth's. "Foul beast-man!" he boomed. "You have roused the ire," he pushed Sabretooth away, slamming him with the handle of Mjolnir, "_of the Thunderer!!_"

And he punctuated the sentence by pulling back his hammer and letting fly with a mighty lightning bolt, sending a scorched Sabretooth flying, to land hard, out cold.

By then, Pyro had managed to generate enough heat to break free of the ice that had coated him. Spying Dazzler, he grinned. "'ey, sheila!" he called. "'ow 'bout tryin' ta handle a _real_ man?"

Dazzler chuckled. "Why? Seen any?"

His eyes narrowing at the shot, Pyro sent a flame-blast at Dazzler, who generated a hard-light barrier, repelling it. After a few seconds, Pyro eased off, to ready another blast...which gave Dazzler the opening she needed. She dropped her barrier, formed a sphere of light, and threw it at Pyro, where it erupted in a blast that rivaled a magnesium flare.

Pyro howled in fury, rubbing his eyes to clear his vision. When he could see again, he snarled, and readied a flame-blast...but nothing happened. Confused, he looked at his lighters...only to find all his lighter fluid leaking uselessly onto the floor...and Superman standing before him, holding the severed fuel lines.

Pyro gulped. "Oh, _crikey_..."

Superman simply reached out his hand, and _flicked_ him, sending him flying across the room.

As his teammates fought, Nightcrawler managed to reach the Rebirth device unnoticed. Reaching it, he found who must have been the kidnapped scientist, Dr. Banner. "Herr Doctor, are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Banner said.

"Please, get clear, Doctor. I'm going to destroy zhis thing." Nightcrawler said. Banner nodded, and moved to a safe distance, as Nightcrawler started to place the charges...

"_Kurt...no..._"

Startled, Nightcrawler looked through the glass wall of the Rebirth chamber, and saw Magneto; the Master of Magnetism looked pale, his face gaunt. "_This is my only chance..._" he wheezed.

Nightcrawler paused. "But...zhis device...it's _deadly_ vithout zhe serum..."

"_Only to humans._" Magneto gasped. "_To our kind, Kurt...it **gives** life._"

Nightcrawler's expression became determined. "_Nein_." he said. "Zhe Rebirth device _has_ to be destroyed." He placed the charges, and started to set the timer...

"_With me along with it?_" Magneto said. "_Are you that much like your mother?_"

_That_ made Kurt stop in his tracks. He _had_ to destroy the device; there was no doubt in that regard. But to blow it up with Magneto still inside...it would be _murder_...

Murder was an unforgivable sin in the eyes of God.

Taking a deep breath, Nightcrawler set the timers for a few minutes longer than he'd initially planned; that was the best he could do.

By then, Magneto's goons had been taken care of. Slowly, the small task-force started to regroup. "Kurt," Superman asked, "did you plant the charges?"

"Ja," Nightcrawler said, "but..."

Suddenly, the door to the Rebirth chamber burst open, and Magneto, looking healthier and stronger than he'd _ever_ been, levitated out of the chamber. Magneto gestured, and Wolverine and Iron Man were lifted, immobile, off the floor, suspended by the metal in Iron Man's suit and the adamantium in Wolverine's skeleton. Magneto gestured again, and Thor had to hold tight to Mjolnir, as it began to float away from him.

Magneto smiled, as his recruits started to recover. "Thank you, Kurt, for sparing me." he said. "Thanks to the Rebirth device, I now have the same prowess as you do, Captain." His smile turned sly. "It should be a boon to the rest of my Acolytes..."

Suddenly, the charges started to beep; they were about to go off.

"_Everybody, get back!!_" Cap yelled, and everyone ran for cover, as Magneto, startled, released Wolverine and Iron Man. As everyone left the lab, Superman glanced back to see that Dr. Banner had tripped. Quickly, he darted back, to help the fallen scientist...

The timers were counting down: 00:03...00:02...

Superman had just reached Dr. Banner...

...00:01...00:00...

Nick Fury was in the gunship when he felt the tremor of the C4. Stepping outside, he saw the cloud of smoke trail up from the facility.

'_Looks like they did it._' Nick thought, lightly smiling, turning back to the gunship...and froze.

There, off in the distance, was the unmistakable outline of a U.S. Army tank platoon.

'_Looks like Old Thunderbolt managed to get the go-ahead sooner than I thought._' Nick thought. He was going to have a _hell_ of a time convincing Tad to hold off...and _that_ was just assuming he didn't catch wind of Superman. All things figured, Superman was _just_ as powerful as the Hulk, if not _more_; knowing Ross, good intentions aside, that fact alone was enough for him to shoot _first_ and ask questions _later_.

'_Come on, get out of there._' Nick thought. '_Hurry..._'

After the smoke from the blast cleared, Dazzler was the first one to step back into the remnants of the lab. The Rebirth device was utterly destroyed...and there was no sign of Superman or Dr. Banner. "Kal?" Dazzler called. "Kal?!"

Suddenly, a section of fallen ceiling lifted up, revealing Superman and Dr. Banner beneath it. "We're okay, Ali." Superman said, as he tossed the section clear. "I'm sorry I worried you." At that, Dazzler smiled, giving her sweetie a quick hug.

"_No!!_" Magneto cried, as he gazed upon the wrecked Rebirth. "What have you _done?!_"

"We made sure that this device is never used for your twisted schemes, Erik." the Professor said.

Magneto's eyes narrowed in pure _fury_, as he levitated into the air, the metal walls _rippling_ as he focused his power. "When I'm through with all of you," he snarled, "there won't be enough left to..!"

Superman had had enough, as he took to the air, staring Magneto right in the eye. "You said you had the abilities of a Super-Soldier, didn't you, Lensherr?" he snapped. "_Good_."

That statement threw Magneto. "Why do you say that?"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "Because it makes me feel _much_ less guilty about doing _this!!_"

**_WHAM!!!!_**

Superman's punch echoed like a _thunderclap_, connecting solidly across Magneto's face, sending the empowered Master of Magnetism flying across the room, crashing through the metal wall, to land _hard_.

After about a minute, Magneto stumbled back into the lab, coughing from the impact. "You've had that coming for a _long_ time, Lensherr." Superman said.

"_Father!!_" Quicksilver cried, rushing to Magneto's side.

"I'm...fine, Pietro." Magneto coughed. He looked to Superman. "Even the power of a super-soldier is as _nothing_ to you..." he murmured, "...no force on this earth can match you, Kal-El..."

Quicksilver's face twisted in fury. "I can think of _one_ thing!!" he yelled. With that, he zipped over to Dr. Banner, and, before anyone could stop him, yanked on a few wires in the collar he was wearing.

"_No!!_" Banner cried, before he gasped, his eyes rolling up in his head.

"Let's get out of here!!" Quicksilver shouted, as he ran towards his father, helping him escape, the other Acolytes promptly following.

Wolverine started to go after them, but Captain America stopped him. "Jim...we've got _other_ things to worry about..."

Dr. Banner's body began to shift, his veins showing under his skin...which began to turn _green_. He _grew_, until he towered over eight feet tall, his massive muscles rippling, tearing his clothes, leaving only his pants intact. His hair went completely green, matching his skin, and his eyes were a dark green. His face contorted in a snarl, as he let out a roar that shook the room.

"**_HULK SMASH!!!!!_**"

"_Gott in Himmel..._" Nightcrawler murmured, as the group backed away from the raging Hulk.

"_Here we go again..._" Iron Man muttered.

"Professor, can you reach him telepathically?" Superman asked.

The Professor closed his eyes, concentrating...and then shook his head. "The Hulk's mind is too primitive to reach in his agitated state." he answered. "We _must_ try to calm him down."

"It looks like that collar might be responsible for that." Cap observed.

Wolverine nodded, popping out his claws. "Leave that to me, Steve." he said. With that, he ran at the Hulk, ducking under the Hulk's swinging fist, rolling behind him, and hopping on his back, ready to slice the collar off...

...but the Hulk grabbed Wolverine _just_ as he'd reached his neck, throwing him clear across the room. "**_CLAW MAN NOT HURT HULK!!!_**"

Drawing his hammer, Thor closed on the Hulk. "Peace, friend," he said, "we are not trying to hurt you!"

"**_THUNDER MAN NOT HURT HULK, EITHER!!!_**" the Hulk boomed, as he back-handed Thor, sending him flying.

Thor landed hard, but quickly got up. "The good doctor does _not_ make this easy." he muttered.

"Ya _think?_" Wolverine said.

Captain America walked over to the Hulk. "Bruce, I know you can hear me." he said.

"**_HULK NOT PUNY BANNER!!!_**"

Cap kept calm. "We want to _help_ you." he continued. "Please, just calm down..."

"**_HULK NOT CALM DOWN!!! HULK SMASH!!!!_**" the Hulk roared, as he swung at Captain America, who expertly somersaulted over the Hulk's fist. As the Hulk faced away from the momentum of his punch, Cap saw his chance, and threw his shield, slicing the collar...but not enough to get it off.

This only angered the Hulk _further_. Roaring, the Hulk charged at Captain America...but stopped as Nightcrawler 'ported in front of his face. "Excuse me, Herr Hulk," he said politely, 'porting to the Hulk's shoulder, then to the floor, 'porting fast enough so that the Hulk wouldn't catch him, "but I zhink zat zhis collar needs to come off." The Hulk roared again, swinging at Nightcrawler, who 'ported onto his back, trying to grab the collar...but the Hulk grabbed him.

"**_HULK SMASH BLUE THING!!!!_**" the Hulk roared, but before he could do so, he was blinded by one of Dazzler's flare-bombs, causing him to drop Nightcrawler, who 'ported away.

Roaring in fury, the Hulk stomped towards Dazzler. "**_SPARKLE-GIRL MAKE HULK ANGRY!!!!!_**" Quickly, Dazzler generated a light-barrier in time to block the Hulk's fist-smash...which nearly tore through her barrier. The Hulk smashed again. And again. And _again_, until he broke through.

The feedback from her shield breaking caused Dazzler to cry out, falling to her knees, momentarily weakened, as the Hulk raised his fists. "**_HULK SMASH SPARKLE-GIRL!!!!!_**" With that, he brought his fists down...

...and two hands caught them.

Superman glared at the Hulk, as he stopped the attack. "That's no way to treat a lady, pal." he said. "I think someone needs to put 'anger management' on their to-do list."

Roaring in rage, the Hulk pulled his fist back to punch Superman, but Superman blocked the attack, and countered with a lightning-fast punch, sending the surprised Hulk flying across the room, smashing through the wall. Superman frowned. '_No **way** it's that easy..._'

With a loud roar, the Hulk burst back into the room. "**_CAPE MAN HURT HULK!!!!!_**" the Hulk roared. "**_HULK SMASH PUNY CAPE MAN!!!!!_**"

The Hulk charged at Superman, his footsteps shaking the earth, but Superman met the charge, digging in his heels; the Hulk pushed him back a good thirty feet, and was then stopped, as Superman held his ground. "We are _trying_ to _help_ you!" Superman shouted.

Roaring, the Hulk punched Superman in the chest; the impact forced Superman to take a step back, though it didn't hurt him...and then the Hulk unleashed a double axe-handle strike, slamming him straight into the ground, leaving a crater so deep, Superman couldn't be seen.

"**_PUNY CAPE MAN NO STOP HULK!!!!_**" the Hulk boomed. "**_HULK STRONGEST ON EARTH!!!!!_**"

Suddenly, the earth began to tremble, as Superman burst out of the crater, hovering in front of the Hulk, meeting his gaze calmly, looking annoyed. "Well, Hulk, _that_ just means you have a _big_ problem." he said. His eyes narrowed angrily.

"_I'm not **from** Earth!!!!_"

And he punctuated the sentence with a mighty punch, sending the Hulk flying once more. _This_ time, he flew ahead of the Hulk's path, intercepting him and slamming him with an axe-handle strike, sending him to crash into the ground. The Hulk recovered in seconds, roaring in sheer _fury_, and leaping at Superman, catching him in his arms. "**_HULK CRUSH CAPE MAN LIKE BUG!!!!!!_**"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "Two things about bugs, Hulk." he said. "They _fly_." With that, he rose into the air, spinning at g-forces _hundreds_ of times the Earth's gravity, until the Hulk was tossed ingloriously off.

"And they _sting_." Superman finished, as he fired a surgically precise eye-ray at the Hulk, slicing off the collar.

The Hulk roared in utter rage, swinging at Superman, who easily dodged the attack. '_This is getting me nowhere._' Superman thought. '_He just gets angrier with every attack, and stronger, too._' Then, he got an idea. '_No matter **how** strong he gets, his physiology is still basically human...and needs **oxygen**._'

As the Hulk came at him, Superman inhaled, and unleashed a powerful gust of frost-breath, covering him with thick layers of ice, leaving his head exposed. As the Hulk tried to break free, Superman darted behind him and caught his neck in a choke-hold, holding on tight.

The Hulk roared, breaking free of the ice, trying to toss Superman off, but Superman held on tight. Slowly, the Hulk began to get sluggish. "_Hulk...head feel funny..._"

"Professor!" Superman called. "Try him _now!_"

Professor Xavier concentrated. '_Bruce Banner!_' he called.

The Hulk scowled. "_Hulk not puny Banner!_"

'_I understand that, Hulk,_' the Professor sent, '_but he is a part of **you**, as much as you are of him. **Look** for him, Hulk; look through your mind. Find him, and see what he's seen; we are your **friends**!_'

Slowly, the Hulk stopped struggling, and stood up, his brain trying to process what he'd heard. The Professor smiled, as he sensed the Hulk start to connect with his other consciousness. "Superman," Xavier instructed, "let him go."

Superman nodded, and let go. The Hulk, disoriented, looked around, and stopped as he looked at Superman. "_Cape Man...help Hulk-Banner..._" he said softly. "_Cape Man...is friend?_" Superman smiled, and nodded. The Hulk looked to the others. "_All...are friends?_"

Cap smiled, nodding. "We just want to help."

The Professor smiled, rolling forward, as the Hulk knelt down. Xavier simply placed his hand to the Hulk's large forehead. "Go to sleep, now, Hulk."

"_Okay._" the Hulk said, as he closed his eyes, and fell backwards with a massive _thud_. Then, he slowly began to change, back into the smaller form of Bruce Banner, still out cold.

"Well," Wolverine muttered, "I sure don't want to do _that_, again."

"_You and me both._" Iron Man agreed.

Slowly, Cap picked up the snoozing scientist, lifting him over his shoulder. "We'd better get going." he said.

Superman nodded. "Let's not keep the General waiting." he agreed. With that, they headed outside, to head home.

It was later in the evening when Rogue and Remy got back to the Institute. They walked up to the main door, before stopping, turning to each other. Rogue smiled. "Ah...had a really nahce time tonight, Remy." she said softly.

Remy smiled. "Remy did, too."

Rogue managed to suppress a blush. "Ah...wouldn't mind doin' in again, sometime soon."

Remy grinned. "Remy can' tell y' 'ow glad 'e is t' 'ear dat." he said softly. He smiled slyly, and added, "But de date ain' over yet, chere."

Rogue blinked in confusion. "What do ya mean?" she inquired. Remy simply took a black silk handkerchief out of his pocket, and gently placed it over her mouth.

"Dis jus' be temporary, chere." Remy said gently. "It jus' until Remy figure out 'ow t' do de _real_ t'ing." And with that, he softly pressed his lips to her silk-covered ones.

Rogue gasped in surprise...and then softly moaned, savoring the feeling of his lips gently suckling hers, even through the silken shield, loving this wonderful moment, one she _never_ thought would happen, _ever_. And it felt so _wonderful_, so _perfect_. She never wanted it to end.

After a blissful eternity, their kiss ended, as Remy removed the cloth, gazing into her eyes. Rogue smiled, and removed Remy's shades, gazing into his intoxicating crimson-on-ebony eyes. "We _have_ to do this again." Rogue whispered.

Remy grinned. "Den we _will_, chere." he said. "Remy _can_ call y' dat, right?"

Rogue smiled flirtatiously. "_Maybe._"

Remy chuckled. "Dat's good enough for Remy!" he said.

Rogue smiled. "Ah wonder what everyone else has been up to."

Remy shrugged as they headed inside. "Prob'ly not'ing, chere. It's prob'ly been a quiet night."

Nick Fury was talking with Professor Xavier in his office at the Institute when Old Thunderbolt walked in.

Thaddeus Ross was around Nick's height, but of slightly stronger frame, in his late fifties, with short, white hair, a white moustache, and brown eyes, clad in his usual dark olive-green military uniform.

Nick had figured they'd evacuated the facility quick enough to give Ross the slip, but apparently, they hadn't.

Tad sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head. "Nick Fury." he said, his voice having a slight Texas accent. "Should've known."

"General Ross," Nick said, "this is Professor Charles Xavier, the Headmaster of this Institute."

Charles smiled. "It's an honor, General Ross."

Thaddeus nodded, before looking back to Nick. "Where's Banner, Fury?" he asked. "I'm only asking nice on account of we're pals. Now, I _warned_ you about him; I said that if he ever got away, I'd very quickly take him off your hands..."

"General, Dr. Banner was _kidnapped_." Charles said. "A task force led by General Fury was able to rescue him, and bring him here for treatment."

General Ross arched an eyebrow. "Is that so."

Nick nodded. "There _was_ a Hulk incident, but it was quickly contained." he admitted.

Ross frowned. "You _see_, Fury? I _warned_ you..."

"Tad, I think that Xavier can actually _help_ Banner." Nick said. "I was just talking with him about it."

Ross scoffed. "How many times have I heard _that_ before?" he said incredulously. "Nick, I've lost _track_ of the times Banner's said that he was on the brink of a cure for his 'condition,' but there's only _one_ way to neutralize the Hulk."

"With respect, General, I must disagree." Charles said. "Previously, all Dr. Banner has treated was the _physiological_ aspect of his condition. But the Hulk is more than just mutated DNA and gamma-irradiated blood; he is the physical manifestation of all the negative emotions Dr. Banner has repressed over his life, brought out by his exposure to gamma-rays. I believe that, with repeated, intensive therapy, I can reconcile Dr. Banner's consciousness with the Hulk-consciousness. Now, this will not prevent Dr. Banner from changing into the Hulk, but it _should_ enable him to remain in control when it happens."

Thaddeus looked incredulously. "You gotta be _kidding_ me."

"He's _not_." Nick said. "I think he might just be able to do it, Tad."

General Ross thought about it for a few moments...and then nodded. "He's _your_ responsibility, Fury." he said. Then, he lightly smiled. "My daughter never fully got over that boy; she'll be _thrilled_ to hear that he's getting help."

Charles smiled. "All's well that ends well, then."

"Maybe so," Ross agreed, "but I still have one question: how the _hell_ did you contain him that quickly, Fury?"

Nick grinned. "Tad, you wouldn't believe me even if I _told_ you."

Tad chuckled. "No, Nick, I probably _wouldn't_." he agreed. "Take care, now." He nodded to Charles, and then headed out.

Nick then turned to Xavier. "You're sure you can pull this off?"

"There are no certainties, General, but I am quite optimistic."

Nick nodded...and then frowned. "Cap told me that the kid said that he wasn't from Earth."

Charles closed his eyes. "It's true, General." he admitted. "Superman – Kal-El – is the sole survivor of the planet Krypton, which was destroyed thirty years ago. His parents sent hi to Earth as a child so that he might be spared their fate."

Nick's eyes widened. "_Jesus_..." he said.

Charles nodded. "His people were very much like us...or rather, _we_ were like _them_, which was why they sent him here."

Nick nodded. "Well, the kid's proven his mettle, as far as I'm concerned," he said, "but Cap _also_ said that he took a punch from the _Hulk_, and barely slowed down." His eyes narrowed. "That's still one damn spooky thing to think about, Xavier."

Charles looked worried. "General...I can assure you..."

"You don't have to." Nick said. "_I_ don't think the kid's going to go rogue...but if word gets out that a super-powerful _alien_ is flying all over the world, I can think of a few people in the government who are going to get mighty jumpy if it comes out the wrong way."

Charles nodded. "I agree...which is why I always advise caution to my students."

Nick nodded. "Well, Professor, we're just going to collect Banner and head on our way...and remember, we were _never here._"

Charles nodded. "I understand."

Nick turned to go...and then added, "One thing, though; tell Logan that we're even, now." With that, he headed out of Charles' office.

In the infirmary, Superman helped Cap, Iron Man and Thor move the sleeping Dr. Banner to the S.H.I.E.L.D. gunship, as the Avengers got ready to go. "Well, Cap," Superman said, "I guess we'll see you later."

Cap nodded. "Superman," he said, "about what you said to the Hulk...you're not from Earth?"

Superman's expression saddened; he'd overheard Cap talk about the Chitari aliens during the flight to the facility. "Yes." he said softly. "I'm an alien, Cap; I came from the planet Krypton, which lay in the Xerius Galaxy, over two billion light years from here."

Iron Man spoke up. "_You mean, it **lies** in the Xerius Galaxy._"

Superman shook his head. "No, Iron Man. Krypton was destroyed thirty years ago by a shift in its core, which wiped out every single member of my people; I am the Last Son of Krypton." he said. "So you don't need to worry about a Kryptonian invasion, anytime soon."

Cap lightly smiled, and placed a hand on Superman's shoulder. "Son, if you're any indication of what they were like," he said, "then it is a _damn_ shame that we never got to meet them."

Superman smiled at the praise of his childhood hero. "Thanks, Cap."

Thor paused. "_When_ did you say that your people passed away?" he asked.

"About thirty years ago." Superman repeated. "Why?"

Thor looked sad. "It was about thirty years ago – as those of Midgard reckon time – that all us of Asgard were summoned home by the All-Father – by Odin himself." he said. "All-Father told us that the prophetess, Volla, had told him of the passing of a great people, as great as us of Asgard, if not greater. This news was a sad reminder, both for those lost, and for us, as it was another reminder of the coming Ragnarok. Odin then ordered us to pause in our activities, and mourn their passing." He looked Superman in the eye. "Know, my friend, that on that day, when your people were lost, all those of the Aesir wept for them." He frowned. "All those, that is, save Loki, but that's hardly a surprise; the son of Laufey the Frost Giant is so cold, were I to strike him in the heart, I would break my fist!"

Superman smiled. "Thank you, Thor." he said. Turning to Cap, he added, "It's been an honor, sir."

Cap smiled. "The honor is _ours_, Superman." he replied. "And remember, if you _ever_ need our help, you just get on that communicator and give us a shout."

Superman nodded. "I will."

"_Take care._" Iron Man said.

"May Asgard's blessing be forever upon you, my friend." Thor added, saluting.

Superman smiled. "I'll see you guys later." he said. With that, the Avengers headed into the gunship. Seconds later, the gunship took to the air, flying off.

After heading back in, Superman headed up to his room, to change into his regular clothes. He had just removed his belt when Alison, still in her uniform, peered in. "Hey." she said, lightly smiling. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Superman smiled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Alison lightly blushed. "I don't know..." she said, "...it's just that, when you were fighting the Hulk, he knocked you around a bit...I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt..."

Superman's smile grew. "I'm fine, _taushi_." he assured her.

Alison still looked worried. "You're sure?"

Superman chuckled, and simply removed the upper part of his uniform. "See? I'm okay." he said. "I'm not hurt."

Alison smiled, her face going rosy, as he reached out and touched his chest. "Wow..." she cooed, slowly gliding her hand over her boyfriend's flawless chest. "You don't even have a _scratch_..."

Clark smiled, and took her hand in his, bringing it up to kiss it lovingly, slowly drawing her closer. "You don't have anything to worry about."

Alison smiled, her lovely rosy tint intensifying. "I know." she cooed. "You're...just so _powerful_...and you're always in perfect control – that's how you defeated the Hulk." She smiled up at him. "It's really inspiring, Clarkie. _You're_ inspiring."

Clark chuckled. "I wasn't _always_ in perfect control, Ali." he admitted. "_God_, until I went to the North Pole, I was goofing up with my powers, left and right!"

Alison giggled, as they both sat down at the edge of Clark's bed. "Tell me about some of them." she pleaded.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "Do you remember that one time, ten years ago or so, when a truck fell out of the sky in New York?"

Alison blinked. "Yeah; it landed in our town, Gardendale. Nobody knew where it came from." she said. She suppressed a grin. "That was _you??_"

"Yeah." Clark said. "I kinda...well..._sneezed._"

Alison burst out laughing. "You _sneezed??_"

"I was about ten at the time, and I was _really_ sick for about a week." Clark explained. "I didn't know it at the time, but my immune system was starting to kick it up a notch to clear all the left-over pathogens out of my body in the great-grandmother of all immune responses. Anyway, my Ma had had to take me into town with her to get some cough medicine – thankfully, nobody was in the street at the time – and we were about to get into our old pickup, when I...kinda...let a big sneeze go next to another truck."

Alison burst out laughing. "Oh, that is just so _cute!!_" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly find it too funny at the time." Clark said. "Thankfully, no-one was hurt." He chuckled. "My flying ability started to kick in when I was seven." he continued. "You know that Disney movie 'George of the Jungle'?"

Alison giggled. "Yeah."

"Same thing, except without the vines. Luckily, my invulnerability was working, by then."

Alison burst out laughing, holding her sides. "I'm sorry," she gasped, "but that is just so _funny!_ Oh my _God_, you are just too _cute!_" As she calmed, her expression became a little sad. "I wish you had told me about your powers." she said.

Clark smiled, and looped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "Ali, if I've learned anything from finding out about Krypton, it's that you can't dwell on the past."

Alison smiled, nodding. "You're right." she agreed. Her smile grew, as she sweetly sat on his lap, lovingly straddling him, looping her arms around his neck. "Even though we had to be apart for five years, I'm glad...because it gave you the time to grow into the man I _love_." she cooed. Giggling, she gave him a peck on the cheek. "And it only makes your little goof-ups all the more _adorable_."

Clark smiled warmly, placing his hands on Alison's waist, holding her close. "And it gave _you_ the time to become the intelligent, beautiful, _wonderful_ woman that I've fallen for _completely_." he replied.

And he punctuated the sentence with a loving, passionate kiss, completely snaring her lips. Alison sighed blissfully, allowing herself to get lost in the kiss, her eyes closing in loving trust. After a few wonderful minutes of kissing, Clark moved back, to gaze upon his _taushi_. Alison's eyes were still closed, her lovely face flushed, her lips beautifully love-swollen from kissing, making them look all the more irresistible. Clark smiled, and then leaned into her, lovingly kissing the bare skin of her shoulder, trailing up to kiss the side of her throat. Slowly, his hands glided up to caress her curves, giving the most loving squeeze as his hands cupped her breasts, causing Alison to softly moan in pure pleasure. His hands lovingly caressed her curves, until they lightly brushed the bare sides of her breasts, left partially exposed by her uniform in the middle.

Alison lightly gasped. "Oh God..._tausha_...that feels so _good_..." she moaned. Encouraged, Clark resumed his caresses, tenderly gliding his hands over the exposed sides of her curves, marveling at the perfect, silky-softness of her skin.

After a few more wonderful minutes, Clark moved back, to gaze upon her, smiling as he met her sapphire gaze. "I love you, _taushi_." he whispered.

Alison smiled happily, her skin lightly sparkling. "I love you, too, _tausha_." she cooed. Smiling, Clark leaned down to her, to snare her lips again...

...when his hearing picked something up.

Clark instantly froze, which Alison instantly sensed, as she buried her head in his chest, giggling and letting out a tiny scream of frustration. "It never fails!" she laughed. "The _minute_ I get you all to myself, something happens!"

Clark smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

Alison smiled, sweetly kissing him. "Don't be." she cooed. "It's just another reason why I love you."

Clark smiled. "I'd better get you back to your room."

Alison sweetly pouted. "All by myself?" she teased.

Clark grinned. "As much as I would _love_ to keep you here, if Logan finds you here, he'll probably give you extra Danger Room sessions." he said. "But, maybe if I get back early enough, we could watch a movie...and maybe get in some more...'quality time'?"

Alison smiled. "_Perfect!_" she exclaimed. Smiling, Clark lifted his girlfriend into his arms, and darted to her room, savoring Alison's happy sigh as she enjoyed the ride. Reaching her room, he simply laid her on her bed, before giving her one more kiss, and then darting back to his room, to put the rest of his uniform back on. Superman then darted to the nearest window, opened it, and flew off, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

_Deep Space_

Deep in the blackness of space, far from both the Milky Way Galaxy and the Xerius Galaxy, a massive vessel glided through the endless ocean of space.

The vessel had once been the Ark of the enlightened Xenterran race...but now it served the purposes of another entity. Aboard the bridge, where the black, spindly, nano-construct remained linked to the ship's mainframe after delivering the controlling AI, a single image was shown upon the main computer screen.

The image of three circles, all linked.

It had nearly been a year since Brainiac had detected the Trans-Warp signature from earth; a year since setting a course for the planet that had given refuge to Kal-El, the last Kryptonian...who had to be destroyed, so that Brainiac could resume its task of absorbing the knowledge of all worlds...and then destroying them.

Brainiac did not share the emotions of organic beings...but it did share the sentiment of not wasting time.

The Xenterrans had been surprisingly close to achieving Trans-Warp capability...enough so that Brainiac could finish the job. Though the Ark could not be modified to achieve Trans-Warp, it had been easy for Brainiac to design a _smaller_ Trans-Warp Drive...for a _smaller_ vessel.

He could not risk uploading himself into the Warp Pod...so he'd opted to send something else.

Before detecting Kal-El, Brainiac had been designing other AI programs; his 'children,' as organics might say. For the most part, it had been disastrous.

The Brainiac Emulator programs Mark I through IV had been failures; they had begun "personifying," exhibiting emotional behavior, like organic beings. Once a program started displaying emotion, Brainiac promptly deleted it, recycling the nano-bots used to make up its body.

But fairly recently, he'd developed the Mark V, which had shown promise...until it began showing emotions. Instead of deleting it, however, Brainiac had decided to make use of it.

Several weeks ago, well into the development of the Mark VI, he'd sent the Mark V on to Earth, in a Trans-Warp Pod, to evaluate the planet Earth, as the last data Krypton had on the planet was utterly outdated. By his calculations, the Mark V would reach Earth in several months.

And now, the Mark VI – his greatest creation – was ready. He had finally perfected the program; a perfect, emotionless intelligence, within a swarm of nano-bots, capable of assimilating and incorporating any system they interfaced with...or, at least, any _Earth_ system; the nano-bots were based on low-tech maintenance systems from the Kryptonian satellite he'd used to escape Krypton. They weren't robust enough to assimilate Kryptonian technology...but they would suffice.

As the final algorithms were set in place, and the objectives programmed, Brainiac transferred the Mark VI into the Warp Pod...and launched it.

Outside the ship, the Pod jettisoned away from the Ark...and then streaked away at Trans-Warp speeds. Brainiac watched it go, to complete its objective.

_Destroy Kal-El._

_Author's Note: I just wanted to let you all know that, tomorrow, I'm starting my new job! As a result, I may not be able to update as often as I would like. I WILL finish this story; don't worry! Thanks for understanding!_

_Coming Soon:_

_A rash of thefts shakes New York as Jean goes missing._

_Could it be the work of common criminals?_

_Or is something that an expert of Strange phenomena can decipher?_

_Find out in "Strange Things," coming to your computer soon…_


	17. Strange Things

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: STRANGE THINGS

_Xavier Institute, March 13, 2008_

It was Friday evening at the Institute, and Jean was in her room, in her regular clothes, sitting on her bed, reading. The week had been long, though uneventful, and she was looking forward to a nice weekend...as well as a date with Scott tomorrow night, she thought with a smile.

"Hey, Jeannie." Logan said, as he popped his head through her door. "You got a package."

Jean looked up from her novel. "From who?"

Logan shrugged. "Beats me." He left a fair-sized box, wrapped in brown paper, just inside her door. "'Night." he said, before walking away.

Her curiosity piqued, Jean walked over to the box, picked it up, and brought it over to her bed, sitting down and starting to unwrap it. After getting the paper off, she found that her anonymous gift was a light-violet box, with a turn-crank...

Suddenly, the box burst open, and a grotesque jack-in-the-box burst out at her, grinning its horrible smile...

The very second that it popped out, the repulsive marionette seemed to grow, looming over her, seeming to generate a horrible force that lashed out at her very psyche...

Jean screamed in horror, as darkness claimed her.

Scott awoke a bit late, the next morning. Yawning, he got out of bed, got dressed, and headed downstairs. As he came into the kitchen, he found that breakfast had already been cleared away, with only Clark, in his work-clothes, left in the kitchen, having a glass of milk.

Scott lightly smiled. "Hey, Clark." he greeted. "Rough night?"

Clark lightly smiled. "Not really," he answered, "but _today_ looks pretty hectic. Old JJ wants me and Peter in at the Bugle; apparently, there's a story he wants covered."

Scott grimaced. "Ouch."

"_Tell_ me about it."

Scott chuckled. "Hey, have you seen Jean?" he inquired.

Clark shook his head. "Nope. Sorry." he answered. "Then again, I only got in a few minutes ago, so she might have come and gone. I would've been back earlier, but there was a trans-Atlantic flight that sprung a fuel-leak."

"Morning." came a sleepy voice, as Alison walked into the kitchen, in her light silver nightgown under her blue robe.

"Morning, Alison." Scott greeted.

Alison smiled at Scott, and then her smile grew in radiance as she saw Clark. "Morning, baby." she cooed.

Clark smiled back at his girlfriend, before giving her a quick kiss. "Good morning, _taushi_." he greeted. "How was your concert, last night?"

Alison sighed. "I did good, but I was _wiped_. I didn't get back until after midnight." she lamented. "When I got back to my room, I was out before I even hit the bed."

Clark smiled. "Well, you were _amazing_, sweetheart."

Alison lightly blushed. "I _knew_ you were watching me!" she exclaimed. "When I was done, I was _sure_ I'd heard a faint sonic boom, overhead!" She smiled. "Thank you."

Noting Clark's attire, Alison frowned. "Don't tell me Mr. Jameson is making you work, today!" she exclaimed.

Clark sighed. "I'm afraid so."

"_Argh!_ That man is a _slave-driver!_" Alison declared. "He's worse than Magneto and Doom _combined!_"

Scott chuckled. "Well, good luck today, Clark." he said, before he stepped out of the kitchen for a moment.

Stepping into the living room, Scott found the New Mutants there, all engaged in various activities. "Hey, has anyone seen Jean?" he inquired.

Bobby spoke up first. "Nope. Sorry, Fearless."

"We haven't seen her." Ray added.

"Maybe she went shopping?" Jubilee suggested.

Tabitha nodded. "The Sadie Hawkins Dance _is_ coming up, soon." she added. "Maybe she went dress-shopping."

"Maybe." Scott said. "Well, if you see her, just tell her I wanted to talk to her, okay?" The New Mutants all nodded, and Scott turned to head back to the kitchen.

As he headed to the kitchen, he encountered Kurt on the way, who was reading a newspaper. "Hey, Kurt, have you seen Jean?" he asked.

"No, sorry." Kurt replied. "But get a load of _zhis_, Scott: '_Gotham City crime wave comes to sudden halt! Gotham Police Chief Angel Rojas credits police crackdown, but sources tell of mysterious 'Bat Man' apprehending criminals!_'"

Scott's eyes widened. "Did you say a _Bat_ Man??" he repeated. "_Man_, just when I'd thought I'd heard _everything!_"

"_Ja!_" Kurt agreed. "He's got every crook in Gotham City running _scared!_ People are saying zat he can _fly_, zat bats do his bidding, zat he can listen through _valls_, and zat bullets go right _through_ him!"

Scott gulped. "_Whoa_. He sure doesn't sound like anybody _I'd_ want to meet!" he said. "So, you haven't seen Jean at _all?_" Kurt shook his head.

Scott couldn't help but worry, at that. It wasn't like Jean to just leave without telling anyone. Scott hoped she was okay...but something in his gut was telling him that she was in _trouble_...

_Daily Bugle, New York_

"_KENT! PARKER! GET IN HERE!!_"

Clark sighed as he came into the office _just_ in time to hear JJ's bellow, before promptly heading to his boss' office, followed by Peter. "So, Pete, what do you think the boss wants _this_ time?" Clark inquired, chuckling.

Peter grinned. "Beats me," he replied, "but it must be pretty big, to drag the both of us out here on a Saturday."

As they both entered Mr. Jameson's office, JJ was just putting the phone down. "I want you both to head over to the New York Museum." he ordered. "There was a robbery, last night."

Clark's eyes widened in surprise. "A robbery, sir?" he asked. He hadn't _heard_ any alarms go off at the museum. "What happened?"

"Someone broke in and stole an old Tibetan ring that your pal Luthor had just donated to the museum, Kent." JJ answered. "Somehow, they managed to avoid setting off any alarms. I want you both to head down there and find out _exactly_ what happened!" He started to pull out some paperwork. "What are you two waiting for?! Get _going!!_" With that, Clark and Peter both hurried out, to catch the bus to the museum.

It didn't take them long to reach the museum, after catching the bus. When they headed in, they easily located the exhibit that had held the ring; it was the only one with yellow police tape surrounding it. After showing their press credentials to the police, Clark and Peter were allowed past the tape. "What exactly happened, officer?" Clark inquired.

"We're not sure." the policeman in charge replied. "Someone managed to cut the alarm lines, as well as the lines to the security cameras. It's _impossible_ to tell exactly what happened, now."

Clark thanked the policeman, and began to look around the crime scene, as Peter snapped photos...and then he happened to see Lex, standing at the edge of the scene. "Hey, Lex!" he called, darting over.

"Hey, Clark!" Lex replied, lightly smiling. "I should've known you'd be on the case!"

"Well, it looks like I'm a bit late." Clark said. "It seems that whoever did this managed to disable the alarms and cameras, to avoid detection...from _everything_."

Lex nodded. "Well, that just makes them _smart_." he observed. He sighed. "It looks like whoever did this has a passion for Egyptian artifacts."

Clark blinked. "You mean _Tibetan_ artifacts."

Lex shook his head. "No, Clark. They were only _found_ in Tibet." he corrected. "The ring that was stolen was part of a set of _three_ rings, and their craftsman ship was _Egyptian_."

"But...what on Earth were they doing in _Tibet??_" Clark asked.

Lex shrugged. "Beats me." he answered. "Apparently, these rings were of great occult significance...so much so that the police brought in their occult consultant, to see if _he_ could determine a possible angle to these thefts."

"_Thefts?_" Clark asked. "This has happened before?"

Lex nodded. "The first ring was stolen several months ago, in the same manner." he said. "Naturally, security was tightened...but, apparently, it wasn't enough. I'll advise the museum that houses the third ring to tighten security."

"Good idea." Clark said. "I'll see if I can find this consultant, and see if he has any theories."

"Sure." Lex agreed. "Anyway, I'll catch you later, Clark." He grinned. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Clark said, smiling. "Later." With that, he walked off.

After looking around the scene for a few minutes, Clark spotted the man who had to be the consultant, talking to a few uniformed officers...and smiled. "Excuse me, sir?"

Doctor Stephen Strange turned around, lightly smiling as he saw Clark. The good Doctor was a tall, lean man, in his early forties, with short, black hair streaked with grey on the sides, and a trim black beard around his face, with sharp green eyes, clad in black pants and a light blue silk shirt under a dark red overcoat, as well as red gloves. It made perfect sense to be an occult consultant.

Being the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme – its most powerful magic-wielder – tended to make one an expert in the subject.

"Clark Kent, Daily Bugle." Clark introduced himself, holding out his hand.

Doctor Strange nodded in understanding, and shook it. "Stephen Strange, M.D., and Occult Consultant." he replied.

"Do you have any theories on this theft, Doctor?" Clark inquired.

"Hmm...at the moment, none, I'm afraid." the Doctor replied. At that moment, the uniformed officers headed off, resuming their duties.

Clark lightly smiled. "I didn't know you made house calls." he said softly.

Doctor Strange chuckled. "You shouldn't be surprised; after making a few visits to the North Pole, this is right in my own back yard." he answered.

Clark nodded; just before Professor Xavier had found him in the Fortress, his meditation training had almost enabled him to reach the astral plane...a regular stop for the Sorcerer Supreme, which drew the good Doctor's attention. In the last few months before being found, Clark had enjoyed debating with a more worldly mind, since the Doctor had been a famed neurosurgeon before embracing the magic arts. "So, you have no idea who could have done this?" Clark asked.

"Unfortunately, no." the Doctor answered. "The stolen ring had a great deal of psychic energy around it...but it was of a particular form that I am unfamiliar with." His expression turned grave. "That fact _alone_ is troubling."

Clark nodded. "Well, thanks for your input, Doctor." he said. "It was good to see you, again." He turned to go...

"Wait."

Clark stopped, turning back to Doctor Strange. "There is...a matter that I require your particular help with." he said. He handed Clark a scrap of paper. "Please meet me at this address, later today."

Clark took the paper, nodding. "Of course, Doctor." he replied. "I'll fly by after work."

"Thank you." the Doctor said. "Have a good day, Mr. Kent."

"You too, Doctor." Clark said, and he headed off.

When mid-day came around, Scott was still driving around Bayville in his car, looking for Jean...and still, with no luck.

He was getting _really_ worried, now. Jean had been gone all morning; it wasn't like her to be out of contact, for this long. Scott pulled over, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed, acting on a hunch.

"_Hello? Fujioka residence, Taryn speaking._"

"Taryn? It's Scott." Scott said.

"_Oh, hey, Scott! What's up?_"

"Not much, but have you seen Jean, lately?" Scott asked. "I haven't seen her, lately, and I figured she might be out with you."

"_No, Scott; I haven't seen her since school, yesterday._" Taryn replied. "_Is everything okay?_"

"I think so; maybe it's nothing." Scott said. "Anyway, if you see her, just ask her to give me a call, okay?"

"_Sure, Scott. Later._" Taryn replied, before hanging up.

Grimacing worriedly to himself, Scott dialed Paul's number; hopefully, his friend knew something.

"_Andersen residence, Paul here._"

"Hey, man." Scott greeted.

"_Yo, Scott!_" Paul replied. "_What's up?_"

"I was just wondering: have you seen Jean, lately?" Scott asked. "She's been MIA since yesterday."

"_No, man. Sorry._" Paul answered. "_Anything wrong?_"

"No, that's okay." Scott replied. "Thanks, anyway. If you do see her, tell her to give me a shout, alright?"

"_Sure, Scott. Later._"

"Later." Scott said, and then he hung up.

Scott frowned to himself; except for Jean, Paul was his best friend, and he hated lying to his pal, like that. But what else _could_ he say? '_Hey, I think my girlfriend, who can hear people's thoughts and move things with her mind, may have been kidnapped. Oh, and by the way, the reason I wear these shades is so I don't fire off my uncontrollable eye-blasts and kill everyone I look at._'

Oh, yeah. _That_ was a conversation he was looking forward to.

Frowning, Scott drove off, to continue his search. '_Jean, where **are** you?_'

_Brooklyn Museum, New York_

It was mid-afternoon, a lax point in museum patronage, and the guard on duty at the entrance was getting a bit sleepy-eyed. After all, nothing ever happened at this time of day...

Suddenly, his security monitor went snowy. The guard jerked himself awake, and quickly took a look at it. He followed the wiring...and found the frayed section of wiring...which looked as if an invisible force had suddenly just pulled the wires apart.

The guard never saw the red-haired, uniform-clad teenage girl walk right past him. His mind was too clouded to even _see_ her. None of the other guards who came to their colleague's aid saw her, either.

Driven by an unseen power, Jean simply walked further into the museum, using her TK to pull the wires on security cameras as she went, remaining undetected. Soon, she came to the exhibit of Tibetan artifacts, donated by Lex Luthor.

Jean walked past the larger artifacts, completely ignoring the priceless jeweled caskets, and stopping in front of the case holding the single gold ring.

Jean reached out, and used her TK to grasp the alarm wires beneath the glass case. With one precise tug, she tore the wires, completely deactivating the security system. She then simply lifted up the glass covering, levitated the ring to her, and then replaced the covering, taking the ring. After placing the ring in a cloth bag, Jean simply walked to a fire exit, pulling a fire alarm as she did. The alarm promptly sounded, and the exit popped open, allowing her to exit unnoticed, before levitating herself to the rooftops, unseen.

Her task complete, Jean awaited the next command from her unseen master. '_Very good, child._' came the master's voice. '_You now have the remaining two rings. But you alone cannot retrieve the final artifact; you will need assistance...and you know where to get it, don't you?_'

Jean nodded, and then levitated herself away...

...heading _home_.

It was fairly late in the afternoon as Superman flew over the address that Doctor Strange had given him. After returning to the Daily Bugle, it had taken him a good few hours to fill out the report to JJ's liking; he hadn't minded, as it had also given him time to research the stolen rings...

...but his research turned up nothing. _Zilch_.

Silently descending, Superman spied Doctor Strange's residence; it was a fairly large, yet unassuming red-brick manor-style building. Discreetly, Superman touched down on the roof, wondering how to get in without anyone on the street seeing him...

The very instant his feet touched the roof, a glowing green arcane seal appeared beneath Superman, bathing him in emerald light. In the space between two instants, Superman felt a very light shifting sensation...and then, he was inside the manor.

Superman looked around, taking in his new surroundings. The inside of the building was quite pleasant, reminding him somewhat of the Institute...but the presence of shelves filled with books in arcane languages and mystic-looking talismans set it apart.

Just then, a set of doors in front of him opened, and a fairly tall, athletic-looking Asian man, in his late twenties, with a shaved-bald head, and dark eyes, clad in simple white pants and a green silk shirt walked through.

The newcomer walked to Superman, bowing. "Greetings." he said. "I am Wong, apprentice to Doctor Strange."

Superman bowed in return. "I am Kal-El." he replied. Smiling sheepishly, he asked, "How did..?"

Wong smiled. "The Doctor anticipated that you might have difficulty entering the Sanctum Sanctorum without being seen, and that it was most likely that you would be arriving from the air."

"Oh."

Wong gestured to the door. "The Doctor is waiting. Please, follow me." he said. With that, he headed for the door, and Superman followed. Wong opened the door, and they both stepped through...

...and walked into the same room...but they were standing on the _ceiling_.

Superman blinked, making sure he was seeing correctly. "Are we standing on the..?"

Wong nodded. "When I first came here, it took me _weeks_ to adjust to the ever-shifting perspective of the Sanctum." he said. "It was a valuable lesson for a student of the magic arts."

"I can imagine." Superman agreed. With that, they both walked across the ceiling, until they came to another door, which they headed through.

The room beyond _this_ door was much larger, and composed of countless stairwells, all intertwining in an _insanely_ complex pattern. Wong headed up one stairwell, and Superman followed, walking up one stairwell, then down another, and then up a spiraling one, until they came to another door. Wong opened the door...

...which led onto a set of train tracks, _with a locomotive barreling straight at them_...

Quickly, Wong shut the door. He frowned to himself for a minute...then smiled, and took a key out of his pocket. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it, before opening the door and stepping through, as Superman followed.

The room beyond was a kind of study, with countless shelves laden with books, many of which seemed to be _thousands_ of years old, if the dust coating them was any indication. The study was also spotted with numerous artifacts, including a beautiful, full-length mirror, seemingly framed in crystal, a glowing orb hovering above its pedestal...and a corroded spear-point, stained with what looked like dried blood. Curious, Superman walked over, to get a better look...

"The Spear of Longinus." came Doctor Strange's voice, as the Sorcerer Supreme stepped into view. He still wore his blue shirt and black pants, but had exchanged his coat for a deep crimson, gold-edged, high-collared cloak – a Cloak of Levitation – clasped by a simple white-gold gem. The Doctor continued, "Some call it the Spear of Destiny."

Superman paused...and his eyes widened as he recognized the name. "You mean..."

"Indeed." the Doctor confirmed. "This was the spear that pierced the body of Christ, over 2000 years ago...and still carries a fraction of divine energy from His blood upon it, to this day. Being an inanimate object, it cannot differentiate between good and evil, so I keep it here, for safety; divine power is not a thing that should be used lightly."

Superman nodded, as he reverently backed away from the Spear.

The Doctor smiled. "I see you had no trouble locating the Sanctum Sanctorum."

Superman nodded. "Walking through the inside of this place was certainly...unique."

Doctor Strange chuckled. "The first time through here usually is." he agreed.

"So, Doctor, what's the problem?" Superman inquired.

The Doctor's expression turned grave. "I need you to help me rescue someone very dear to me." he said softly. "She is being held in another dimension."

"Who?" Superman asked.

"Her name is Clea." the Doctor answered. "She is the Sorceress Supreme of the Dark Dimension, as well as its Princess and ruler." He lowered his eyes. "She is also...my estranged wife."

Superman nodded. "Who kidnapped her?"

Doctor Strange's eyes narrowed in cold fury. "_Dormammu._" he growled, as if the very name were a swearword. "Clea's uncle, former ruler of the Dark Dimension...and one of my bitterest enemies. I cannot recall how many times Clea and I thwarted his bids to reclaim power over the Dimension, in the past. He managed to kidnap Clea and is currently holding her at the very edge of the Dark Dimension. He plans to kill her, to remove any challenge to his claim on the Dimension...but he will not do so, just _yet_."

"Why not?" Superman asked.

"As much as Dormammu despises Clea, he loathes _me_ even more." Doctor Strange said. "He is hoping that I will come to rescue her...and the very moment he senses my magic, he will kill her, if only to cause me pain. If _I_ attempt the rescue myself, Clea is doomed."

Superman nodded in understanding. "What should I do?"

Doctor Strange smiled, and handed Superman a medallion, with a glowing green stone. "This is a Tear of Oshtur; it has many magical properties...including the ability to repel magic." he explained. "Not even Dormammu's most powerful black arts can pierce the barrier that this charm raises. It also has the power to direct you anywhere you wish to go; it will lead you straight to Dormammu's stronghold. Furthermore, I have enchanted it to emit the same light as Earth's sun, so that your powers do not diminish in the Dark Dimension."

The Doctor then walked to an ornate chest, and opened it, taking out a glowing blue energy-orb. "This is one of the strongest banishing spells in my arsenal." he said. "Time and again, this spell has allowed me to drive dark entities back from whence they came. Dormammu will not be expecting any other but me, and he will not be able to detect you, since you have no magic...and he _certainly_ will not expect you to use so powerful a banishment spell."

The Doctor handed the spell to Superman, who took it. "I understand." Superman said.

The Doctor's expression turned stern. "Make no mistake, Kal-El; Dormammu is _not_ to be underestimated." he said. "Exercise great caution; the Tear of Oshtur is powerful, but it will not make you invulnerable to magic – it can fail after several hits. Furthermore, do _not_ use the banishing spell until you have freed Clea. Once I open the portal to the Dark Dimension, I will keep it open, standing guard on this end, to ensure nothing comes through. Once you have rescued Clea, use the spell on Dormammu..._and then get to the portal as fast as you possibly **can**._ The spell has a powerful area-effect; if you are still in its range, it will trap you just as easily as it will Dormammu."

Superman clipped the spell to his belt, and placed the Tear of Oshtur around his neck. "I will be careful." he promised.

The Doctor nodded, and then closed his eyes, concentrating. His hands started to glow with dark purple energy...and then he stabbed his hands into the air, jabbing them into the very fabric of reality, as the energy took shape, forming a swirling, black vortex. Doctor Strange withdrew his hands from the vortex, his brow still narrowed with exertion. "Be warned," the Doctor said, "Dormammu has many servants. It is most likely that they will avoid you due to the light emitted by the Tear, but a few may be brazen enough to investigate. If any see you, do not hesitate to destroy them; they are but apparitions – they are not real. You must destroy them, lest they report back to their master."

Superman nodded gravely. "I understand."

The Doctor lightly smiled. "Godspeed, Kal-El." he said. Superman smiled, and then stepped into the vortex.

As he emerged from the vortex, Superman found himself standing upon a barren, craggy land mass, no larger than the room he'd departed from, floating upon a vast ocean of nothingness. The vortex on _this_ side was glowing a brilliant white-gold, a sharp contrast to the purple-black of the sky ahead, with only a very dim light on the horizon, giving the realm an unnatural beauty, as if wrapped in an endless twilight. Only the glowing light of the Tear of Oshtur around his neck would provide illumination.

'_The Doctor wasn't kidding when he called this place the **Dark** Dimension._' Superman thought. He looked to the Tear around his neck. '_Okay...so this is supposed to show me where I have to go..._'

As if it had sensed his thoughts, a bright beam of light shone from the Tear, forming a gleaming path through the sea of emptiness. Superman smiled to himself. '_Well, that's handy._' With that thought, Superman took flight, following the path at a cautious speed, so as not to alert any less-than-friendly denizens of the Dark Dimension.

He had been flying for a little while when his hearing picked something up: soft, scrabbling, scratching noises, coming from all around. Superman touched down on a nearby floating land mass, using his vision as best he could; this dimension was "dark" in _all_ wavelengths of light, making it difficult to see anything...

Suddenly, he saw them: a flock of six, black, wispy, gargoyle-like creatures with bat-like wings, flying through the twilit sky.

Unfortunately, they had seen _him_, as well.

Shrieking like bats, the six shadow-beasts swooped in at him, scratching at him with their claws...which did him no harm. Superman knew he had to stop these creatures before they alerted Dormammu. Taking aim, he fired his eye-rays, blasting two of the apparitions into nothingness.

Shrieking in horror, the remaining four creatures flew off at impressive speeds. Superman quickly flew after them, being careful not to go _too_ fast; if he accelerated to supersonic speeds, the sonic boom could alert Dormammu. Superman inhaled, and unleashed a blast of frost-breath, freezing one creature solid, causing it to fall into the nothingness, out of sight. Inhaling again, he unleashed his gale-breath, knocking two creatures off-balance enough to grab them and smash them together, as they popped right out of existence.

By then, Superman could see a massive structure off in the distance...and the last creature was _heading right for it_. Quickly, Superman took aim, and fired a surgically precise eye-ray...

...which annihilated the creature before it got close enough to the structure for its cries to be heard.

Alone, Superman stopped, holding his breath, waiting for the potential attack...and then let out a relieved sigh.

Dormammu hadn't heard him.

Superman took a look at the structure: it was an enormous tower, reaching all the way up to the top of the "sky," surrounded by four mighty walls. The tower was composed of black stone, and seemed to echo of an ominous power.

'_Well, if **I** were an extra-dimensional, magic-wielding madman, this is where **I'd** hang out._' Superman thought. The Tear seemed to agree, as its glowing path ended at the tower. His goal in sight, Superman flew towards the tower.

Reaching the tower's main gate, Superman touched down, and walked through on foot, to avoid attracting attention. As he came through on the other side of the walls, he got a better look at the courtyard. It was incredibly vast, and empty, save for four massive support columns holding up the tower...

...and there, off to the side, was a glowing orange energy field, with a woman inside, sagging weakly, drained, against the side of the field. She was around Doctor Strange's height, and elegantly built, with ample curves, seemingly in her early thirties. Her hair was long, and a gleaming silver, her eyes a soft blue, her skin a moon-white, and she wore a dark fuchsia vest over black tights, as well as tight black pants with fuchsia circle-patterns, with long, shiny fuchsia gloves.

'_That must be Clea._' Superman thought. He looked around the courtyard, which was empty, save for himself and the imprisoned Clea. He took one step into the courtyard...

Clea noticed him, first looking confused at his presence, and then her eyes widened in horror, her mouth opening to shout a warning...

"_WHO DARES?!!_"

Too late.

There was a flash of light a few meters ahead of Superman, and another being appeared. He was fairly tall, his frame lean, and his skin a dark orange-red, his head utterly bald, his eyes glowing a malevolent orange. He was clad in a dark green vest, with matching pants, and red gloves upon his hands.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're Dormammu." Superman said pleasantly.

Dormammu's eyes narrowed. "_Who are you that **dare** to trespass in my realm?!_" he boomed.

"I'm a friend of the good Doctor's; he regrets to inform you that he can't make a house call, today." Superman said calmly.

Dormammu's face twisted in rage. "_Strange cowers in his Sanctum, and instead sends a **child**?! A **CHILD?!!**_" he roared. "_I am ruler of the Dark Dimension!!! I WILL **NOT** SUFFER SUCH AN INSULT!!!!_"

Superman frowned. "There's only _one_ thing wrong with that statement, Dormammu." he said. He pointed to Clea. "Technically, _she's_ the ruler of the Dark Dimension, last time I checked."

"_YOU **DARE?!!!**_" Dormammu boomed. Snarling in fury, the evil sorcerer clenched his fists, as energy started to crackle in his hands. In less than a second, he cast a massive bolt of lightning at Superman...

...who easily darted aside, as the powerful spell missed him entirely. "I _tried_ to be nice." Superman said firmly, and with that, he flew at Dormammu. Roaring, the sorcerer summoned massive boulders, transmuting them into huge spiked spheres, before sending them flying at Superman with a wave of his hand. Superman effortlessly punched the spiked spheres away, the force of his punches smashing them. Dormammu tried to ready another spell, but Superman closed on him in seconds, and slammed him with an uppercut, sending him flying into the air...as Superman flew up to intercept him, slamming him with an axe-handle strike, sending him flying down to crater the ground with enough force to shake the earth.

Superman touched down a few feet from the crater. '_No **way** it's that easy._' he thought. Seconds later, the earth began to shake...as a fifty-foot tall Dormammu rose out of the crater, looming over Superman, standing taller than the Empire State Building.

Superman sighed. "Sometimes, I _hate_ being right."

Roaring in rage, Dormammu sent an enormous bolt of lightning at Superman; this bolt was simply too big to evade, and it hit him, sending him flying back, but he wasn't hurt; the Tear of Oshtur had protected him, although its glow had lost over half its light.

It couldn't take many more hits like that.

As Superman recovered, Dormammu loomed over him, trying to crush him with his massive foot...but Superman caught the foot, and pushed it off, causing Dormammu to momentarily lose his balance, and then regaining it, a few seconds later.

Those few seconds were all that Superman needed.

Instantly, Superman took to the air, closing on Dormammu's face as the Sorcerer tried to regain his balance...and punched him right in the eye.

"_ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!_" Dormammu howled, blindly swatting his hand at Superman, who easily evaded the attack. Dormammu recovered in seconds, and sent a blast of flame at Superman, who was better able to dodge it. Superman flew in close again, dodging Dormammu's swatting hands, and slammed him with an uppercut under the chin, knocking him back. Dormammu roared in fury, and conjured a massive ball of magical energy, casting it at Superman, connecting and knocking him out of the sky.

As he neared the ground, Superman did a mid-air flip, landing on his feet; he was fine, but the Tear was nearly out of power. '_This isn't working._' Superman thought. '_At this rate, the Tear will lose power before I defeat him. I need to take him down fast enough to free Clea and hit him with that banishing spell. But how?_' Then, Superman looked around...

...and got an idea.

Superman took to the air, flying to hover in front of one of the support columns for the tower. As expected, Dormammu followed him, sending another spell-ball at him...

At the very last second, Superman ascended at lightning speed, evading the attack, causing it to destroy the support column, instead. Taking aim, Superman fired his eye-rays at Dormammu, striking his forehead, before flying at him to strike the sorcerer in the knee.

Dormammu howled in fury, before stomping after Superman...just as he'd hoped, as he stopped to hover over the second column, before dodging Dormammu's attack, causing him to destroy _another_ column.

Superman then flew under Dormammu's legs, before giving him a swift kick in the rear, causing the sorcerer to roar in pure rage, blindly stomping at Superman...but missing and taking out the _third_ column, instead.

That was all that Superman needed.

As quick as lightning, Superman darted to the final column on the other side of the tower, and sliced it apart with his eye-rays...before flying into the tower at supersonic speeds, smashing into it...

...and pushing it towards Dormammu.

If he'd destroyed the columns by _himself_, Dormammu might have caught on too soon.

Turning towards the cracking sound of the tower breaking from its foundation, Dormammu's eyes widened in horror, as he realized _exactly_ what his adversary had been doing. Desperately, he tried to ready a spell to catch the tower...but it was too late.

In seconds, the tower broke free of its foundation, and toppled onto the titanic spell-caster, burying him in over 1000 tons of rock.

Slowly descending closer to ground level, Superman saw that the field trapping Clea had dimmed considerably, but it was still there; Dormammu was still alive, though his power had greatly weakened.

Fine by him.

Superman flew at the barrier at supersonic speed, shattering it like glass with one punch. Clea stumbled, but Superman quickly caught her, helping her up. "Your Highness, are you alright?" he asked.

"Ugh...yes, yes, I'm fine." Clea replied. "But...who _are_ you??"

"My name is Kal-El." Superman replied. "Doctor Strange sent me to rescue you."

Clea's eyes widened in surprise. "Stephen sent...I-I mean, Doctor Strange sent you?" she asked. Her expression became wistful. "I...wasn't sure if..."

Superman smiled. "He was _very_ worried about you, Your Highness." he replied.

Clea's expression became a bit hopeful. "He...was?"

Before Superman could reply, the earth began to shake. "Your Highness," Superman asked, "do you have any spells that can protect you from massive amounts of g-force? If so, I think now might be a good time to use them."

At that moment, the massive Dormammu burst free of the rubble. "**_INSOLENT WHELP!!!!_**" he boomed. "**_YOU SHALL PAY FOR CROSSING ME!!!!_**"

Superman took the banishing spell in his hand. "Are those spells up, Your Highness?" he inquired. Clea nodded. "Good." Superman added, and he quickly lifted a somewhat surprised Clea into his arms, before throwing the spell at Dormammu.

"_Now, hang on!!!!!_"

And with that, Superman flew off at top speeds, moving at _well_ over Mach Five, heading for the vortex as fast as he could go.

The very instant the spell hit Dormammu, it erupted in a massive blue vortex, engulfing the howling sorcerer, pulling him inside, before it reached hungrily outwards, rapidly catching up to Superman, ready to engulf him and Clea in seconds...

In seconds, Superman reached the portal with his passenger, and was through it, coming to a stop inside the Sanctum Sanctorum. "_Doctor, shut the portal now!!_" he exclaimed. In less than a second, Doctor Strange sketched several arcane patterns in the air, and the vortex closed.

Superman set the slightly frazzled Clea down. "Thank you, Kal-El." she said softly. "I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but...I would much rather not travel at those speeds, again."

Superman chuckled. "No problem, Your Highness." he said, before removing the Tear of Oshtur and handing it back to Doctor Strange.

Doctor Strange's expression became wistful at the sight of his estranged wife. "Hello...Clea." he said softly.

Clea froze, before slowly turning to meet the Doctor's gaze. "Hello, Stephen...I mean, Doctor." she whispered.

"I'm...very glad that you're safe."

Clea lightly smiled. "I'm...glad that you sent help." she replied.

The Doctor managed a smile. "Until the banishing spell runs its course...perhaps it would be best for you to stay here, for only a little while."

Clea nodded. "Thank you." she said.

Doctor Strange turned to Wong. "Wong, escort Clea to the guest chamber, and see that she is comfortable."

Wong bowed. "Of course, Master." he said, and he opened the nearby door, heading through, and Clea followed, though not before she and Doctor Strange stole one last, fleeting glimpse of each other.

Superman lightly smiled. "You still love her, don't you?"

Doctor Strange's silence spoke volumes.

"If you don't mind me asking...what exactly happened?" Superman asked.

Doctor Strange sighed. "That, my Kryptonian friend, is a long story."

"I think I've got time."

The Doctor closed his eyes. "When Clea and I first met, it was when I first encountered Dormammu; after I managed to save the Dark Dimension – by the skin of my teeth, mind you – Clea – then but a novice magician – became a pupil of mine. One thing led to another, and we fell in love, and were eventually married."

"So what went wrong?"

Doctor Strange sighed. "A combination of things, I suppose: her duty as ruler, my duty to Earth, her no longer needing my tutelage...and, of course, there was my idiotic failure to recognize and appreciate her talent...and _her_."

"And you miss her." Superman observed. "You should tell her."

The Doctor sighed. "Were it only that simple."

"It _is_ that simple." Superman said. "Marriage is two people who love each other coming together, to share their lives together; sometimes, it's hard, yes, but that just means you have to work harder to make it work. She loves you, Doctor, and you love _her_; fight for her."

The Doctor paused. "I will...take that into consideration." he said. "Regardless, while you were away, I instructed Wong to research those rings. He was unable to determine the exact nature of the psychic power about them, but he _did_ discern that they are associated with another artifact; a scepter, from Tibet, on loan to a museum in New York, before it is moved to Egypt."

Superman's eyes narrowed. "You think that the thief will strike again."

"Absolutely." Doctor Strange said. "I would not advise you attempting to apprehend the culprit in a sensitive place as a museum...but there is another way."

"How?" Superman asked. At that, Doctor Strange began to tell Superman his plan.

As the sky began to turn red from the setting sun, a single figure walked up to the gates of the Institute, entering her pass-code into the gate computer. The gates easily swung open, the security systems disarming themselves, as she walked up to the Institute.

Jean walked into the main hall of the Institute, before walking up the stairs. As she turned a corner, Scott saw her from his room. "Jean!" he exclaimed, hurrying to her side. "Where have you been? We've all been worried sick about you..."

He was cut off as Jean simply raised her hand, telekinetically slamming him against the wall, knocking him out. Jean then continued on her way.

Her first stop was Rogue and Kitty's room. Only Kitty was inside, lying on her bed, listening to her MP3 player. Jean simply opened the door a crack, to meet the younger girl's gaze.

That was all it took. Instantly, Kitty's mind succumbed to the same force that had seized Jean's psyche; she turned off her music, stood up, and started to follow Jean.

The next stop was Kurt's room; the German youth was debating whether or not to call Amanda and ask if she was going to the Sadie Hawkins dance. His mind was taken completely by surprise, and was taken easily.

Her recruitment complete, Jean and her new recruits turned to go...

"Well, ain' dis int'restin'."

Jean and her accomplices turned to see Remy, idly leaning against the wall. "Remy don' know where y' got dis' 'Children o' De Corn,' act, _mes amis_, but Remy got t' say..." His voice trailed off as the same power seized his mind.

Once the other three had donned their uniforms, they all took hold of Nightcrawler, who 'ported them out of the Institute, out into the Institute grounds, near the garage. They quickly got into the X-Van, and Jean drove off...heading to the Manhattan Museum.

Night had fallen, by the time they had reached the museum. After parking the X-Van in a nearby alley, Jean levitated them all up to the nearest window, enabling Nightcrawler to see through, where he promptly 'ported them inside. Inside the museum, they headed towards the Tibetan exhibit, Jean shutting off the security cameras as they went. Soon, they reached the exhibit. Gambit took out his deck of cards, charged one card, and flicked it with perfect accuracy at the control box for the security system; it hit with pin-point accuracy, exploding in a tiny burst, shutting off the security beams spotting the floor. They walked towards the case holding the scepter; the one with the pressure-sensors designed to sound the alarm if the glass was removed. Shadowcat simply phased her hands through the glass, grabbed the scepter, and phased it out.

Their task complete, Jean and the others simply walked away, as Nightcrawler 'ported them back outside, where they hopped in the X-Van, and drove off.

Unbeknownst to the spellbound X-Men, someone had been watching them.

Above their heads, the glowing blue, semi-translucent astral form of the Sorcerer Supreme had seen the whole thing. After getting the proof he needed, Doctor Strange glided through the walls, his astral self not limited to the constrictions of solid matter, making it easy to return to his corporeal body, meditating in the Sanctum Sanctorum.

His astral and physical selves reunited, Doctor Strange opened his eyes, standing up. What he had seen disturbed him; he was familiar with the mind-control techniques used to control the X-Men. He knew who had done this.

Mesmero; a mutant illusionist who used his abilities to perform in a circus. But Mesmero did not have enough power to control those four.

Not alone.

What disturbed Doctor Strange even _further_ was the residual magic he'd felt from those four; its particular mystical signature was _familiar_ to him. '_It makes sense; for Mesmero to initially enchant Jean Grey, he could not do so in person, else Charles would have detected him. He needed to enchant an **object**, to get Jean to drop her guard._' Mesmero was not sorcerer enough to do that.

And he knew who _was_.

Stephen had already donned his Cloak of Levitation when Wong came into his study. "Is everything alright, Master?" his apprentice inquired.

"Make sure the barrier-spells around the Sanctum are solid, Wong." Doctor Strange instructed. "Mischief is afoot, tonight; I may be out late."

Wong nodded. "Yes, Master." With that, Stephen's faithful apprentice headed off, to do as he'd been instructed. Softly chanting a teleportation spell, Doctor Strange teleported away, in a puff of crimson smoke.

It was in the evening when Clark heard back from Doctor Strange.

After Alison had told him of the Professor's telepathic summons, he'd followed her to the Professor's office, where he, Ororo, Logan, and the rest of the X-Men met their mentor, as well as Doctor Strange. "Everyone," the Professor said, "I'd like you to meet an old acquaintance of mine, Doctor Stephen Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. Clark, I believe that the two of you have already met." Clark nodded.

"I have determined who has stolen the Tibetan rings from the museums." Doctor Strange said. "It was your friend, Jean Grey, and, more recently, Kitty Pryde, Kurt Wagner, and Remy LeBeau."

Logan snorted. "You're _full_ of it, bub." he growled. "Jeannie wouldn't do that, and neither would Half-Pint. Gumbo, on the other hand..."

Doctor Strange kept his cool. "Not of their own will, yes." he agreed. "They were all under the influence of a mutant named Mesmero."

"_Mesmero?_" the Professor repeated. "He doesn't have that kind of power!"

"True, Charles, but I also sensed a magical element to this mind-control; in the beginning, he had gotten help from another sorcerer." the Doctor said. "I have a theory about who it may be, but I must be absolutely _certain_."

"No _wonder_ Jean attacked me." Scott mused.

"Do you think..._Doom_ is behind it?" Alison hazarded.

"No, Miss Blaire; Victor von Doom is not the culprit." Doctor Strange replied. "I am familiar with his magic, and this mystic signature is different from his. Furthermore, if Doom _did_ desire those rings, he is intelligent enough to have subtler ways of procuring them."

"Where is this 'Mesmero' now?" Ororo asked.

"I have tracked him to the abandoned circus where he used to work." Doctor Strange answered. "The sorcerer is there, as well."

"And the others?" Rogue asked.

"They are heading there, as we speak."

Evan chuckled. "Don't worry, Rogue; we'll get the others back...including your boyfriend!"

Rogue lightly smacked Evan on the side of his head. "He is _not_ mah boyfriend!"

"We'd better get going." Scott said. "Everyone, suit up! We'll meet back at the vehicle hangar!" With that, the X-Men hurried off, to suit up.

Within minutes, the entire team had donned their uniforms, and met at the vehicle hangar, where the Professor and Doctor Strange were waiting for them, as were Storm and Wolverine, also in uniform. "I'll be accompanying you on this mission." the Professor said. "If Mesmero has the others under his influence, I should be able to break his hold on them."

"Okay." Cyclops agreed. "Since the X-Van is gone, we'll have to take the Blackbird."

"No need." Doctor Strange said. "_Raekto Teleportus!_" At that incantation, a cloud of crimson haze engulfed them all...and deposited them at an old, run-down circus.

"So _this_ is where Mesmero took them." Storm observed.

"Of course." the Professor agreed. "Mesmero once worked here."

The Doctor closed his eyes, focusing for a moment, before opening them again. "I'm sensing a dark mystical presence." he said. "Our malicious sorcerer is here, as well."

Wolverine scowled, popping out his claws. "Thanks for the heads-up, Doc," he said, "but _anyone_ can tell that this place has bad vibes."

Cyclops looked around. "Superman, can you see them?"

Superman's eyes narrowed as he scanned the horizon. "They just got here." he said, pointing to the direction ahead of them. "We may have found them in time."

"Well, let's go!" Spyke exclaimed, as he started towards their friends.

The Doctor's eyes closed in focus. "Dark magic...all around us..." his eyes snapped open, "..._no-one move!!_"

But it was too late.

As Spyke stepped in front of an old popcorn stand, a blast of eldritch flame seared at him...but Superman quickly yanked his teammate out of the way.

Spyke breathed a relieved sigh. "Sorry about that, guys." he said. "Thanks, Big Blue."

"_Noctemus_ _exili!!_" Doctor Strange invoked, sending a wave of white-blue energy out from his hands into the area around them. As it passed, Superman noted that it felt warm, pleasant...and then saw it reveal numerous arcane symbols covering the objects around them – black-magic booby-traps – and then, the wave simply erased the traps.

"There can be no mistaking it, now." Doctor Strange said. "I know who this sorcerer is."

"You always _were_ a meddler, Strange."

Doctor Strange's eyes narrowed as a tall, fairly well-built man, in his forties, with black hair, a trim beard, cold green eyes, and clad in a dark green bodysuit with a long, green cape, stepped into view.

"_Mordo._" Doctor Strange muttered. "I should have _known_."

"I'm guessing that he's not in your Top Ten Favorite People." Dazzler said.

"Baron Karl Mordo." Doctor Strange said. "He was once a student of _my_ master, the Ancient One, who taught me the magic arts...as well as showing me what it truly _meant_ to be Sorcerer Supreme." He scowled at Mordo. "But Mordo betrayed the Ancient One's teachings, and left to pursue power for its own sake."

Mordo scoffed. "The half-senile rambles of a decrepit old _fool_." he sneered. "And now, I will soon have all the power I could ever _want_..._more_ than enough to end our rivalry once and for _all_."

"Charles," Doctor Strange said, "you and your students should continue; _I_ will deal with Mordo."

"Not alone." Superman said. Doctor Strange smiled, and nodded.

"Good luck." Cyclops said.

Dazzler looked at Superman, her expression worried, knowing his vulnerability to magic. "Be careful, _tausha_." she whispered.

Superman smiled at her. "I will, _taushi_." he softly promised. With that, the Professor, Storm, Wolverine, and the rest of the X-Men continued on, leaving Superman and the Doctor to face Mordo.

Baron Mordo sneered. "'Deal with me,' will you, Strange?" he said. "Your arrogance is astonishing."

Superman chuckled. "You, of course, being the expert on the subject."

Mordo's face flushed angrily at the shot. "You mind your tongue, whelp," he snapped, "or I shall _remove_ it."

"I have always met your treachery, Mordo." Doctor Strange said. "This time is no different."

"_Really._" Mordo answered. His eyes narrowed, his hands generating malevolent red spell-spheres. "Let us _see_ about that!!" With that, he cast the spheres at Superman and Doctor Strange.

As the spells came at them, Superman and the Doctor dodged in opposite directions, the Doctor conjuring counter-spells as Superman countered with his eye-rays. Mordo had been ready, however, and teleported away before the spells and eye-ray beams could touch him.

For a few moments, neither of them could find the evil Baron...until Superman spotted him. "He's _above_ us!"

Mordo smiled wickedly. "_I summon the caustic Rains of Rangador!!_" he invoked. "_Sear my foes!!_" And with a wave of his hand, he conjured an endless torrent of caustic energy, searing down from the sky towards them...

The Doctor had been ready. "_I summon the benevolent Rings of Rangador!_" he invoked. "_Hold back the Rains!_" At his invocation, numerous golden energy-rings appeared above them, forming a powerful barrier, repelling the energy-rains.

As the rains dissipated, Superman saw his opening; like lightning, he flew up to Mordo's level, and unleashed a burst of gale-breath, sending the startled sorcerer flying. Doctor Strange attacked in perfect tandem; he swept his cloak in front of him, seemingly vanishing into thin air...to reappear in Mordo's path, intercepting his old foe, and blasting him down to earth with a golden spell-blast.

"_I summon the Ruby Bands of Cyttorak!!_" the Doctor chanted. "_Bind this villain!!_" Instantly, countless bands of ruby energy snared Mordo, trapping him.

Superman and Doctor Strange descended, as the Doctor glared at Mordo. "I see _one_ puppet," the Doctor said, "and Mesmero is _another_. But tell me, Karl...where is the puppet _master?_"

Mordo laughed. "_Fool!_ I am no puppet! I but wanted a sample of the power of Mesmero's master!" he sneered. "You were right to think him a pawn, Strange...but you were _stupid_ to underestimate the power I sampled!!"

With a loud roar, Mordo summoned a deadly pulse of energy, breaking free of the bands, as the pulse washed over Superman and the Doctor. Superman dug in his heels, as the energy slowly forced him back. The Doctor managed to resist the pulse...until he tripped, losing his balance, as the pulse knocked him back against an old 'Test Your Strength' game, dazing him.

Mordo smiled with evil glee, as he waved his hand...turning the game into a razor-sharp axe, which began to fall towards the dazed Doctor...

Instantly, Superman darted to his comrade's side, yanking him out of the way, quickly darting behind an old carnival stand, evading another spell, to give the Doctor time to recover.

Mordo laughed. "What's wrong, Strange? Too much for you?" he sneered. "And _you're_ the great 'Superman' spoken of in all these legends, boy? I am _horribly_ unimpressed!"

"You okay, Doctor?" Superman asked.

"Yes, I believe so." Doctor Strange said.

Superman chuckled. "You wouldn't happen to have that Tear of Oshtur, would you?"

The Doctor smiled wryly. "Tragically, I must have left it in my _other_ Cloak of Levitation." he said. "I did notice, however, that Mordo's last attack was simply one of his own spells, drastically bolstered in power by an unknown psychic energy...an energy generated by a _mutant_."

Superman nodded. "And the powers of the X-Gene don't affect me." he finished the thought.

The Doctor nodded. "Whoever this mutant is, he is using Mordo as a channel for his power. If I could strike Mordo with enough power, I believe I can sever that connection...though I will need several seconds to do so."

"Leave that to me." Superman said. With that, he darted out from behind the stand. Scowling, Mordo tried to blast him, but Superman was moving at supersonic speed, effortlessly evading the sorcerer's attacks. Then, when he was in range, he unleashed a burst of frost-breath, freezing Mordo in place, before lightly tapping him, sending him flying.

By then, Doctor Strange had darted out, and was gathering power for his attack. Scowling, Mordo stood up, still shivering, slowed drastically by the cold...and then his expression turned to one of horror as Doctor Strange cast his spell at Mordo, sending him flying, and shattering the psychic link between Mordo and the unknown mutant.

Superman and Doctor Strange walked over to the fallen Baron. "Enough games, Mordo!" the Doctor shouted. "Who is this 'master' of Mesmero's?!"

Mordo smiled evilly. "You'll find that out soon enough, Strange." he sneered. "As for our rivalry...another time." And with that, he disappeared.

Doctor Strange looked grave. "We must move quickly!" he exclaimed. "If Mesmero has the same power as Mordo, Charles and the others are in terrible danger!" At that, Superman and Doctor Strange hurried after the others.

Hopefully, they weren't too late.

After leaving Superman and the Doctor to face Mordo, the rest of the X-Men continued on...until they found their friends, walking towards the big top. "Jean!" Cyclops called. "Jean, snap out of it!"

The spellbound X-Men stopped, and turned around, still in their trance.

The Professor frowned. "It's no use, Scott; I can't break Mesmero's influence, so I'll have to find Mesmero, himself." he said. "Keep them busy until I find him."

"Got it." Cyclops agreed...and then grimaced as he looked at Jean. '_Jean, I'm so sorry..._'

A pulse of telekinetic force interrupted his thought-train, sending him flying, as Jean walked towards him. Cyclops reached for his visor...and hesitated; he _couldn't_ hurt the woman he loved, mind-control or not...

A sudden flash of light distracted Jean, as Dazzler knocked her back with a flare-bomb. "We just need to keep them _busy_, remember, Fearless?" she exclaimed. Dazzler then generated three more holograms of herself, and ran at Jean...who knocked them all back with a TK-pulse. The duplicates vanished, but Dazzler was sent flying...until she generated a hard-light hover-board, catching herself.

Dazzler's attack gave Cyclops an opening; he opened his visor a tiny bit, knocking Jean back with an optic-blast. For a moment, he was afraid he'd hurt her...

...but then Jean promptly got back up. Cyclops inwardly groaned. '_It's never easy, is it?_'

Wolverine's eyes narrowed as the spellbound Shadowcat walked towards him...and then he retracted his claws. "Aw, who am I kiddin', Half-Pint? I couldn't hurt you even if..." but he was cut off as Kitty grabbed him in a _beautiful_ judo-throw, sending him flying a good ten feet.

Wolverine scowled. "Now, ya see? _This_ is why I don't like to play nice!"

Avalanche took a deep breath, and then generated a small quake under Shadowcat's feet, trapping her in a small pit. "Sorry, Pretty Kitty." he said...and then, Kitty started to phase up through the ground. '_Oh, great...it's like that old movie, "Attack of the Zombie Girlfriend," all over again!_' Lance thought. Then, he smiled to himself. '_Which **would** be pretty cool, if she wasn't out to kill me._'

Spyke ducked under Nightcrawler's flying kick, before turning and firing a bone-spear, which pinned him to a nearby tent by his uniform. "Sorry about that, Fuzzy." Spyke said. "It's for your own..."

He stopped as Nightcrawler simply teleported away, to 'port back in and boot him in the rear. '_Aw, man, I forgot he could do that._' Spyke thought. He readied another bone-spear, to defend himself. Nightcrawler 'ported back to attack...

...and was blown to the side by a gust of wind that Storm generated. Spyke took advantage of his Aunt's assistance by closing on Nightcrawler, but Nightcrawler recovered in seconds, back-flipping away, before vanishing in a cloud of brimstone...to reappear a few feet away, seconds later. '_This is getting us nowhere._' Spyke thought. '_I sure wish the Professor would hurry up and find this Mesmero guy..._'

Rogue slowly backed away as the entranced Gambit closed on her. "Snap _out_ of it, Cajun!" she shouted. Gambit answered by flicking a handful of charged cards at her, but Rogue rolled to the side, evading the attack. Gambit then drew his bo-staff, closing on her and pinning her against a nearby stand. "Remy...Ah'm so sorry..." Rogue whispered, as she pulled off her gloves...and touched Remy's face.

Rogue cringed as she felt the initial electrical spark as her skin touched Remy's, starting the process of draining him. She knew what came next; she would slowly start to see his memories, everything in his mind. She had to be careful not to hold on too long...

...but no memories came. Rogue froze, confused; she'd only absorbed enough to copy his powers...but no more than that.

She was _touching_ him...and he _wasn't being hurt by her power_.

That light touch, however, was enough to jolt Gambit awake. "_Chere?_" Gambit murmured. "Wha's goin' on?" He noticed her hands on his face, his eyes widening. "_Mon Dieu_..." he whispered.

Rogue didn't dare move; she was too afraid that this was just a fluke, a glitch in her powers. "R-Remy..?" she stammered.

And then, Mesmero's power took hold of Gambit again, as he leapt away, drawing another handful of cards, ready to throw them...

...but he was knocked back by a blast of golden energy, as Superman and Doctor Strange darted in. "Anyone call for backup?" Superman asked.

"Superman, see if you can locate this 'Mesmero' guy!" Cyclops called.

Superman's eyes flashed electric blue, as he scanned the circus...and his eyes narrowed. "_Everyone down!_" he ordered. At once, the X-Men all dropped to the ground as Superman unleashed a powerful blast of gale-breath, sending their spellbound friends flying to the side...and blowing off the big top, revealing the cloaked, tattooed Mesmero, hiding behind it. In less than a second, Superman darted over and grabbed Mesmero, lifting him up by the collar. "Let my friends go." Superman ordered. "_Now._"

"Unhand me!!" Mesmero yelled.

The Professor and Doctor Strange walked over to Superman. "Be warned, Charles." the Doctor advised. "Another mutant is channeling his power through Mesmero; it was the same with Mordo. You cannot deal with him alone."

"Agreed." the Professor said. He glared at Mesmero. "You manipulated the minds of my students, trickster," he snarled, "but let's see how you handle _ours!_" At that, both sorcerer and telepath began to concentrate, beginning their assault on the illusionist's mind; Xavier breaking Mesmero's control, and Doctor Strange eroding the link between Mesmero and his master.

Mesmero broke out in a cold sweat, as he began to lose control, the enchanted X-Men starting to break free. In sheer desperation, he sent one last mental command.

Dazedly, Jean tossed a cloth bag to Mesmero, who screamed, "_Take them, Master!! Take them!!!_" Before Superman could grab the bag...it vanished into thin air.

And then, Mesmero passed out, his control shattering.

One-by-one, the dazed X-Men regained their senses. "_Scott!_" Jean cried, rushing into her boyfriend's arms. "I could see it all..." she whispered, "...I saw everything he made me do...I am _so, so sorry_."

Cyclops smiled, hugging her close. "It's okay, Jean." he said. "It's okay."

Rogue and Gambit simply looked at each other, confused.

The Doctor and the Professor opened their eyes. "Stephen...did you discern anything from Mesmero's mind?" the Professor asked.

Doctor Strange shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Charles." he said. "But I can tell that, whatever psychic power this mutant had, it was the same as the residual power I sensed on the rings." His expression turned grave. "I have a feeling that we may be hearing from Mesmero's master, in the future."

The Professor nodded. "Stephen, thank you for assisting us." he said.

Superman nodded. "We couldn't have done it without you."

The Doctor smiled. "Thank _you_, Kal-El, for helping to rescue Clea." he said. He sketched a pattern in the air before them. "May the Vishanti forever watch over you all."

"Uh...right." Cyclops said, smiling sheepishly. "Same to you, Doctor." Doctor Strange simply smiled, and waved his hands, vanishing into red haze. Then, the X-Men headed towards the X-Van, as Superman took to the air, to meet them at the Institute.

At the Institute, after telling the Professor what had happened, Rogue and Remy were immediately sent to the infirmary, where Hank promptly looked them over. "Well...nothing seems to be wrong." he observed. "Rogue...would you try to touch Remy, again?"

Rogue held her breath. "Remy...if Ah start to drain ya...pull away, okay?" Remy nodded. Rogue took off her glove...and touched his hand.

She felt the initial spark...and then nothing, save for the sensation of skin touching skin.

Beast nodded. "I have long theorized about _exactly_ how your powers work, Rogue." he said. "I believe that your body intercepts the neural impulses of another person, transferring that bio-electrical energy into yourself, which enables you to, essentially, 'download' their memories and powers for a time." He turned to Remy. "Remy, how exactly do _yours_ work?"

"De short version: Remy blow _merde_ up wit' a touch." Remy said. "Got t' do wit' Remy chargin' t'ings full o' kinetic energy."

Hank grinned. "And _there_ it is!" he exclaimed. "Since Remy's body generates excess kinetic energy, when you touched him, Rogue, you started to drain his neural energy – which is essentially kinetic energy – which triggered his body to produce excess kinetic energy, to take the place of what you normally drain..."

Rogue's eyes widened. "_...cancelin' out mah powers!!_"

Hank nodded. "Precisely."

Rogue looked to Remy, her eyes wide. Remy just grinned. "Now, chere, didn' Remy _tell_ y' dat Remy would find a way?"

Rogue's expression turned to one of incredulous joy...before she smiled slyly.

Hank chuckled. "I'm sure I have tests to run elsewhere." he said knowingly, before he headed out.

As soon as Hank left, Rogue _pounced_ on Remy, kissing him with all the fervor in her soul, infinitely sweetened by the fact that her kiss was a safe one.

At long last, she could touch someone without putting them in a coma.

Initially, Remy was surprised, but he quickly embraced her, returning her kiss, making this moment over a _thousand_ times better than the sweet kiss they'd shared on their first date.

After a few wonderful minutes, Rogue broke the kiss, reveling in this moment, this revelation. Remy grinned stupidly. "Remy ain' so sure 'e's alive, at de moment," he said, "'cause 'e ain' got a _clue_ 'ow 'e managed t' get 't _heaven_, chere."

Rogue groaned. "Ya just _had_ ta wreck the moment, _didn't_ ya, Swamp-Rat!" she teased, laughing.

Remy grinned slyly. "Can Remy make it up t' y', chere?" he asked. "Ain' dere a school dance comin' up dat y' were t'inkin' 'bout not goin' t'?"

Rogue smiled. "What do _you_ think, Cajun?" she whispered.

And then she silenced him once more.

From around the corner, Superman couldn't help but smile, as he and Dazzler walked away, giving Rogue and Remy some privacy.

Alison smiled. "They're so _cute_, aren't they?"

Superman smiled, nodding. "I'm happy for them." he said. "Rogue _deserves_ to be happy."

Dazzler nodded...and then, her face turned worried. "How are you feeling?" she asked. "I mean, you look fine, but...no after-effects from fighting that Mordo guy?"

Superman smiled, shaking his head. "No, _taushi_." he said. "I'm okay."

Alison smiled. "That's good." she cooed. "I mean, I'm wouldn't normally fuss, but magic is one of your few weaknesses."

"I know, sweetheart." Superman assured her.

Alison smiled. "So...it looks like Rogue has a date for the upcoming Sadie Hawkins' dance." she commented. She looked up at him. "Well...I was just wondering if...I know we're together, but I don't want to put you at risk of being seen..."

She took a deep breath. "Clarkie...will you go to the Dance with me?"

Superman grinned, and answered her with a tender kiss, lovingly embracing her, savoring her tiny gasp, which became a soft sigh. "_Taushi_, you don't even have to _ask_." he said. "Of _course_ I'll go with you."

Alison beamed. "I...just didn't want to put you at risk of people seeing you." she stammered.

"I know." Superman answered. "I'd _love_ to go."

Alison smiled happily. "You are the best boyfriend _ever!_" she exclaimed, hugging him. "You're the best thing that ever _happened_ to me!"

Superman smiled, returning her hug. "Sorry, _taushi_, but I think you got that _backwards_." he said. "_You're_ the best thing that ever happened to _me_."

Alison's face turned a lovely rose color, before calming. "So, you had to help Doctor Strange rescue his wife, Clea?" she inquired. "I hope they work things out."

Superman then cupped his hand behind his ear, listening...and smiled, before he stopped listening. "Somehow, sweetheart, I think they'll be okay."

After assisting the X-Men, Doctor Strange returned to the Sanctum Sanctorum, returning to his study. He simply hung up his Cloak of Levitation, before turning to retire for the evening...

...and came face-to-face with Clea.

Stephen suppressed a gulp. "Clea." he greeted. "Is...everything alright?"

Clea nodded. "I was just...surprised that you sent help for me." she said softly.

Stephen's eyes widened in sheer surprise at her statement. "Why in Agamotto's name would you think _that?_"

Clea lowered her gaze. "Because...I didn't think you wanted to be with me, anymore." she whispered, a single tear falling down her porcelain cheek. "I didn't think you needed me; that you were powerful enough to defend your realm alone, without my help..."

Stephen frowned to himself. "Clea...defending an entire realm is something that _no_ sorcerer can do alone."

Clea sighed. "I see."

Stephen's brow furrowed, as he remembered Kal-El's words. "But that was not why I sent help." he added. "The reason I sent Kal-El to assist you was because..."

His voice dropped to a whisper, "...I miss you."

Clea's eyes widened in surprise. "You..._do?_"

Stephen nodded. "Clea, I was a _fool_ not to appreciate you as a sorceress; you've learned so much – you've _earned_ the status of Sorceress Supreme." he said. Tenderly, he reached for her, and glided his hand across her flawless face, her perfect features, traces of her Faltine heritage, smiling as she did not pull away. "But you are so much _more_ to me, Clea...I was an utter _fool_ to let you go."

Clea smiled at that. "No more than _I_ was for leaving." she cooed. "Stephen, you've done so much for me; you've saved me, taught me, helped me...and given me the one thing I wanted above all." Her smile grew. "_Love_." Her hands rested themselves comfortably on his chest. "I should _never_ have left."

Stephen smiled like a perfect, lovesick fool – which, of course, he _was_. "We can...try again, can't we?" he whispered, embracing his beautiful wife. "Surely, we can make this work; we can share our duties to our realms, share our responsibilities, together...isn't that part of what marriage is about..?"

Clea sweetly placed her fingertip upon his mouth shushing him. "Stephen...I completely _agree_ with everything you've just said..." she cooed, "...but, by All-Seeing Agamotto..."

"..._stop talking._"

And with that, she looped her arms around his neck, sealing his lips with her own. At first, Stephen was mildly surprised, but smiled, holding his beloved wife close, as she showed him that it was indeed possible to perform a tonsillectomy without even a _single_ surgical tool.

After savoring her kiss for a few minutes, Stephen lifted his wife into his arms, savoring her mild squeak, never breaking her kiss for a minute, before carrying her towards his bedroom.

Teleporting would have been quicker...but there were some things that a man did not hurry.

_Louisiana, New Orleans_

In her home in Louisiana, the mutant-prophetess Irene Adler – known as Destiny – sat in her usual rocking chair, enjoying a quiet moment. Irene was in her forties, with mid-length brown hair, and sightless blue eyes, clad in a simple pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

Irene lightly smiled as she heard the sound of a teleportation spell. "Hello, Victor. I was starting to think that you weren't coming."

The metallic chuckle of Victor von Doom answered her. "_The ability to see the future certainly **is** handy, Irene Adler._" he said.

Irene nodded. "Oh, and your daughter needn't worry about that vase."

"What vase..?" Siryn asked...as she accidentally bumped a table, knocking over a vase.

Irene smiled. "_That_ one."

"_Your veracity is as impressive as ever, Irene._" Doom commented. "_However, I am curious about one of your other prophecies...the one regarding Kal-El._"

Irene nodded. "I had a feeling that you might be." she said. "I remember it well."

"_Indeed._" Doom said. "_What concerns me is that Kal-El does not seem interested in taking his place as leader of the mutant race._"

Siryn nodded, frowning. "He seems more concerned with 'helping' humanity...and that...Blaire girl."

Irene chuckled. "You think my prophecy is wrong?" she asked. "Prophecy is never wrong; only people's interpretation of it can err."

Siryn blinked. "But..your prophecy said..."

"...that the Child of the Star would _unite_ mutantkind." Irene corrected. "I remember my own words, Anita LeRoux." With that, she began to recite:

"_All of you now, from near and from far,_

_mark well the Child that comes from the Star!_

_Great power he has, which no man can match._

_The dark he will fight, and swiftly dispatch._

_Death shall fall from the sky, with unquenchable fire,_

_yet the Child will strive on, and shall never tire._

_Monsters will rise, in a world full of hate,_

_yet the Child will bring light, to challenge this fate._

_Another will come, with might equal to he,_

_but he will still win, in ways we can't see._

_And all around him, mutantkind shall unite,_

_to drive back the dark, in a terrible fight._

_And hope shall be gone, as victory seems far,_

_but hope shall return, with the Child of the Star._"

"_I am aware of the prophecy, Irene._" Doom said.

"Then you must have taken heed of some of the last few phrases." Irene said. Her tone turned grave. "I have been feeling it, Victor; the horrible darkness mentioned in the end of the prophecy. Even now, it is growing in strength, drawing nearer. It will be the Child's final challenge...at least, as far as I can see."

"What do you mean?" Siryn asked.

"I cannot see beyond the end of this prophecy." Irene said. "It is the end of time as we know it. Either Kal-El will overcome the darkness...or be defeated by it; either way, the world will never be the same."

"_You cannot see what will happen?_" Doom asked.

"I can see fragments of what will happen as the darkness draws closer...but nothing beyond it." Irene said. "All I can see are seven figures joining forces with the Child: one who dwells in the dark, striking fear into those who harm the innocent; one born of warriors, blessed by the gods of old; one who is the survivor of a dead world; one who calls the ocean deeps his home; one who bears a brilliant green light; one who moves swifter than lightning; and one who flies upon bird's wings. Even now, some are drawing closer; together, they will help the Child bring back something lost to this world."

"_And what is that?_" Doom asked.

Irene smiled, as her words caused a slight chill to creep up Doom's metal spine.

"_Justice._"

_Egypt_

Deep in the desert, beneath the ancient Sphinx, the stone mutant Ozymandias stood before a massive stone door. He took out the three rings and the scepter...before sliding the rings onto the scepter...forming a _key_. He then inserted the key into the ancient lock...and turned it.

The door opened, sliding back...revealing another massive door, bearing the stone crest of a spider.

Ozymandias smiled. The first of three doors had been opened.

'_Soon, Master Nur._' he thought, as he turned, to begin work on locating the key to the second door. '_Soon, you will be free...and the world will again tremble before Apocalypse._'

_Coming Soon:_

_As Bayville High's Sadie Hawkins Girls' Choice dance approaches, drama and emotions run high._

_Will an experiment with our favorite blue teleporter spell disaster?_

_Will carefully guarded secrets be revealed?_

_Find out in "Crashdance," coming to your computer soon…_


	18. Crashdance

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: CRASHDANCE

_Xavier Institute, March 27, 2008_

It was early Friday morning when Alison woke up, yawning and stretching lazily, before getting out of bed, and changing out of her silver nightgown and into her uniform. After she'd changed, Dazzler headed out of her room, walking towards the Danger Room elevator, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

Sometimes, she _hated_ early morning training.

After walking a few feet, Dazzler heard Rogue and Shadowcat's voices ahead of her, as she caught sight of her teammates. "Tonight is going to be _awesome!_" Kitty squealed. "It's going to be the most romantic night of the _year!_"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Oh, _Gawd_." she muttered. "Pryde, Ah _swear_, if ya keep talkin' 'bout you an' Lance goin' to the dance, Ah'm gonna _hurl!_"

Shadowcat laughed. "Oh, like _you're_ one to talk!" she exclaimed. "You're just as excited about going to the dance with Remy as I am about going with Lance!"

Rogue snorted. "At least _Ah_ don't go into 'girly-gush' mode every fifteen minutes."

Kitty giggled. "No, you just _dream_ about him, every night!"

Rogue's eyes widened. "Ah...Ah don't know what you're talkin' about."

Shadowcat smiled. "News flash, Rogue: you talk in your sleep."

No amount of makeup could have covered up Rogue's now-rosy complexion.

Smiling, Dazzler walked up to her friends. "Hey, girls." she greeted.

"Hey, Ali!" Kitty said. "So, are we all hooked up for tonight?"

Dazzler nodded. "I managed to call in a few favors with Febrise; he's agreed to set you two, Jean, Tabitha, and I up for tonight. By the time we get there, our dresses should be ready."

Rogue groaned. "Ah can't _believe_ Ah agreed to this."

"Hey, you want to look your best, tonight, right?" Kitty asked. She smiled. "I can't believe we're actually going to get our dresses from Ali's former wardrobe master! It's so _cool_, having a pop sensation for a friend!"

Dazzler smiled. "It's nice to know I could help." She couldn't fault Kitty for being enthusiastic; Alison was quite excited, herself.

Tonight was the annual Sadie Hawkins Girls' Choice Dance.

Alison smiled to herself; last year, she'd missed the dance – along with the _rest_ of the school year – due to being on tour. She was really looking forward to tonight..._especially_ since she was going with Clark. Tonight, they could just spend a lovely, romantic evening together, like any other young couple did.

Sighing to herself, Dazzler also remembered how half the school was gossiping, anxious to finally see her "elusive" boyfriend. She and Clark had to be careful to not let anyone realize his true identity...despite the fact that she wanted to sing out loud that Clark Kent was the man that she loved.

Rogue grinned as she noticed Dazzler's expression. "Looks lahke Kitty ain't the _only_ one looking forward to tonight." she quipped.

Shadowcat smiled, nodding. "_Yeah!_ You must be _psyched_ about tonight, Ali!" she exclaimed.

Dazzler felt her face start to go rosy. "Clarkie and I are looking forward to it." she agreed. She smiled at Rogue. "I'm sure you and Remy are, too."

Rogue's smile became a bit wistful. "Yeah, provided we don't overdo it." That statement slightly sobered the moment; after doing more tests, Mr. McCoy had determined that, if Rogue and Remy touched for too long, Rogue's powers would eventually start to drain Remy. Beast had estimated that Rogue and Remy could safely touch for about five minutes before Rogue's powers overtook Remy's. However, Hank had also theorized that, with repeated contact, Remy's powers could "adapt" to Rogue's, and produce more kinetic energy, allowing them to touch for longer periods of time.

By then, the three of them had reached the elevator, and headed in. "Wait up!" Jean called, as she hurried down the hall, darting into the elevator as Kitty held it open.

"Thanks." Jean said, smiling. "So, is everything set for tonight?"

Shadowcat nodded. "Ali told us that her friend will have our dresses ready for us, this afternoon."

Rogue chuckled. "Whah do ya ask?" she quipped. "Anxious to knock Mr. Uptight's eyes outta his shades?"

Jean suppressed a light laugh. "Rogue, that isn't nice!"

By then, the elevator had reached the control room, and the four walked out into the control room, where the rest of the X-Men, as well as the instructors and the New Mutants – save Nightcrawler and Wolverine – had gathered. As he saw her, Superman smiled at Alison, who smiled back at her boyfriend.

Below them, in the Danger Room, was Nightcrawler, as well as Wolverine and the mutant known as Forge. Forge was around Kurt's height and frame, in his mid-to-late teens, with mid-length black hair, dark eyes, and fairly dark skin, clad in a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Forge had an extraordinary talent with machines and technology, which only made his mutation all the more beneficial; he could morph his arm into a highly advanced electronic multi-tool. He had been born in the 70's, and had been trapped in a pocket dimension he'd designed – called "Middleverse" – until the X-Men, with the Fantastic Four, had rescued him.

Forge had just finished tinkering with an electronic vest that Nightcrawler had strapped to his chest. "Okay, my fine, furred friend," he said, "you should be good to go!"

Kurt smiled. "_Danke!_"

"Okay, Kurt, just remember; in and out. Nothing fancy." Cyclops said.

"Yes, Kurt," the Professor agreed, "today is simply about finding out exactly where you go when you teleport. Do not put yourself at any further risk."

Nightcrawler nodded. "I know." he agreed.

"Okay, Elf." Wolverine said. "Whenever you're ready." At that, Nightcrawler took a deep breath, and looked to a spot across the room.

_Bamf!_

Nightcrawler vanished in a puff of brimstone. Instead of reappearing, however, Kurt remained gone for a few minutes.

Multiple looked worried. "Clark," he asked, "is Kurt okay?"

Superman smiled. "He should be fine, Jamie." he answered. "Forge's device just slows down Kurt's teleporting, so it can record exactly where he goes."

Just then, Nightcrawler reappeared in another brimstone cloud, looking bewildered. "_Vhoa_...zat vas _veird!_" he exclaimed.

At that, the data from Kurt's vest started to feed into the control room's screen. The screen depicted a fiery, cavernous, underground realm, filled with craggy rock outcroppings and pits of red-hot lava. "_Whoa._" Iceman murmured.

"Blue goes through _there?_" Boom-Boom whispered.

"Fuzzy's got _guts_." Berzerker said.

"This is _amazing_..." Beast murmured. "Kurt...seems to travel through an entirely different _dimension_ when he teleports..."

Storm looked worried. "Then he's lucky he moves through it so quickly." she said. "I wouldn't want to linger in such a place for very long."

Beast took a closer look at the readout on the screen. "These readings indicate the presence of organic molecules..." he mused.

Just then, a two-legged, lizard-like creature, with dark red scales, beady black eyes, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth appeared in the distance. Beast promptly zoomed in...revealing about a half-dozen of the creatures.

Superman frowned. "Looks like we've found our organic molecules."

Cannonball gulped. "Ah sure wouldn't want to meet any of _those_ critters _anywhere_, let _alone_..!"

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." Beast said. "Under normal circumstances, Kurt passes through their dimension incredibly fast; they're probably not even _aware_ of us."

Cyclops looked concerned. "Famous last words, Mr. McCoy."

"Well, I think it's time for all of you to get ready for school." the Professor said.

Superman nodded. "And I need to get ready for work." he agreed. With that, they all left the control room, as Nightcrawler and Wolverine headed out of the Danger Room.

Had they stayed a moment longer, they may have spied the tiniest of flashes, forming right where Kurt had 'ported. The flash slightly widened, becoming a rift of light...and a lizard-like claw reached out from it...

...and then, as quickly as it had formed, the flash vanished.

After leaving the Danger Room, Dazzler hurried to catch up to Superman. "Clark, wait up!"

Superman instantly stopped as he heard her voice, and he turned to her, smiling. "Hey, Ali." he greeted.

Alison smiled back. "Hey." she replied. "So...tonight's the night."

Superman smiled his usual, charming smile, the one that could oh-so-easily turn her into a helpless puddle of hormonal _goo_. "Yeah." he agreed. "I'm really looking forward to it."

Alison's smile grew, as she felt a familiar rosy tint creep over her face. "Me, too." she cooed. "It'll be my first school dance since my freshman year, since before I started my career."

Superman grinned sheepishly, an expression that Alison couldn't help but find absolutely _adorable_. "It'll be _my_ first high school dance _ever_." he admitted.

Alison nodded, smiling wistfully; Clark had sacrificed his teen years to his training in the Fortress...all to eventually become the hero he was, today. She walked closer to him, standing up on her toes, and looped her arms around his neck. "Then I'll have to do my best to make it a night to _remember_." she cooed flirtatiously. And she meant _every_ word; she wanted, just once, to let her Clarkie have a nice, normal evening.

Superman smiled, as his arms encircled her waist, in a loving, protective embrace that Alison absolutely _loved_. "_Any_ moment I spend with you is memorable, _taushi_." he whispered, before he punctuated the sentence with a tender kiss.

Dazzler sighed happily, eagerly reciprocating, allowing herself to get lost in her boyfriend's arms for a few wonderful moments...until she felt him suddenly freeze. She ended the kiss, burying her head in his chest, suppressing her giggles. "Duty calls." she cooed.

Superman smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, baby..."

"_Don't_ be." Dazzler said, smiling. "It's just part of what makes you the man that I love."

Superman smiled. "Have I told you how much I love you, lately?"

Dazzler smiled, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "You can tell me _tonight_." she whispered. "Now, get going!" Superman smiled at that...before darting off at super-speed; in seconds, he had cleared the nearest window and was flying off, a sonic boom echoing behind him. Smiling to herself, Dazzler headed to her room, a joyful spring in her step.

_Bayville High_

Scott and the others managed to reach Bayville High before the initial class bell rang, giving them plenty of time to get ready for class. After Scott had parked his car, he, Jean, Kurt, Evan, and Alison got out, as Kitty and Tabitha hopped out of Lance's jeep, while Remy and Rogue pulled up to the school on Remy's bike. As they walked in, Jean smiled at Scott as she waved good-bye, before she headed for her locker. Scott could only smile back goofily, a stupid, love-struck grin on his face.

Kurt grinned at Scott's expression. "Oh, you've got it _bad_, _mein freund_."

Scott chuckled. "Yeah, just like _you_ are about Amanda." he quipped. "Has she asked you, yet?"

Kurt smiled sheepishly. "Not yet." he admitted. "I know ve have gone out a few times, but she's been really shy, lately." He grinned. "My fingers are crossed!"

Scott smiled. "She will." he said. "She likes you, no doubt about it."

"Hey, Scott."

Scott smiled as his friend, Paul Andersen, walked up. Paul was 17, like Scott, and of the same height and frame, with short blond hair and hazel eyes, in his usual blue t-shirt and khaki pants. "Hey, man." Scott greeted.

Paul grinned. "So, you psyched to be goin' to the dance with Jean?"

Scott chuckled. "Oh, yeah."

"Figured." Paul said. "You've only been crazy about her since you _met_ her."

Scott nodded. "What about you?"

Paul smiled. "Taryn asked me." he replied. "Although something tells me that if you and Jean weren't together, she'd have asked _you_."

Scott laughed. "Well, I guess since I'm off the market, Taryn got the chance to see how great a guy _you_ are." he said. He chuckled. "Wait, did that sound as cheesy as I _think_ it did?"

"_Cheesier._"

Scott chuckled. "Thought so." Just then, the class bell rang. "Well, see you later."

Paul nodded. "Later, man." he said. With that, they headed to their respective classes.

The morning passed fairly quickly for Jean, and it was soon lunch period. After dropping her books at her locker, Jean promptly met up with Taryn, before heading to lunch with her friend.

"You must be _psyched_ for tonight, right, Jean?" Taryn asked.

Jean smiled, nodding. "After everything, this year, it'll be nice for Scott and I to have a nice, romantic evening." she said. And that was the _truth_.

Taryn smiled. "To be honest, Jean, I've been a bit jealous of you." she confessed. "At the start of the year, I...kinda had my eye on Scott; if you hadn't made a move on him when you did, I would've _gladly_ scooped him up."

Jean blinked, unsure how to respond. "Oh."

"But don't get me wrong, Jean; I'm really happy for you and Scott!" Taryn said. "He's a really great guy, and after putting up with Duncan for as long as you have, you _deserve_ the best!"

Jean smiled. "Thanks." she said. "And Paul's a great guy, too; I'm glad for you."

"Thanks!" Taryn said. She lightly blushed. "Either Scott or Paul would've been my second choice for a date, tonight."

Jean blinked. "Then...who would have been your _first?_"

Taryn laughed, her face getting a bit rosy. "Who do you _think?_" she giggled. "But it's not like Superman has a listed number!"

Jean managed to suppress a knowing smile. "I suppose not." she commented.

"Did you hear? Someone caught a partial photo of him over on the east coast of China!" Taryn continued. "Apparently, there was a tanker in distress, but it miraculously managed to make it to port, when it was taking on water! That _has_ to be proof that he exists!"

Jean shrugged. "I guess we'll never know." she said. With that, the two of them headed on to lunch.

In his chemistry class, the last class before lunch, Kurt was having a hard time concentrating...as he couldn't help but occasionally glance back to Amanda's desk, where, if he was lucky, he could catch her stealing glances at _him_.

Just then, the lunch bell rang, and the entire class got up for lunch. Kurt started to gather his books...

"Um...Kurt?"

Kurt froze at the sound of Amanda's lovely voice, before turning to face her. "Oh...uh...h-hey, 'Mandy." Kurt greeted. "H-How's it going?" Inwardly, he kicked himself. '_Real smooth, fuzzy dude._'

Amanda smiled shyly at his use of her nickname. "Oh, I-I'm okay." she stammered, sounding just as nervous as he felt, which made Kurt feel a little better. "I...I was just wondering...did you...I mean, if no-one's asked you, yet...did you want to go to the dance with me, tonight?"

Kurt grinned so much, he was surprised his face didn't cramp up. "_S-Sure!_" he exclaimed.

Amanda beamed. "_Really?!_" she exclaimed. "T-Thank you! I'll meet you outside the school, tonight, okay?"

Kurt smiled, nodding. "Okay." he replied. Smiling, Amanda gave him a shy little wave, before she headed off. Grinning stupidly, Kurt did a quick 'happy-dance,' the perfect love-struck fool, before he hurried off to meet his friends.

After the lunch bell rang, Alison headed to her locker, where she promptly deposited her textbooks, before going to meet her friends. She had just closed her locker when Amanda darted up to her. "You were _right_, Ali!" Amanda squealed. "Kurt said yes!!"

Alison smiled. "Now, didn't I tell you he would?" she asked; a few days ago, Amanda had confided in Alison that she was nervous about asking Kurt to the dance, fearful that going to the dance was a major step-up in the exclusivity scale...which would cause _any_ guy to bolt.

She was glad to have helped.

"I should _never_ have doubted you!" Amanda exclaimed, giving Alison a quick hug. "I just can't _wait!_ Oh, I hope Kurt likes the dress I picked out..!"

Alison smiled. "Kurt's _crazy_ about you, Amanda." she assured her. "You could show up in a _potato sack_, and he'd still think you were the prettiest girl in the world."

Amanda smiled. "I hope so." she said. "And I'm curious to finally meet this 'Kal' guy you're always talking about!"

Now it was _Alison's_ turn to smile. "Oh, Amanda, he's just..._super!_" she exclaimed, suppressing an ironic smile.

Amanda smiled...and then her expression collapsed, as she looked behind Alison. At first, Alison was confused...and then she rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Go _away_, Pietro."

As expected, the silver-haired speedster was standing behind Alison; he'd been pestering her to go to the dance with him for _weeks_. "Hey, babe." Pietro greeted, casually leaning against the lockers. "Just so you know, I think I could squeeze you onto my dance card, tonight. What do you say?"

"Oh, gee, I don't know; how about, 'Get lost, jerk,' or, 'I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last guy on _earth_.'" Alison snapped. "Pick one."

Pietro scowled. "So, you're still hung up on that loser, huh?" he sneered.

Alison's eyes narrowed. "From what I've seen, Maximoff, there's only _one_ guy I've talked to who's a loser." she retorted. "And it _isn't_ Kal."

Pietro's face twisted in fury. "Why _him?!_" he yelled. "Why?! What has _he_ got that I don't?!"

Alison's eyes narrowed; enough was _enough_. "_Why?_" Alison repeated. "_Fine!_ _Here's_ why, Pietro! Kal doesn't treat women like they're just miniskirts; he doesn't put on any macho acts; he _cares_ about me, rather than just _acting_ nice long enough to get in my pants! The reason I can't _stand_ guys like you, Pietro, is that you're _takers_; you think that the entire world revolves around _you!_ Kal has every _reason_ to think he's better than everyone else, but he _doesn't!!_ He's the most humble, most selfless soul on the _planet_, and none of the sniping or belittling you try to do will _ever_ change that!! Get this through your thick skull, Maximoff!! _I DON'T LIKE YOU!!!_"

As she finished that angry statement, a cheer went up from around Alison; her furious tirade had drawn a crowd. "You _go_, girl!" one other girl cheered. Scowling, Pietro stormed off.

Amanda chuckled. "Wow, Alison, you sure showed him!"

Alison lightly smiled. "He had it coming." she said. Then, Alison headed off to lunch, to meet her friends, as Amanda headed off to her own locker.

As lunch hour came around, Scott and the others gathered at their usual table, save for Jean and Rogue, who had yet to arrive. Scott chuckled as he noted the goofy grin on Kurt's face when he'd arrived. "Amanda asked you, didn't she?"

Kurt grinned goofily, staring off into space. "I have to be zhe luckiest blue elf _alive_..."

Kitty smiled. "We're so happy for you, Kurt!"

Lance nodded, looping an arm around Kitty's shoulders. "Way to go, Little Blue!"

Tabitha chuckled, looking to Alison. "Hey, Ali, we just heard about how you chewed Pietro out, a few minutes ago!" she exclaimed. "It's about _time_ someone shut him up!"

Alison nodded. "Guys like him make me _sick_." she said. "They think they're God's gift to women." Smiling, she sighed happily. "But _that_ honor belongs to _Kal_..."

Tabitha nodded. "Amen to _that_." she agreed. "Hold onto _him_, girl."

"Hey, guys." Jean greeted, as she sat down next to Scott. "What's going on?"

"Oh, just talking." Scott replied.

"More specifically, talking about how Ali tore a strip off Pietro, just now." Kitty added.

"Does Kal approve of that?"

Scott automatically frowned as Anita and her clique walked up to them. "Look, we're just trying to enjoy our lunch in _peace._" he said.

"Yeah, so take a _hike_." Tabitha added.

Anita didn't quit. "So, you act all sweet around Kal, but the minute he's not around, the claws come out." she sneered. "Personally, I would think that he would prefer someone with only _one_ face."

Alison rolled her eyes. "You, of course, being the expert on duplicity."

Anita frowned. "I hope you _do_ have a nice evening," she said archly, "and _do_ be careful."

Remy arched an eyebrow. "If Remy didn' know better, 'e'd say dat sounds like a _t'reat_."

"Consider it fair warning." Anita said.

"Whatever, LeRoux." Alison replied. "Now, we're trying to eat, and in case you didn't notice, this table is in a Bitch-Free Zone." At that, Anita scowled, and walked away with her cronies.

Remy frowned. "_Merde_, dat _femme_ be a _pain_."

"Hey, all." Rogue greeted as she sat down.

Remy grinned. "Firs' LeRoux leaves, and den y' come, chere; like goin' from '_ell_ t' _heaven_."

Rogue smiled. "Aw, can it, Cajun." she said playfully.

"So, where were you, Rogue?" Kitty inquired.

"Oh, Ah was just talkin' to Risty." Rogue replied. "Ah probably would've hung out with her at the dance, if Ah didn't have a date."

Jean smiled. "It looks like pretty much all of us have a date, now."

Evan nodded. "Yeah, I guess we do; you know that girl Clarice from my Math class?" he said. "She just asked me before I came to meet you guys."

"What about you, Tab?" Kitty inquired.

Tabitha shrugged. "Hey, who needs a date to have fun?" she laughed. "I figured I'd just hang out, and maybe I'd dance with one of the other Brotherhood guys; they're really not all _that_ bad – I have a few of my classes with them."

Scott nodded. "Why not? There's no reason we all can't have a little truce."

Just then, Kurt gasped. "Guys, I just thought of somezhing!" he cried. "V-Vat if Amanda gets too close to me, and feels my fur?!"

"Hey, that's right, man," Evan said, "and if you hold hands, she's gonna feel two fuzzy fingers."

"Oh, _man_, zat's _right!_" Kurt wailed. "Ach, vat vas I _thinking?!_ I have to call zhis off!"

"Whoa, Kurt, calm down." Scott said. "Just wear gloves, tonight, okay? And if Amanda asks you about them, just make up a reason; like whenever someone asks about my shades, I tell them it's an eye condition, and they buy it."

Jean nodded. "It'll be fine, Kurt. You just have to be careful, that's all."

"Oh. Okay." Kurt agreed. Just then, the bell rang for class, and they all got up to head to class.

As the students of Bayville High headed for their lockers in the hallway of the school, Anita watched the X-Men as they dispersed for their respective lockers...while glaring hatefully at Alison.

That Blaire girl _infuriated_ her; the only thing standing between Anita and the man of her dreams was that little blond _twit_. Worse still, she was keeping Kal-El from becoming what he _should_ be.

And that was what _really_ worried Anita. After she and her father had visited Destiny, the mutant seer had revealed some additional details about Kal-El's fate...and what he would bring to the world.

Anita had never seen her father afraid – had never thought him _capable_ of fear – but the prophetess' words had troubled him.

Kal-El was _supposed_ to unite the mutant race and _rule_ the planet...with her at his side, and her father acting as the wise advisor...not bring some foolish idea of 'justice' to the world. He was supposed to be her father's successor, not _oppose_ him. Kal-El's destiny was _clear_.

She would make _sure_ of it.

With these thoughts, Anita headed to her afternoon class.

After returning to the Institute when school let out, Kurt promptly suited up and met the Professor, Forge, and Wolverine in the Danger Room. "So, Elf, you ready for another trip?" Wolverine asked.

Nightcrawler nodded. "I zhink so."

Forge made some final adjustments on the high-tech vest, before handing it to Nightcrawler. "You and Wolverine should be able to remain in that dimension for a few minutes before your powers bring you out, Kurt." he explained. "You should be able to get some good readings."

"Just make sure you're careful." the Professor said. "We don't know if the creatures you saw are friendly."

"That's why _I'm_ goin', Chuck." Wolverine said. "Whenever you're ready, Elf. 'Port as far as you can."

Nightcrawler nodded, before taking hold of Wolverine's arm, and 'porting them away.

In that half-an-instant shifting sensation that Nightcrawler always felt when he 'ported, Nightcrawler found himself back in that fiery, almost infernal-looking dimension that he'd seen briefly, earlier today.

It _still_ creeped him out.

Wolverine looked around. "Nice place." he commented. "You could make a _killing_ in the home-heating business, here."

Nightcrawler nodded. "_Ja_." he agreed. "I sure hop Forge gets zhe data he needs from zhis trip..."

A feral growl cut the air, interrupting Kurt. Startled, Nightcrawler spun around...to see one of the demonic lizard-creatures stalking towards him, its teeth bared.

Just then, _another_ creature stalked into view, from behind a rock. And then another. And _another_, until over a half-dozen of the demonic lizards surrounded them.

Wolverine scowled, popping out his claws. "'Not aware of us,' eh, McCoy?" he muttered. "One-Eye was _right_."

Roaring, one lizard pounced at Wolverine, who ducked low and slashed it across its belly, driving it back. As another creature closed on Nightcrawler, he leapt out of its range, before kicking off a nearby rock formation, and booting the lizard away.

As two of their brethren were driven back, the rest of the lizards growled menacingly, angrily. _Two_ lizards then leapt at Wolverine, who caught the first by the jaws, before throwing it right at the second one, knocking them both back...as another two started to close on him. "Any time, now, Elf!"

As he evaded the jaws of another lizard, Nightcrawler felt the shifting sensation begin, and he grabbed hold of Wolverine's arm...

...as his 'port finished, depositing them in the quiet, cool darkness of Forge's old lab, near the school.

Wolverine let out a small sigh of exertion. "Never a dull moment, around here." he muttered. "_Brother_, do I need a smoke, right now."

"Zat's _it!!_" Nightcrawler cried, frantically pulling the vest off of him. "No more!! I'm not doing any more experiments ever _again!_ Not after _zat!_" His expression turned to utter horror. "Zat vas _Hell_, Herr Logan! _Zat's_ vhy zhere's brimstone every time I 'port!! I 'port through _Hell!!_" he cried. "I'm _never_ using my powers ever _again!_ It's not worth it!!!"

"Easy, there, Elf." Wolverine said, placing a hand on the horrified youth's shoulder. He then switched on his communicator. "Hey, Chuck? It's Logan. You'd better get down here with the X-Van. I don't think the Elf's up to a return trip."

"_Of course, Logan. We'll be there, soon._"

"Got it. Logan out." Wolverine said, as he switched off his communicator. "Look, Kurt, that wasn't Hell..."

"Vat else _could_ it be?!" Nightcrawler cried. "_Gott in Himmel_...vat have I _done?!_"

"_Kurt_." Wolverine said. "Did you _see_ anybody with horns?"

"Vell...no."

"Anybody sporting a pitchfork?"

"No."

"_Then it wasn't Hell_." Wolverine said firmly. "You got nothing to worry about in that regard."

Nightcrawler grimaced. "Hell or not, I'm _still_ not using my powers ever again! It's too risky!"

Wolverine sighed; he wasn't winning _this_ battle, today. "Okay, Elf. Whatever you say." he said. Then, they could only just sit back, and wait for the X-Van to arrive.

It was around 6:00 when Clark got back from work; he would have been back sooner, but old JJ had managed to scrounge up some "vital" paperwork that had needed doing. When he'd gotten back, he'd learned that Kurt's second 'porting experiment hadn't gone too well. He'd also learned that Alison, Jean, Kitty, Rogue, and Tabitha had all returned from their little trip to New York to pick up their dresses.

After getting a quick snack, Clark darted to his room, and quickly got dressed; super-speed certainly could make things simpler. In minutes, he'd donned a black casual suit, consisting of a black jacket with simple gold cufflinks, over a simple white shirt, and black slacks. He'd opted not to wear a tie, leaving the very top button open, as well as to leave his glasses and image-inducer home; he'd been seen at the school as the clumsy "Clark Kent,"and he couldn't risk being recognized.

His change done, Clark walked out of his room, and walked down to the bottom of the stairs in the main hall...a few minutes before the other guys walked down the stairs, in their own suits. "Aw, man," Evan laughed, "he only gets here a few minutes ago, and he's _still_ the first one ready!"

Clark chuckled. "One of the benefits to super-speed, I guess." he said.

"Okay, we're ready!"

At that, Clark and the other guys all looked up the stairs...and _froze_.

Jean smiled at Scott as she walked down the stairs; she was clad in a light-gold-colored, gleaming, slim, strapless gown, ending at her mid-thigh, with a simple, light lavender scarf encircling her neck, with her hair down, flowing down her back. Kitty descended next, a light blush coloring her cheeks as she smiled at Lance. She wore a simple, light blue, spaghetti-strap gown, reaching just past her knees, her chestnut hair tied in an elegant bun at the back of her head. Rogue followed, clad in a long, slim, halter-style emerald gown, that seemed to shine as it caught the light, with long gloves covering her arms, her auburn hair in shimmery waves. Rogue smiled as she saw Remy...and his expression. Tabitha was next, clad in a dark red, slim gown, reaching just past mid-thigh, her hair now down a bit more than usual.

But, for Clark, the _best_ came _last_.

_Boy_, was he glad that his circulatory system didn't work like most people's...because he could _swear_ his heart just _stopped_.

Alison smiled at him as she walked down. She was an absolute _vision_; she wore a long, slim evening gown, reaching to her feet; the lower half of the gown was silver-blue, and the upper part was a deep, sparkling blue, with a single, diamond-shaped open spot, just below her throat, where the pendant he'd given her for Christmas rested, with long, silver-blue gloves on her hands. Her shimmery, strawberry-blonde hair was elegantly piled high on her head, with a few golden tendrils framing her lovely face, and her lips were a soft shell-pink.

Alison smiled at him, the tiniest rosy tint creeping across her face. "So?" she inquired. "What do you think, Clarkie?"

Clark _tried_ to answer, but his voice simply _would not work_.

Kitty giggled. "I think you _broke_ him, Ali!"

Alison looked worried at his expression. Finally finding his voice, Clark smiled. "_Omnium siru gli'ru faer ti'lu cren._"

Alison smiled shyly. "What?"

Clark chuckled. "It's Kryptonian." he said. "It means, '_Glory to the Creator for creating you._'"

Alison blushed fiercely. "_Th-Thank you!_"

Tabitha laughed. "_Damn_, girl, you _know_ you're hot when you get a reaction in an _alien_ language!"

Scott smiled at Jean. "_Wow_, Jean," he whispered, "you look _amazing_."

Jean smiled back. "Thank you." she cooed. "And you look really handsome, Scott."

"Kit, you look _beautiful_." Lance said, smiling.

Kitty lightly blushed. "Thanks!"

"_Mon Dieu_, chere," Remy whispered, "now, didn' Remy _tell_ y' dat y' was de mos' _belle fille_ in de _world?_"

Rogue smiled. "Keep it up, Cajun." she said flirtatiously.

Evan smiled. "Lookin' good, Tabs!" he said, giving his friend the thumbs-up of approval.

"Thanks!" Tabitha said, laughing. "I'm glad _somebody_ noticed!"

"Well," Scott said, placing an arm around Jean's shoulders, "let's get going!" At that, they all started to head to Scott's convertible. As they walked, Clark placed an arm around Alison, causing her to smile...

...and then, Clark froze. "_Uh-oh._"

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks at that. "Aw, man, CK," Evan exclaimed, "you're _kidding!_"

Clark looked pained. "England. Train bridge out. A passenger train will reach the bridge in five minutes..."

"_Merde_, if dat ain' bad timin', den Remy don' know what _is_." Remy said.

Clark turned to Alison, his expression saddened. "Oh, _God_, Ali, I am so _sorry_..."

Alison silenced him with a sweet kiss. "Don't worry." she said, smiling wistfully. "People need you, Clarkie." Her smile grew. "But you _definitely_ owe me a dance!"

Clark grinned. "_Taushi_, I owe you a _lot_ more than that." he said softly.

Alison smiled. "You just get back as soon as you can." she cooed.

"Ali can just hang with all of us until you get back!" Kitty added.

Clark smiled. "Thanks, guys." he said. "I'll see you all soon." And with that, he darted off at top speeds, zipping back into the Institute, changing out of his clothes and donning his uniform. Superman then darted for the nearest window, opened it, and took off into the sky, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

Shortly after Clark had flown off, Scott and the others headed to the dance. By the time they arrived, the dance was in full swing. "Well, we're here." Alison said.

Kurt gulped. "Does anyone see Amanda..?"

"Kurt!"

Just then, Amanda hurried over to Kurt; she was wearing a mid-length, slim, over-one-shoulder-style black gown, her hair in long, elegant braids. Kurt smiled. "_Vow_...Amanda...you look..._vunderbar_...ach, I mean, _vonderful_..."

Amanda smiled shyly. "Thanks, Kurt." she cooed. "And you look...really handsome." Kurt smiled goofily, before offering his arm to Amanda, who smiled, and laced her arm around his elbow, as they headed into the dance, with the others promptly following.

Some time after the students had left, Charles had returned to the control room of the Danger Room with Logan and Hank, and found Forge there, hard at work, analyzing the data. "So, Forge, how goes the analysis?" Charles inquired.

"The data indicates that the dimension those critters inhabit is, to an extent, capable of supporting life, which means that there's probably a lot more of 'em than what Kurt and Logan saw." Forge explained.

Wolverine snorted. "Terrific."

"Are we in any danger of them following Kurt's teleportation into _this_ plane?" Hank asked.

"Hmm...well, it's theoretically possible that slowing Kurt's 'ports could place a greater strain on the fabric of space-time, making the gap between dimensions thin enough for them to cross over..." Forge mused, "...but if _that_ was happening, we'd be seeing it, by now..."

Suddenly, a bright flash of light burst into the Danger Room below...as a dimensional rift opened...and five demonic lizards hopped through, as the rift closed.

Forge groaned. "Me and my big mouth."

Beast's eyes widened. "Oh, my stars and garters..."

Logan scowled. "Great. Just _great_." he muttered, as he popped out his claws. "Looks like lizard stew's on the menu, tonight."

"Hang on!" Forge exclaimed. "If I can find my Middleverse portal-generator, I should be able to adjust it to send them _back!_"

"Yeah, you do that." Wolverine said. "Me, I think I'll take care of these critters the old-fashioned way!" And with that, he slashed the glass barrier, shattering it, before diving towards the lizards from the control room.

Wolverine landed on one lizard, stabbing his claws through the back of its neck, before kicking away the two that were closing on him. Snarling, he slashed at another lizard, driving it back...and then, the fifth lizard leapt onto his back, starting to tear at him with its teeth...

...and then a powerful, blue-furred hand yanked the lizard off, and tossed it aside, as Beast, after leaping after Wolverine, pounced at the recovering two lizards, slamming one aside, and then pounding the other with mighty hand-slams.

Wolverine grinned. "I thought you weren't big on violence."

Beast calmed. "I _do_ believe that there are often better solutions to problems," he said, as the first two lizards rapidly recovered, "but there comes a time when every man has to stand up for..._oh, you get the point!!_"

And he punctuated the sentence by backhanding another lizard, knocking it aside. Wolverine then rolled towards a recovering lizard, revitalized as his healing factor mended his injuries, stabbing it with his claws. The lizard fell...and then quickly recovered; they could heal just as fast as _Wolverine_ did. Wolverine scowled, readying himself as another lizard came at him...

...and was instantly engulfed by a beam of white light, vanishing.

Wolverine turned to see Forge, holding his portal-generator, firing those beams at the rest of the lizards; in seconds, they were gone. Forge grinned. "Well, those critters are back where they belong!" he said.

"How did that happen?" Hank inquired.

"Well, it's like I said; they're following Kurt's 'ports." Forge said. "The damage to space-time causes Kurt's former teleporting destinations to act as portals to our dimension; firing my generator basically sealed up the portal, as well as sending those things home."

Beast's eyes widened. "Wait...hasn't Kurt used his powers at _school?_"

"Why..._yes!_" Forge said. "Last year, when he and I were stuck in Middleverse, he used his powers in the gym, where I had set up my lab, to signal the X-Men about the Brotherhood coming after them; with the damage done to space-time..."

"...that dance is about to become a critter-magnet!" Wolverine said. "And with everyone there, those things'll be walkin' into an all-you-can-eat _buffet!_"

'_Logan, you and Forge should head to the school immediately; I will warn the X-Men of the situation_.' Charles sent to them telepathically. '_Time is of the essence!_' With that, Wolverine and Forge headed out of the Danger Room, heading for the X-Van.

Hopefully, they weren't too late.

It was about a half-hour into the dance, and still no sign of Clark.

Standing to the side of the dance floor, Alison folded her arms around herself sadly; '_Something else must have come up._' she told herself. She hoped he would arrive, soon.

"Hey, Ali!" Kitty called, as she and Lance walked off the dance floor, to grab a drink. "Any sign of You-Know-Who?"

Alison smiled wistfully, and shook her head. "He must be busy." she said softly.

"Hey, don't worry; Big Blue _always_ comes through for his pals." Lance said. "And you're his _girlfriend_, so that goes _double_ for _you!_"

Alison chuckled. "Thanks, Lance." she said.

Just then, Kitty frowned, as she looked towards the entrance. Alison followed Kitty's gaze...and found herself automatically frowning, as she saw Pietro, in a stylish grey suit, walk in...with _four_ girls on his arm – two on each side. Spying her, he winked at her, causing Alison to roll her eyes in disgust.

"_Ugh!_" Kitty muttered. "What a _creep!_"

"I _know!_" Alison agreed. "I swear, if I ever felt guilty about chewing him out, I _don't_, anymore." Then, she smiled. "You guys go on; I'm just going to get some punch."

"Okay, Alison." Kitty said. "We'll just check back on you every so often until Kal gets here."

"Okay." Alison agreed, as she headed to the punch table, as Lance and Kitty headed back to the dance floor.

Reaching the punch table, Alison poured herself a glass, and took a sip, while briefly scanning the room for her sweetie...to no avail.

"Looks like someone got stood up."

Alison sighed in annoyance as Anita, in a sparkling emerald-green gown, walked up to her, smirking. "Kal's just _busy_, LeRoux," Alison retorted, "you know, saving lives, fighting crime, and just generally saving the day? It's kinda the _opposite_ of what your old man does."

Anita's eyes narrowed. "_Watch_ that tongue of yours, Blaire." she hissed. Her smirk return. "But his 'work' certainly _is_ a _useful_ excuse, isn't it?" she sneered. "I suppose men can only tolerate blondes for so long."

Alison didn't fall for it. "And some guys can't tolerate _brunettes_ at _all_." she shot back. "_You're_ living proof."

Anita scowled. "Consider this the _last_ warning you're going to get, Blaire." she hissed. "Stay _away_ from him, or I'll..!"

"Is there a problem, ladies?"

Anita instantly dropped the venom from her voice as Principal Kelly walked over. "Oh, nothing, sir!" she said sweetly. "Just girl-talk!" With that, she walked off.

Principal Kelly watched Anita leave suspiciously, before turning to Alison, smiling pleasantly. "I trust you're enjoying yourself, Miss Blaire?"

Alison smiled. "Yeah; my date's just running late." she explained.

The Principal nodded. "Well, I'm sure he's on his way." he said. "Have a pleasant evening, Miss Blaire." With that, he walked off, as Alison took a sip from her punch, waiting for Clark to arrive.

After a few dances, Rogue and Remy got off the dance floor, to take a brief rest, sitting in some of the chairs provided. "Y' know, chere," Remy said, grinning, "for a _fille_ dat ain' been t' a dance in a while, y' dance _divinely_."

Rogue smiled. "Ah could say the same about _you_, Remy."

Remy grinned. "Well, Remy don' like t' brag, but dancin' is one o' de tools o' de t'ieves trade dat he like t' t'ink dat he mastered." he said. "Y'd be surprised when a waltz comes in 'andy when y' got t' distract a crowd downstairs while y' team moves in _upstairs_."

Rogue chuckled. "Of course."

"Hey, girl."

Rogue smiled as Risty, in a slim, light orange dress, sat down next to them. "Hey, Ris'." Rogue greeted. "Enjoyin' yerself?"

Risty smiled, and nodded. "I see _you_ are, too." she said. "I'm happy for you, girl."

Rogue smiled. "Thanks." she replied. Then, something occurred to her. "Hey, Ris'?" she asked. "I haven't seen you for the past little while. Where were you?"

Risty momentarily flinched, before she smiled. "Oh...I had to...visit family over in England." she said. "Minor crisis."

"Oh, Ah'm sorry." Rogue said.

"_Don't_ be, girl." Risty said. "Well, I'll let you two alone; have a nice evening!" With that, she headed off.

Rogue was momentarily confused by her friend's initial reaction...and then smiled at her date as the music started up, again. "Let's go, Cajun!"

Remy grinned. "Music t' Remy's ears!" he exclaimed, as they headed back onto the dance floor.

It had been a few minutes since Alison had headed to the refreshment table, and still no Clark. Alison sighed, as she topped up her punch glass. She took her cell phone out of her purse, debating whether or not to call him, but decided against it; she didn't want to distract him if he was in the middle of saving lives...

"Hey, Alison."

Alison turned, and inwardly groaned as she saw Duncan there. "Wanna dance?" Duncan inquired, grinning.

Alison frowned. "Sorry, Duncan, but I already _have_ a date." she said.

Duncan arched an eyebrow. "Well, where is he?"

Alison's expression turned a bit sad. "He's just...running late."

Duncan smirked. "Well, when you get tired of waiting, I'll be around." he said, and he walked off.

Alison sighed, as she set her glass on the table. '_Clarkie, where **are** you?_' she thought sadly.

Just then, Alison noticed a shadow behind her, and frowned. "_God_, Duncan," she snapped, "I _said_ I was..." She turned around...and froze.

"Good evening, my dearest Alison."

Alison's frown intensified at the sight of Shinobi Shaw. Shaw was about 20, fairly tall, and lean, his face a little on the "pretty-boy" side, which masked the insidious cunning that Alison _knew_ lurked within him. His eyes were a dark green, his hair obsidian hair was mid-length, reaching the back of his neck. He was clad in an immaculate dark blue suit.

"What are you _doing_ here, Shaw?" Alison snapped.

Shinobi smiled. "Why, my dear, I heard that your school was holding this event, tonight, and I was in the area; good manners dictated that I drop by to say hello."

Alison's eyes narrowed. "So you're _spying_ on me, now?!"

Shinobi chuckled. "Alison, it _was_ advertised in the local paper." he said. "And you look positively _lovely_, tonight, if I may say so."

Alison folded her arms. "Shaw, when I _told_ you to leave me alone, that _included_ stalking!"

Shinobi smirked. "I see that you've neglected to bring your steel-toed boots." he chuckled. "Now, there's no reason we can't have a civil conversation, is there?" He looked to the dance floor. "And this _is_ a dance, isn't it? Would you do me the honor of a dance?"

Alison frowned. "I _told_ you, Shaw; I'm already _seeing_ someone."

Shinobi sneered. "Ah, yes; the famous 'Kal.'" He looked around. "Well?" he asked. "Where is he?"

"I'm right _here_."

Shinobi's expression was utterly _comical_...but Alison didn't even _notice_. "_Kal!!_" she exclaimed, practically _flying_ into her boyfriend's arms, hugging him.

Clark – Kal – smiled warmly at her. "Oh, baby, I'm so _sorry_." he said softly. "I had things to take care of in Asia and Africa that delayed me. Can you ever forgive me?"

Alison giggled, nuzzling into his chest. "Of _course_, baby." she cooed. "I'm just so glad you made it!"

Clark smiled...and then took notice of Shinobi. "Friend of yours?" he inquired.

Alison frowned. "_Hardly_."

Clark smiled pleasantly, and extended his hand. "Kalvin Elward."

Shinobi frowned, and shook it. "Shinobi Shaw." he said. "So..._you're_ the famous 'Kal' that Alison can't stop talking about."

Clark smiled at Alison. "You talk about me, sweetheart?" he said. "Good things, I hope!"

Alison beamed. "Nothing _but!_" she cooed.

"Yes, indeed." Shinobi said flatly. "Well, I may stay a few minutes, so I'll...leave you two be. Good evening." With that, he walked off.

Clark's expression turned regretful. "Oh, _God_, _taushi_, I am _so, so sorry._" he whispered. "When I took care of that train in France, I had to fly to Africa to help a U.N. relief-supply ship land safely. After _that_, I had to fly further south in Africa, to repair a dam before it flooded a village. And _then_ I had to head to China to..."

Alison sweetly silenced her Clarkie with a loving kiss. "Clark, you don't _have_ to explain." she cooed, smiling. "So many people depend on you; the _last_ thing you need is some bossy, overweening hag pestering you about everything." She giggled. "You get enough of that from _Siryn_."

Clark smiled. "Ali, you are _not_ bossy, _or_ overweening...and you are anything _but_ a hag."

Alison smiled, blushing. "Clark, I _love_ you." she cooed. "I love _everything_ about you...even the fact that your 'work' can make you late."

Clark's smile grew, as he lovingly embraced her. "And I love _you_, _taushi_." he said. "You make my heart glad; you make everything I do _worthwhile._" And he punctuated the sentence with a loving, passionate kiss that stole her breath away.

After a few wonderful minutes, Clark ended the kiss, smiling. "Now," he said, "I believe I owe you a dance." A wonderfully dizzy Alison smiled, and nodded. At that, they headed onto the dance floor, their hands comfortably entwined. As they reached the dance floor, a slow song started up; smiling, Clark gently placed his hands on Alison's waist, as Alison happily wreathed her arms around his neck, and they slowly moved in time with the music.

Alison sighed happily, leaning her head against Clark's chest, smiling as his arms enfolded her a bit more protectively; his touch was always so gentle, so absolutely _wonderful_. She was ashamed of herself for ever doubting him. Then, Alison was content to simply savor this sweet moment, looking up into those perfect, sky-blue eyes of his, that cloudless sky carved into her lover's face, smiling as he looked back at her lovingly.

_Nothing_ could ruin this moment.

Jean couldn't help but smile as she saw Clark and Alison head out onto the dance floor. She looked back to her boyfriend, as they continued to dance together. "Well, it looks like Kal finally arrived." she said.

Scott chuckled. "Better late than never!"

Jean smiled. "They're so in love." she said. "When Kal got here, I could _feel_ how happy Ali was; to a telepath, she might as well be shouting, '_I love this man!!_' to the entire world!" She chuckled. "And, even though I can't hear his thoughts, I can tell that Kal is _just_ as crazy about Ali!"

Scott smiled back. "Kinda like how _I_ am for _you_."

Jean smiled, and gave Scott a sweet kiss on the cheek. "You are the sweetest man _alive_, Scott Summers." she cooed. Then, she frowned. "But that _other_ guy Alison was talking to..._ugh!_ Two words: _total sleazeball_, if his thoughts were any indication!"

Scott chuckled. "Hopefully, Big Blue scared him off."

After a few more dances, Jean and Scott decided to take a rest off to the side. As they sat down, Jean saw Taryn and Paul heading towards the break area; Taryn was in a stylish, short, slim orange dress, and Paul was wearing a casual black suit. "Hey, guys!" Jean called, waving them over.

"Hey, Jean!" Taryn said, smiling, as she and Paul came over. "Oh, my _gosh_, I _love_ your dress!"

"Thanks!" Jean replied, smiling. "Yours is lovely, too!"

Taryn glanced to the dance floor, and spied Clark and Alison. "_Wow_, is _that_ Kal?" she said. "No offence, Paul, but he is _awesome!_"

Paul chuckled. "Hey, we can't _all_ be Superman, Taryn." he joked, causing Taryn to playfully jab him with her elbow.

Jean nodded. "Yeah, that's Kal; Ali's been _crazy_ about him since they were _kids_." she said.

Taryn smiled. "Well, it's nice to see that they had a happy ending!" she said. Then, she blinked. "Hang on...has he ever been here, before? Because I am getting the _strangest_ sense of _deja vu_..."

Jean and Scott both suppressed knowing smiles. "Who knows?" Scott said.

Paul chuckled. "Well, we hope you two have a nice evening." he said.

Taryn nodded. "Later!" With that, she and Paul headed back onto the dance floor. After a few minutes, Jean and Scott followed their friends' example, and headed back onto the dance floor.

As he slow-danced with Amanda, Kurt was torn; on the one hand, he was dancing with _Amanda_, the girl of his _dreams_. On the other hand, he felt the ever-present horror of her finding out about him – of touching his face, or trying to kiss him, and feeling his fur – and fleeing in utter terror.

In a way, he'd been lucky; in all their dates, so far, Amanda had been quite shy – the issue of kissing had never come up.

Just then, Amanda briefly looked to the side, and smiled. "I'm guessing that's Ali's boyfriend, Kal." she commented. "I have to admit, he's a hottie..." she smiled, "...but, for the record, you're _cuter!_"

Kurt grinned. "_Danke_." he said. Then, he sighed. "I feel like such a _doofus_, getting a rash on my hands on zhe night of zhe dance..."

"Don't worry, Kurt." Amanda cooed. "I think those gloves make you look very handsome and debonair!"

Kurt grinned even _more_. "_R-Really?_"

Amanda nodded. Her smile turned a bit wistful. "Kurt?" she asked. "I just...wanted to tell you that..." her hands reached up, sweetly touching his face, "...I _know_ about the real you."

Kurt froze in utter horror, as he quickly – but not _too_ quickly – guided Amanda's hands away from his face. "V-Vat do you mean?" he stammered. "Zhe real me is...is vat you see, Amanda."

Amanda smiled, and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes blissfully. "Okay, Kurt." she cooed. "You can tell me whenever you're ready."

Kurt froze, pondering her words. '_She...knows about me?_' he thought. He smiled. '_And she isn't freaked out?_' Then, his horror returned. '_Does she know about zhe others? Oh, man, zhis isn't good..._' Calming himself, Kurt simply returned his thoughts to dancing with the girl he adored.

He could worry about the rest, later.

After enjoying a few dances, Clark and Alison stepped off the dance floor, to take a quick breather. Alison smiled radiantly. "You dance _divinely!_" she cooed.

Clark smiled. "I try." he said.

By then, they were near the refreshment table. Alison reached for a fresh glass of punch. "I'm just a little thirsty." she said absently. "Dancing with the guy of my dreams is thirsty work!" She moved the glass towards her lips for a sip...

Clark happened to get a brief look at the red liquid, and quickly stopped Alison from drinking. "Hold on, Ali."

Alison froze, confused. "What's wrong?"

Clark took the glass from her, and exhaled the tiniest wisp of frost-breath over it; it wasn't enough to freeze the drink...

...but it _was_ sufficient to cause any solutes dissolved in it to "crash out," or to precipitate out of the solution as a solid.

In seconds, tiny white clumps of solid appeared in the drink, floating on the surface.

Alison's eyes widened. "What's _that?_"

"An emetic." Clark said, as he scanned the other glasses of punch, as well as the pitcher...and found nothing. "It's nothing toxic, but drinking this would have caused your dinner to go on _tour_. None of the other drinks were spiked, like this; this was aimed at _you_, Ali."

Alison frowned. "It looks like Her Highness is actually making _good_ on her threats." she muttered. She smiled at him. "Thank you, _tausha_." she cooed.

Clark smiled back. "Anything for you, _taushi_."

Alison sweetly blushed. "If you'll excuse me," she cooed, "I just need to make a stop in the washroom; I need to make myself pretty for you."

Clark chuckled. "I think you mean '_prettier._'" he said. "You're _already_ pretty, Ali."

Alison giggled. "Keep it up, handsome," she cooed flirtatiously, "and you'll _definitely_ be getting a kiss, tonight." With that, she headed off, occasionally looking back at him as she went.

Clark smiled as he followed his _taushi_ with his eyes...and then frowned, as his gaze met Anita's from across the room. As she saw him, Doom's daughter smiled, and blew him a kiss. Clark responded with a stern glare, before turning away, walking towards the refreshment table, to grab a drink. Reaching the table, Clark picked up a glass of punch...

"Enjoying yourself?"

Turning, Clark suppressed a frown as he saw Shinobi Shaw, keeping his expression neutral. "I think so." he said. "You?"

Shinobi shrugged. "We never really had a chance to talk." he said. He smirked, his voice laced with condescension. "What exactly is it that you _do?_"

Clark simply smiled, refusing to be insulted. "Charity work, mostly."

Shinobi arched an eyebrow. "You mean, someone actually _does_ that? For a _living?_"

"You could say that."

Shinobi smiled wryly. "I suppose you have to travel, often." he said idly. "It's a miracle that you got here in time to meet the lovely Alison."

"I practically _flew_." Clark replied, not really liking where this was going. "So, what about you?"

Shinobi smirked. "My father is the CEO of Shaw International." he said smugly. "I can do whatever I wish to do."

Clark chuckled. "Must be nice, having a rich parent to buy your way through life."

Shinobi's eyes narrowed at the shot...but another voice cut him off before he could retort. "Your daddy's money can't buy _everything_, Shaw." Alison said, as she walked over to them, smiling at Clark. "It sure couldn't buy _me_." Shinobi scowled, and walked off haughtily.

Clark chuckled. "I think we've found this year's 'Mr. Congeniality.'" he quipped.

Alison giggled. "Well, _you've_ got the award for 'Best Boyfriend _Ever_' sewn up." she cooed. Clark smiled, and slowly leaned towards his girlfriend, to kiss her...

Suddenly, Alison froze, her expression becoming one of horror. "What's wrong?" Clark asked.

"The Professor just contacted us." Alison said. "We've got _trouble_."

At that very instant, a glowing rift formed in the center of the dance floor, causing the startled teens to move back...as a dozen demonic-looking lizards leapt out – the creatures from Kurt's teleporting.

In seconds, the entire room was filled with screaming teens, who all raced to get out of the gym, running in sheer terror, leaving Clark and the other Institute students to fight them off. "Keep them contained!" Scott shouted. "The Professor said Logan and Forge have a way to send them back; they should be here, soon!" With that, he fired his optic rays, driving back one lizard, as Jean telekinetically grabbed another, before sending it flying.

Suddenly, Clark heard a scream, as he turned to see Scott and Jean's friends – Paul and Taryn – cornered by a lizard, with Paul trying to shield Taryn from the beast. As the two looked away from their approaching demise, Clark ran at the beast, while Alison quickly generated a hard-light barrier, blocking the lizard from getting any closer. In seconds, Clark had grabbed the lizard's tail. "_Run!!_" he shouted, and the two trapped teens ran for their lives, not looking back. Clark then swung the lizard around by its tail, before tossing it into another creature, knocking them both out. Two more lizards jumped onto Clark, who easily threw one clear across the room, as Alison blasted off the other with a hand-laser-beam.

As one lizard drew near, Remy threw a charged card at it, driving it back, as Rogue closed on it, removing her gloves. '_Ah sure hope mah powers work on these things..._'

But before she could touch it, another person smacked it with her purse, driving it back. "_Risty?!_" Rogue cried.

Risty smiled. "Thought you could use some help, girl!" she exclaimed, as she gave the creature another sharp smack; the lizard yelped, and ran off, into the hallway.

Rogue smiled...and then froze as she saw another creature closing on Risty from behind. "_Remy!_" she shouted; instantly, Remy threw a handful of cards at it, driving the beast back. "Ris', get _out_ of here!" Rogue cried. Risty promptly nodded, and ran off.

As one lizard leapt at her, Kitty phased herself through its teeth, as Lance focused, shaking the earth, forming a pit to trap the creature in. With a swift kick, Kitty knocked the creature into the pit.

Evan formed a bone-staff as two creatures came at him, ducking low under their charges, and swinging his staff, tripping them and sending them sprawling. As the creatures started to recover, Tabitha generated the biggest cherry-bomb she'd _ever_ done – one the size of her _fist_ – and let it fly.

_BOOM!!_

The bomb erupted in a fair-sized explosion, knocking the creatures all the way into Lance's pit, trapping them.

As Kurt kicked one lizard away, he _froze_ as he heard Amanda scream, turning to see her cornered by several of the lizards. Kurt ran at the beasts, kicking them away from her, before darting to her side. In seconds, the beasts recovered, and started to close on them.

"Kurt, get us _out_ of here!!" Amanda cried.

"_How?!_" Kurt exclaimed.

"Make us disappear!!" Amanda cried. "I've seen you do it!!" Her tone became desperate with fear. "_Please!!_"

Images of infernal flames filled Kurt's mind at the thought of teleporting...but the snarls of the beasts brought him back to reality.

'_These demons will **not** hurt my liebchen._' Kurt thought, his face determined. He put his arm around her waist. "_'Mandy, hold on!!_"

_Bamf!!_

Kurt and Amanda vanished in a cloud of brimstone, seconds before the lizards leapt at them.

At that moment, Forge darted into the gym, holding his portal-generator. "Okay, my fine, scaled friends," he said, "it's time for you to _go!_" With that, he fired the generator; in seconds, the beams from the generator had engulfed the lizards, sending them away. "Is that all of them?"

"One got away." Rogue reported.

Clark closed his eyes, listening. "It's in the east wing!"

"Clark, you go after it; the rest of us will follow!" Scott instructed. Clark nodded, and darted off.

Kurt came out of his 'port just outside the school, under a tall tree. "_Wow!_" Amanda murmured. "That was _amazing_, Kurt! How did you _do_ that?"

"To be honest, 'Mandy, I don't know exactly _how_ I do it." Kurt said. "I just...couldn't let zhose beasts hurt you."

Amanda smiled, lightly blushing. "You are my _hero_, Kurt Wagner." she cooed.

Kurt grinned at the compliment...and then paused. "But...how did you _know_..?"

Amanda's smile became guilty. "It was last year." she said. "I had transferred to Bayville High near the end of the year." She blushed. "Even then, I liked you, but I was too chicken to tell you. One day – it was in May, I think – I saw you talking to that girl, Rogue...and you just...changed."

Kurt gulped. He remembered that day; his inducer had shorted out, forcing him to 'port away, before anyone saw him...

...but someone _had_.

"Ever since then, I just _had_ to get to know you." Amanda finished. She smiled shyly. "Could I...see you, Kurt?" she inquired.

Kurt gulped. "Amanda...you won't like what you see..."

Amanda smiled, and placed a finger to his lips, sweetly shushing him. "Let _me_ be the judge of that." she cooed.

Kurt took a deep breath. "Brace yourself..." he warned, as he reached for his inducer...and switched it off.

Instantly, the Caucasian illusion vanished, revealing his fuzzy blue self, still in his suit, with his tail poking out the back of his pants.

Amanda lightly gasped as she saw him...and then smiled, walking up to him. "Did you know that blue is my favorite color?" she cooed, putting her hand to his face.

Kurt grinned with pure, stupid joy; he hadn't imagined that _anything_ could make him so happy. "Do you...vant to get out of here?" he asked. "Say to...zhe ice-cream parlor?"

Amanda smiled, lacing her arm through his elbow. "My treat!"

Kurt laughed. "Oh, an offer you may _regret!_" he exclaimed. With that, he 'ported them both away.

In the hallways of the school, Pietro and the rest of the Brotherhood ran for their lives, before stopping to catch their breath. "Aw, man, I did _not_ sign up for this, yo!" Todd cried.

"Where's Siryn when you _need_ her?!" Fred cried.

Just then, one of those lizard-creatures rounded the corner, and spotted them, causing Todd to scream girlishly – he couldn't help it. It was reflex.

The creature snarled, and ran at them...only to be yanked back by its tail.

"Party's _over_, scaly."

Pietro scowled as Super-Dork – in civilian clothing – yanked the critter off its feet and tossed it back, as the other X-Geeks showed up, as one guy used some funky gizmo to make it disappear. "You just _had_ to save the day again, _didn't_ you?!" Pietro spat. "We could've _handled_ it!!"

Alison frowned. "So much for gratitude!"

"Well, that looks like the last of them." Scott said. "Let's go home, guys." With that, they all turned to go.

"Hey...big guy?" Todd said, causing Superman to turn around. "Thanks."

Superman just smiled. "Hey, it's what we do." With that, they headed out. Scowling, Pietro and his friends left the school.

'_God..._' Pietro thought, '_...on days like these, I ought to tell Father and Tin-Butt to take this job and **shove** it._'

From his limousine on the curb, Shinobi watched the Institute students leave the school after a job well done...and automatically scowled as he spotted that 'Kal' with them...

"Jealousy does not become you, Shaw."

Shinobi rolled his eyes as he looked across from him to his father's associate, Emma Frost. The White Queen of the Inner Circle was 20, like himself, a bit shorter than him, and voluptuous, with long, golden blond hair, and cold blue eyes, clad in tight white leather pants, and a revealing, halter-style white top; Emma was not above using her beauty as a weapon against those who opposed the Circle. She was also a mutant, like he was; she was a telepath – a powerful one – as well as able to turn her skin into a near-unbreakable diamond-like substance. He himself was capable of altering his molecular structure, to become intangible, as well as disrupting the molecules of those he touched in that state.

Shinobi rolled his eyes. "I have more than that _fool_ ever will..." he muttered.

"...except the affections of Alison Blaire." Emma corrected, smiling confidently.

Shinobi scowled. "Regardless, we have confirmed it." he said. "That 'Kal' that Alison is dating...is Kal-El, the one who calls himself 'Superman'."

Emma smiled. "I can _see_ why dear Anita is smitten with him." she purred. "Why, I wouldn't mind snatching him up for _myself_."

Shinobi rolled his eyes. "Alison will snap out of her infatuation once we dispose of that _alien_."

"Now, now, Shaw; you _do_ recall that your Daddy Dearest wishes to observe him." Emma said. "After all, he _is_ destined to lead the mutant race."

Shinobi frowned, pulling his thoughts deep within his mind. He _knew_ of the prophecy his father had heard of; that the alien was to lead the mutant race.

'_Never._' Shinobi thought. '_This world is to be **mine**._' _He_ was destined to be the next Lord Imperial, the next ruler of the world.

And no space-born bastard would stand in his way.

The moon was shining brightly as Kurt and Amanda sat on top of the ice-cream parlor, alone, as Kurt told her _everything_...

...minus the part about Clark being Superman, of course. He didn't want to blow his friend's cover.

"So...you're a mutant?" Amanda asked. "With special powers?"

Kurt nodded. "Basically."

Amanda smiled. "_That is so COOL!_" she exclaimed.

Kurt chuckled. "You're probably zhe _only_ human in Bayville who thinks zat, _liebchen_."

Amanda blushed. "'Liebchen'?"

Kurt blushed. "Uh..._ja_." he said. "It means...sweetheart, roughly translated."

Amanda smiled brightly...before she _pounced_ on him, as their lips touched.

Kurt momentarily forgot how to breathe. '_Wow..._'

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!_" Amanda cried, pulling back. "That was..._insanely_ forward of me..!" but she stopped as Kurt took her in his arms, silencing her lips with his own. Amanda let out a soft gasp of surprise...which became a sigh of contentment...and then a giggle of bliss, as Kurt's tail – having a mind of its own – wrapped itself around her waist, lightly squeezing.

After a few wonderful minutes, their kiss ended. "'Mandy," Kurt whispered, "vill you be my girlfriend?"

Amanda smiled radiantly. "Do you even need to _ask_, you wonderful blue elf?" she exclaimed. "Of _course_ I will!!" At that, Kurt grinned with pure, stupid joy, and then just lay back, with Amanda nuzzling into his side, as they watched the stars together.

It was almost midnight when they all got back to the Institute, Alison noted. She sighed as she and Clark walked towards the main entrance. "Well, tonight was a total _bust_." she said.

Clark blinked. "Why?"

Alison's face became sad. "Tonight was supposed to be _simple_." she lamented. "It was supposed to be about you taking a night off to relax, have a little fun, and be with me; instead, you end up dealing with my _creep_ of a somewhat-ex and fighting demonic lizards from another dimension!"

Clark smiled. "Ali, you're wrong on two counts." he said softly. "First of all, _any_ time I get to spend with you is special; second, the night isn't over."

Alison blinked. "What?"

Clark grinned. "Though I was hoping tonight would be peaceful, I had a feeling that it might not be...and planned accordingly." he said. "I had hoped to get back _now_ because this hour at night tends to have the lowest volume of distress-calls every night."

Alison smiled. "What did you have planned?" she asked. Clark only smiled...and then picked her up and zipped off to a secluded part of the Institute garden, as Alison squealed in delighted surprise. As Clark stopped, Alison's eyes widened in surprise, as she took in the private table for two set up in the middle of the garden, with a lovely-looking dinner set for them on the table.

"I called a caterer." Clark explained. "They dropped by and set it up, a few minutes ago."

Alison didn't know what to say. "Clarkie...how much did this cost?"

Clark grinned sheepishly. "Oh...just a month's salary." he admitted. "I _could've_ done it on a _week's_ salary, if JJ wasn't so darn thrifty."

Alison couldn't speak. "Clark..."

"Hey," Clark said softly, "what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't splurge on my girl, every now and then?" He grinned. "I also dropped by the North Pole for some iceberg-water for the both of us, since you're under the legal drinking age."

Alison smiled radiantly, sweetly kissing his cheek. "You are the most perfect man _alive_." she cooed. Clark grinned, and gently set her down, as they headed to the table, sitting down to their meal.

After a lovely meal, Clark stood up. "Now, for one last thing."

Alison laughed. "There's _more?_"

Clark just grinned, and walked over to a stereo hidden in the brush, switching it on, as it began to play "Love Will Keep Us Alive," by The Eagles. Smiling, he held out his hand to her. "May I have this dance?" Alison beamed, as her powers started to activate, and she nodded, as she took his hand. Clark smiled, and guided her towards him, as she stood on his feet, as he slowly flew up into the sky, stopping just above the clouds, as the moon bathed them both in its light, as they started to slowly waltz together.

Alison sighed happily, savoring this moment; it was the most romantic, most wonderful moment of her _life_. She would _never_ forget it, and she _never_ wanted it to end; she _never_ wanted to leave Clark's arms. There was absolutely no doubt _whatsoever_ in her mind.

He was The One. Forever. And she _knew_ he felt the same way about her.

After a wonderful eternity, Clark brought them back down, as he lovingly kissed her. "I love you, _taushi_."

Alison smiled happily. "I love you, too, _tausha_." she cooed. "But we'd better turn in." She punctuated the sentence with another sweet peck, before reluctantly leaving his wonderful embrace, heading towards the Institute...but Clark stayed put. "Aren't you coming?"

Clark smiled sheepishly. "In a minute." he replied. "I've got a few errands to run."

Alison smiled. "Okay."

Clark smiled, and then darted into the Institute at top speed. Seconds later, a blue-and-crimson streak shot into the sky, a sonic boom echoing behind it. Alison could only smile after the man she loved, silently wishing him luck, before heading inside.

Tonight had been _perfect._

_Coming Soon:_

_As Scott and Jean try to explain things to their friends, our favorite Kryptonian reporter and his web-slinging partner get sent on an assignment…_

_…to Gotham City._

_The darker half of the World's Finest makes his Evolution debut._

_Be there when it happens, in "Darkest Knight," coming to your computer soon…_


	19. Darkest Knight

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: DARKEST KNIGHT

_Xavier Institute, April 3, 2008_

When Alison woke up, the first thing she noted was that she had a _killer_ headache.

'_Oh, God,_' she mentally lamented, '_why can't it be **Saturday** instead of Friday?_' This was the _second_ headache like this she'd had; the _first_ had been a few weeks before the X-Men had found her, just prior to the first emergence of her powers. _This_ headache, however, was different. The first had been an all-over throbbing in her skull; this one was concentrated around her _ears_, as every single sound – from the tiniest drop of water to Remy and Rogue flirting as they headed to breakfast – was amplified a _thousandfold_.

Just then, she put her hands to her head, suppressing a scream as the ever-familiar sonic boom echoed overhead, as Clark got home from his patrol.

Alison frowned to herself as she got out of bed, putting her blue robe on over her PJ's. Clark had been forced to go to "work" early, last night...right in the middle of their date. Normally, Alison would have taken that in stride, but Clark hadn't returned; he'd simply called her and apologized, saying that he would be out late, that there were other emergencies he had to take care of.

Alison felt a little guilty for being somewhat annoyed; she _loved_ Clark, but no girl could keep from being ticked that her beau had to break a date for work reasons, no matter _how_ important his job was. Sighing piteously to herself, Alison got up, and headed out of her room, wincing as the sound of her own footsteps made her skull _ache_.

When she got to the kitchen, everyone else was already there, except Clark. "Where's Clark?" Alison inquired.

"He's up in his room." Jubilee reported. "He mentioned having to get to work early, as his boss had an important assignment for him."

"Thanks." Alison said, as she headed upstairs, to talk to her boyfriend.

As Jubilee had said, Alison found Clark in his room, in his regular work clothes, looking every bit the clumsy country-boy. Clark smiled as he saw her. "Hey, Ali."

Alison smiled weakly. "Clark...when you come back here...do you _have_ to be so _loud?_"

Clark blinked. "I'm...no louder than I normally am..."

Alison smiled. "So, JJ _does_ know that slavery is outlawed by the Geneva Convention, right?"

Clark smiled. "If he does, he sure fooled _me!_" he laughed. Then, he sighed. "Ali...it looks like this assignment might be a two-day thing..."

Alison froze. "But...we'd made plans, tonight..."

"I know." Clark said regretfully. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Alison frowned, her normal patience eroded by her massive headache. "Clark, I _thought_ tonight was going to be a make-up date for _last_ night."

"That's what I'd hoped," Clark said, "but JJ _literally_ sprung this on me at the _last_ minute."

"Can't you ask for a day off?"

Clark smiled sadly. "If I did, JJ would probably give me the rest of the _year_ off." he said. "Interns like us are pretty much the lowest rung on the ladder – though Peter would probably argue that it's _photographers_ who have _that_ dubious honor. If I asked for a day off, he might decide that it's no sweat off his back to free up some office space." He smiled. "I'll make this up to you..."

"Just like you were going to make it up to me _tonight_, right?" Alison snapped, surprised by her own irritation. "_God_, once you zoom off to save the day, it's like I pop right out of your _head!_"

Clark's eyes widened in surprise, and then narrowed crossly. "That isn't true." he said firmly. "I think about you _all_ the time, Alison."

"Then why do I feel like I only know _half_ of you?!" Alison yelled. "I know Clark Kent, but beyond that, I know nothing! You never tell me what you _feel_ as Superman; you don't talk about what scares you, or makes you angry, or _anything!_ _God_, the minute you put on that cape, it's like some part of you just shuts me _out!_"

Clark's eyes widened, and then he frowned. "I'm sorry, Alison," he said softly, "but I can't talk to you about this, right now." He put on his jacket, and picked up his knapsack. "I'll see you, tomorrow, night." With that, he headed out of his room.

Alison stood there for a few minutes in shocked silence, as her brain started to register _exactly_ what she'd said. '_What is WRONG with me?!!_' she thought. '_How could I have SAID that to him?!_'

Quickly, Alison darted downstairs, hoping to catch Clark before he left...but to no avail; by the time Alison got downstairs, she saw the bus pass by the Institute from the living room window.

Alison visibly wilted; she couldn't just call him on her cell phone and apologize – that would be _unbearably_ lame. She was going to have to wait until Saturday night...

...which was just enough time for Clark to get _really_ steamed, possibly enough to...

Alison felt her eyes start to sting. '_Oh, **no**...what have I **done**?!_'

Just then, Jean walked in, and saw Alison. "Ali?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

Alison shook her head. "I screwed up, Jean." she sniffed. "Oh,_ God_, I screwed up _so_ bad." She lowered her eyes. "Clarkie and I had a fight."

Jean's cherry eyebrows shot up. "Oh, no..."

Alison nodded. "_I_ started it." she sniffed. "He told me that he had a two-day assignment, and..._and I just **yelled** at him!_"

Jean looked sympathetic. "I'm sure he understands how frustrated you were..."

"_God_, Jean, the things I _said_ to him!!" Alison cried. "What's _wrong_ with me?!"

"You two _love_ each other." Jean said. "When two people care so deeply about each other, emotions are _bound_ to run high, at times."

Alison lowered her head. "After what I said, Clark's gonna _dump_ me..." she whimpered.

Jean lightly chuckled. "_Now_ you're just being _silly_." she teased.

Alison lightly smiled. "So," she asked, "how are things with Taryn and Paul?"

Jean frowned. "Strained." she replied. Alison nodded; after the Sadie Hawkins incident, Jean and Scott's two best human friends had been understandably freaked by those creatures nearly tearing them to shreds. "They were nearly _killed_ because of us." Jean said.

Alison nodded. "So, what are you going to do?"

Jean took a deep breath. "It took Scott and I a while," she said, "but we convinced the Professor to let us bring Paul and Taryn up here...and tell them the _whole_ story."

Alison's eyes widened. "_Whoa._"

Jean nodded. "The Professor said that if they prove trustworthy with our secret, we can show them everything; if not...he'll have to wipe their memories of the Institute."

"Heavy." Alison said.

Jean nodded, and then smiled. "Not only that, Kurt kinda took the opportunity to ask the Professor if Amanda could visit." she added. "Since she knew about Kurt beforehand, he agreed to let her visit."

Alison couldn't help but smile; after learning about them being mutants, Amanda had been cool with their secret, if a bit curious. "Hopefully, Taryn and Paul will be the same after you tell them." she said. She chuckled. "But for the record, if Taryn asks, Clark's _mine!_" Her expression saddened. "At least, for _now_, anyway."

Jean smiled. "Actually, we were going to keep Clark's identity a secret until the very _end_ of their visit, to make sure they were cool with everything." she said. "Since Clark's gone until tomorrow night, it works out _great_ to have them visit, tomorrow!"

Alison nodded. "So...you think Clark and I will be okay?"

"I _know_ so." Jean said. "He _loves_ you, Ali; more than _anything_." She smiled. "I don't think anyone's ever told you this, but in Clark's first year as Superman, the stress was starting to get to him a bit. Clark _never_ admitted it, but we all could see it; his steps were a bit weary, and his eyes were grave – he never so much as shrugged from all he does, but it was starting to get to him." Her smile grew. "But after you came to the Institute – and _especially_ after you two started dating – all that just _vanished_. His steps stopped being weary. His eyes weren't so tired. And he _smiled_ more." She looked at Alison. "And you _actually_ think he wants to _dump_ you?"

Alison paused. "He...never mentioned any of that to me..."

Jean smiled wistfully. "In _that_ sense, Scott and Clark are _exactly_ alike." she said. "They _both_ assume that their problems are their own business and no-one else's burden, forgetting that they have friends and loved ones that _want_ to help them."

Alison smiled. "_Exactly!_" she exclaimed. "That's _exactly_ what I said; I told him that he never tells me about what he feels or worries about as Superman, that he keeps part of himself back from me."

"That's kind of how Clark was in the _first_ year he came to the Institute." Jean said. "He never talked much about how his job made him feel."

Alison giggled. "I guess we both have the same taste in guys."

Jean smiled. "I guess we do." she agreed. "I _know_ you and Clark will be okay, Ali." she added.

Alison smiled wistfully. "I hope so, Jean." she replied. With that, she headed to the kitchen, to get some breakfast, to calm her stressed nerves.

_Daily Bugle, New York_

"_KENT!!! PARKER!!!_"

Peter Parker groaned inwardly as his boss' infamous bellow shook the office, before taking his last sip of coffee and heading towards JJ's office. Just then, he spotted Clark getting off the elevator, heading towards Mr. Jameson's office. "Hey, Smallville!" Peter called, grinning. "You heard JJ's bellow from the elevator, didn't ya?"

Clark chuckled. "Oh, yeah." he replied. With that, they both headed in, to greet their boss.

Mr. Jameson looked up at them as they walked in, before glaring at Clark. "You're late, Kent."

Clark smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that, sir." he said. "That commute's _murder!_"

"Don't let it happen again." JJ said. "I need you both to head out to interview the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne."

Peter's eyes widened. "Uh...sir?" he asked. "Doesn't he live in...Gotham City?"

"Congratulations, Parker; you just passed your geography lesson." JJ replied. "We've scheduled the interview for tomorrow afternoon at Wayne's place, Wayne Manor; you two are taking the bus."

Peter blinked. "Not that I mind the commute, boss, but I have school..."

"I called your principal, Parker; he's cleared you for a day off." JJ said. "And I'm sure that little girlfriend of yours can pick up whatever homework a boy-genius like you has to do over the weekend."

Peter suppressed a groan. "Terrific, sir."

"The bus leaves in an hour. And while you're there, Parker, _try_ and get some pictures of this 'Batman' lunatic that's supposed to be running around." JJ said, before turning back to his paperwork. He looked back to them. "What are you two waiting for? A pat on the back? Get moving!" With that, both Clark and Peter headed out of their boss' office.

Peter groaned. "Just great." he muttered. "MJ and I had plans for tonight."

Clark nodded sadly. "Yeah, I...kinda had plans, too."

Peter sighed. "I'll meet you at the bus stop, Clark; I gotta pick up a few things from home."

"No problem, Pete. See you there." Clark said. Peter then headed out of the building, darting into an alley, and changed into his Spider-Man costume, stuffing his street clothes into his knapsack, before tossing it over his shoulder and firing a web-line, zooming straight up.

It only took a few minutes of web-slinging to get home, and another few to change back into his street clothes before heading into his home. As he'd expected, the bulk of his time was spent getting his stuff together, as Aunt May _had_ to fuss over him "going so far away from home."

He'd opted not to tell her he was going to Gotham City; Aunt May was worried enough as it was.

Once his knapsack was packed, Peter had _just_ enough time to web-sling to the bus station, meeting Clark there _just_ as the shuttle to Gotham pulled up. Clark chuckled. "Right on time."

Peter half-grinned. "Yeah; just in time to catch the bus to one of the most crime-infested cities on the _planet_."

Clark nodded. "It _is_ getting better, though."

"Yeah; thanks to that 'Batman' guy." Peter said. "Do you think we might actually _see_ him?"

Clark shrugged. "Who knows?" he asked. With that, they both got on the bus.

They both sat in the same row, with Peter taking the window seat. After stashing his knapsack, Peter noticed that his partner looked a little glum, rather than his usual chipper self. "Anything wrong, Clark?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing, really." Clark replied. "It's just...this morning, my girlfriend and I had a fight."

Peter winced. "_Ouch_."

"Yeah." Clark agreed. "Last night, I had to cancel one of our dates."

"Your other job." Peter hazarded. Clark had once mentioned that he had a second job, though he hadn't mentioned the specifics.

Clark nodded. "She was okay about it at the time, but...this morning, she was a little upset."

"Yeah; girls can be tricky for us poor schmucks to figure out. I feel your pain." Peter replied. In the past, he'd once had to break up with Mary-Jane because he'd feared for her safety due to his being Spider-Man. Thankfully, they'd long since reconciled.

He didn't know what he would have done without her. He _certainly_ wouldn't wish that kind of fate upon his pal.

Clark lightly smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem, Smallville." Peter quipped. Just then, the bus' engine roared to life. "Well, here we go." Peter said. He simply looked out the window, watching the scenery begin to blur.

'_I bet Reed Richards or Superman never have days like this._'

_The Narrows, Gotham City_

It was mid-day in Gotham City, but shadows still cloaked much of the seaside sector known only as the Narrows; the semi-industrial sector seemed to exude its _own_ darkness...

...making it the _perfect_ hiding spot for all sorts of criminals, ranging from petty larcenists, to meth dealers, to gang-bangers and the rest.

Atop one rooftop, hiding in the shadows, three thieves huddled in a darkened corner, looking over their haul. Their leader grinned. "Hey, we got a good load, this time!"

The second nodded. "Things are _finally_ lookin' up!"

The third looked worried. "Boss...you _still_ shouldn't have pulled the gun on that kid."

The leader sneered. "Are you _still_ whining about that? It's not like I pulled the trigger!"

"It's just...you _shouldn't_ have."

The second laughed. "_Why_, 'cause the Bat don't like it?" he scoffed.

"_Don't laugh!!_" the third cried. "I heard about a couple guys – including Diamond Bert – got tagged by the Bat over by the seaport! _They didn't even **see** him!!!_ He just snuck right up on them, without even a _sound!_ Two of Bert's guys went down before Bert even knew what was goin' on; all of a sudden, bad shit started happenin' – spooks his guys right out of their guns – and then..._He_ came!"

The leader laughed. "Are you _hearin'_ yourself, man?" he scoffed. "The Bat ain't real! He's just some ghost-story the cops probably made up! I think we're all a little too old to be scared of bogey-men like the Batman..."

"_DON'T SAY HIS NAME!!!!_" the third thief screamed. "Oh, God...oh, God...you said his name! You're not supposed to say that, man!! If you say his name, he'll hear it and he'll know _and he'll come..!!_"

Suddenly, a loud crash cut the air, making all three thieves jump. "_HE'S HERE!!! HE'S HERE!!!_" the third screamed.

"Oh, for the love of...shut _up_, Mikey!" the leader snapped, drawing his firearm. "But we'd better check that out, guys." At that, the other two drew their weapons, following their leader towards the source of that noise.

As they approached, the third made a muffled yelp. "_Can_ it, Mikey." the leader snapped. "_God_, you can be such a freakin' crybaby..." Just then, they came to a tipped-over trash-can. "Aw, now, you _see_, Mikey?" the leader said. "You were getting upset over...nothing?"

Mikey was gone.

"M-Mikey?" the second stammered. "C-Cut it out, man, that ain't funny..."

Suddenly, several overhead lights spontaneously shattered, causing the remaining two thieves to drop their weapons. The leader happened to spy something fall away from one of the shattered lights, and he went to pick it up. As he picked it up, his blood ran _cold_. The metal was really some kind of throwing-star...

..._shaped like a bat._

Looking up, the leader saw that his _other_ co-worker had vanished; he was completely alone. Trembling with fear, he started to back away...

He _froze_ as he heard a sound; it was soft, like rustling...

..._or wings flapping._

He didn't dare move, too scared to even _breathe_...but he felt his fear _double_ as a massive shadow loomed over him from behind...

Slowly, he turned around...and nearly _wet_ himself.

He was _tall_, looming _well_ over his head level, and _built_, his entire body one deadly weapon, his wings folded around his body like a cape. His head was like some horrifying cross between a man and a bat's; all blue-black, with two bat-ear-like spikes on the top of his head, with a human chin, like an afterthought...

...and a pair of the most terrifying eyes ever _thought_ of; pure white, lidless, _soulless_, and they were _staring right into his soul!!!_

He was _here_. He was _real_.

_The Batman!!_

The lead thief felt his eyes start to water in sheer terror as he stared back at the Batman, starting to sniffle as those horrible eyes narrowed in vengeful _fury_. "_I'm...I'm sorry..._" he whimpered.

The Batman's elemental glare didn't waver. "_Not yet, you're not._" came the reply, his voice like ground glass on sandpaper. Then, he moved too fast to see, his black-gloved fist shooting out from under his cape, and then...

...oblivion.

When the thief came to, he had a _killer_ headache...and then he _screamed_, as he realized that he was _hanging upside-down over the rooftop edge!_

Looking around, the thief cringed as he saw the Batman dangling him over the edge by some kind of grappling cable. "_W-What do you want?!_" he wailed.

"_There's a weapons shipment coming through here._" the Batman snarled. "_One of your pals was supposed to be working it; who's bringing it in?!_"

"I...I _can't_..." the thief whimpered, "...he'll _kill_ me...he's _horrible_..."

The Batman's eyes narrowed. "_I'm **here**; he **isn't**!_" he roared. "_And I'm WORSE!!!_"

"I...I _can't_..."

The Batman snarled in fury...and let go of the cable...causing the thief to start plummeting towards the street at breakneck speeds...

"_AAAAHHHH!!! I'll talk!! I'LL TALK!!!_"

The thief's descent stopped _millimeters_ from the pavement, as the Batman reeled him back in. "_It's the Kingpin! It's Fisk, himself!!_"

"_WHERE?!_"

"East Gotham Harbor; 11 o'clock, tonight!" the thief wailed.

"_What else?!_"

"_That's **all**!!_" the thief bawled. "I can't remember any more!!!"

The Batman's demonic glare bored into his skull. "_Losing. My. Patience._"

"But that's _it_, I _swear!!_" the thief cried...and then he paused. "Wait...there _was_ something else! Something that Fisk wanted to be _careful_ with!"

"_What was it?!_"

"I don't know!" the thief cried. "I never found out what it was! All I ever heard was that Fisk couldn't risk it mixing with something that he was bringing in _tomorrow_ night!"

"_WHERE?!_"

"_I don't know!! I swear to God!!!_"

At that, the Batman simply tossed the thief onto the rooftop, pulling off the cable from around his ankles. The thief was relieved...

...until the Batman's fist shot out again, knocking him back into that sweet black oblivion.

After knocking out that thief, Batman promptly cuffed him, before putting him with his two fellow criminals, leaving them in an alley, where the police were sure to find them, before taking out his grapnel-launcher, fitted with a Batarang at the tip, and fired. The blue-edged, black metal, bat-shaped boomerang whirred through the air, before catching on a rooftop, automatically starting the retractor mechanism, pulling Batman towards it, his black scalloped cape flaring like bat's wings as he glided towards the rooftop, landing soundlessly on it, pondering what he'd heard.

Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin. Coming to Gotham.

Suddenly, a high-pitched electronic whir cut the silence. "_Red Bird calling Black Knight. Situation taken care of. Over._"

The Dark Knight promptly took out the black, hand-held electronic device, with the flashing image of a black bat on its screen, identical to the crest on his grey uniform chest, beneath his cape. It was the Bat-Wave, the highly advanced alert system/operating system/communications system that he'd developed in the earlier years of his Mission. "Report, Robin."

"_The heist-in-progress on Main Street has been taken care of; all four crooks are cuffed and waiting for the boys in blue._" came the report of his sidekick, Robin. "_I got the first three, but BG managed to get the last one as he tried to escape._"

BG; Batgirl, the 15-year-old Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Batman's ally, Police Commissioner James Gordon. He was still reluctant about letting her occasionally assist in the Mission, as he hadn't trained her, himself, and thus couldn't guarantee her safety...

...but he couldn't completely argue with results.

"Return to the Cave." Batman instructed. "I'll meet you there."

"_Got it. Red Bird signing off._"

Putting away the Bat-Wave transmitter, Batman reached for his yellow utility belt, and tapped a button on one of the yellow cylinders ribbing the belt; instantly, it began to send out a signal...summoning the sleek, jet-black, high-tech Batmobile; this was his second version of the Batmobile, as the first had been wrecked after an incident with a high-speed villain known as Gearhead. As the canopy glided open, Batman leapt down from the rooftop, landing in the driver's seat, buckling up as the canopy slid shut. He then gunned the engine, and the Batmobile roared to life, taking off at impressive speeds. After zooming across the Gotham streets, the Batmobile suddenly turned into an alley, heading straight for what looked like a dead end...which opened up, revealing a tunnel, as the Batmobile soared into it, the secret panel automatically closing behind it.

The Batmobile raced through the curving underground tunnel, before emerging in a vast, underground cavern, with a circular vehicle hangar near the bottom. The Batmobile came to a stop in the hangar, as Batman opened the canopy, leaping out. He then took hold of one of the long, metal poles that ran from the bottom of the cave to the very top. Instantly, the pole activated, taking him straight up.

This was the Batcave, the secret headquarters and training ground of the Dark Knight, hidden deep below Wayne Manor.

Batman leapt from the pole as it reached the third level of the Cave, landing before the high-tech supercomputer that monitored the entire city. As he walked towards the computer, he spotted an older man, in his early fifties, yet still of athletic frame, with grey hair on the sides of his otherwise bald head, sharp green eyes, and a slim moustache, clad in a dapper butler's uniform. "A successful outing, tonight, I trust, Master Bruce?"

Batman lightly smiled, before pulling back his cowl, revealing the handsome face of 25-year-old Bruce Wayne, as he turned to his family's butler, and the man who'd raised him after the deaths of his parents, Alfred Pennyworth; his short hair was jet-black, with piercing, cobalt-blue eyes. "It was certainly informative, Alfred." he replied.

Alfred smiled. "And what of Master Richard?"

Just then, a mechanized roar cut the silence of the Cave, disturbing the bats overhead, as a sleek, high-tech motorcycle – the "R-Cycle" as Robin had named it – pulled up next to the Batmobile, as Robin, the Dark Squire, hopped off. Robin's hair was short, black, and spiky, with a simple, black eye mask over his face, clad in a kevlar-reinforced, yellow, short-sleeved red shirt, with a stylized yellow 'R' on the left side of the shirt, just above his heart, with a black cape with a yellow underside, and green gloves, tight green pants, and black steel-toed boots, with a yellow utility belt around his waist. Robin simply walked over to the pole, and took it up to the computer-level, landing a few feet away from Bruce, before removing the mask, revealing the sky-blue eyes of 16-year-old Richard Greyson, Bruce's adopted son.

Richard grinned. "Hey, Al." he greeted, and Alfred smiling, nodding his head. "So, Bruce, any lead on that case, tonight."

Bruce nodded gravely. "Wilson Fisk."

"_Whoa!_" Richard exclaimed. "_That_ Wilson Fisk? The _Kingpin?_"

Bruce nodded. "He has a shipment coming through, tonight, at East Gotham Harbor."

Richard grinned. "So, we're _finally_ getting a shot at the _big_ fish."

Bruce nodded in agreement; so far in the Mission, all he'd ever faced was crime-lords and psychopaths who limited their illegal activities to _Gotham_...

...but the _Kingpin's_ operation was _global_; he was a malignant _tumor_ that had spread to all corners of the world...including Gotham. Taking him out would be no small task...but it had to be done, if the people of Gotham were _ever_ to walk safely upon the city streets, again.

Bruce closed his eyes, remembering why he had begun his Mission; his beloved parents, gunned down in the streets right before his very eyes. Ever since then, he'd endlessly studied the criminal element, trained tirelessly, and taken the image of the creature that had once haunted his childhood nightmares, all for the sake of this quest to ensure that what happened to him _never_ happened to anyone else _again_.

_Ever_.

"Sir?" Alfred's voice shook him out of his silent recollection. "The importance of this particular 'bust' aside, you _do_ recall that your stockholders' meeting is in a few hours?"

Bruce nodded. "I'd better get going." he agreed. "Dick, keep working on this case; I'll be back after this meeting." Richard nodded, as Bruce headed for the elevator, taking it up to Wayne Manor, to get ready for his _public_ life.

_Bayville High_

As the final bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day, Jean took a deep breath as she walked to Taryn's locker, hoping that her friend understood what Jean had planned to tell her. "Hey." Jean greeted.

Taryn turned to her, lightly smiling. "Hey." she replied.

"So...how are things?" Jean asked. '_Oh, God, could that have **been** any lamer?_'

"Okay, I guess." Taryn said. "I can't believe it's been a week since...the incident."

Jean nodded. "Are you...okay?"

"I guess, considering I almost _died_." Taryn murmured. She lightly smiled. "But I think Alison's boyfriend – Kal – saved Paul and I." Her smile grew. "Ali's got a _real_ keeper; I hope she _never_ lets him go."

Jean smiled. '_Oh, Taryn, you have no **idea**._' she thought.

"Jean?" Taryn asked. "That night, when those...things came...I thought I saw...I don't know...you, Scott and the other Institute kids..._fighting_ those things." She took a deep breath. "Look, you're my best friend, Jean, and I've _tried_ to keep myself from asking about what you guys do at that place – _especially_ this past week – but..."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you." Jean said quickly. "After what happened, last week...Scott and I managed to convince Professor Xavier to let you, Paul, and Kurt's girlfriend, Amanda come to the Institute, and see...what it is we do." She lowered her gaze. "If...you wanted to."

Taryn nodded, smiling. "Thanks."

Jean smiled. "How about tomorrow afternoon?" she suggested.

"That works." Taryn agreed. Suddenly, Taryn's cell-phone rang, and she promptly answered it. "Hello?" Her tone turned excited. "_When?!_" she squealed. "_Oh my God, you're kidding!_" There was another pause. "Okay! 'Bye!"

Jean looked confused. "What was all that about?"

"There was a Superman sighting, last night!" Taryn squealed. "There was an avalanche near a ski resort over in the Alps, and it almost trapped a family inside a gondola heading up the mountain, but there was a miraculous hurricane-force wind that just blew the snow back! Seconds later, down at the resort, a little boy caught sight of a 'big, blue angel with red wings' flying away from the mountain! He _has_ to exist! There's no doubt about it!"

A scoff cut the air as Duncan walked by with a few of his football pals. "Are you _still_ going on about that?" he sneered. "_If_ that freak exists, then why doesn't he show his face? As far as _I'm_ concerned, he should just go back to wherever the hell it was he _came_ from!"

Taryn frowned. "Why, Duncan? Are you jealous of how he does more good in one _minute_ than _you've_ ever done in your whole locker-stuffing, wedgie-giving, no-good bullying high-school _life?_ Or are you jealous of how he can just flick you aside like a _bug_, making all your macho intimidating _useless?_" At that, Duncan just scowled, and went on, his cronies going with him.

"_God_," Taryn muttered, "I just _wish_ that Superman would show himself, just so Duncan and his loser friends would _eat_ their words!"

Jean lightly smiled. "I guess that kind of stuff doesn't matter to Superman." she said. "After all the good he's done, and all the villains he's faced, the jealous rants of some redneck, jock bully don't mean anything to him."

Taryn laughed. "_God_, Jean, it sounds like you actually _know_ him!"

Jean laughed. "Oh, just making an educated guess!" she said.

Thankfully, Taryn didn't press the issue. "Well, I'll see you, tomorrow." she said. "Later!" With that, she headed off.

As she headed out of the school, Jean smiled as she saw Scott waiting for her. "Hey." she greeted her boyfriend, smiling as she gave him a quick kiss. "Taryn's on board; how about Paul?"

"He'll come." Scott answered.

Jean sighed. "To be honest, Scott...I'm a little scared."

Scott simply held her hand. "Me, too." he agreed. "They've been our best friends since we _came_ here, and now we might lose them."

Jean nodded...and then she smiled. "And how hard was it for you to _admit_ that fear, Scott Summers?" she teased.

Scott grinned. "Pulling teeth would've been easier."

"_God_, you and Kal are _so_ much alike!" Jean laughed.

"Thanks!" Scott laughed. Grinning, he pulled Jean into a loving embrace. "You _do_ know that if you weren't here to help me, I'd probably self-combust, right?"

Jean smiled. "Scott...I've known that ever since I _met_ you." she cooed.

"Just checking." Scott said, before he snared her lips in a loving kiss. Jean sighed happily, eagerly reciprocating, the tender moment only sweetened by their mental link. After a few wonderful seconds, their kiss ended, as they both got in Scott's car, to wait for the rest of their friends.

As the glow from Scott's kiss wore off, Jean couldn't help but sigh sadly, remembering Clark and Ali's argument; she hoped that her two dear friends worked things out, soon.

As she walked out of her last class, Alison sighed to herself sadly, before heading to her locker, to gather her things for the weekend.

She'd wanted to call Clark during lunch – after trading barbs with LeRoux – but she'd just been too chicken, she thought glumly. No matter what her friends told her, she still couldn't help but feel like she was going to be handed a ticket to Dumpsville the _minute_ Clark got back.

Still, the more she reflected on her and Clark's little blow-up, the more she realized that some of her feelings were justified. She knew next to _nothing_ about the realities of Clark's 'job;' he _never_ talked about his life as Superman – to _anyone_...

...not even _her_.

"Hey, Ali!" Amanda greeted, as she walked up to her.

Alison lightly smiled. "Hey, Amanda." she replied.

Amanda looked confused. "Why so glum?"

Alison sighed. "This morning...Kal and I had a fight."

Amanda gasped. "Oh my gosh, I'm so _sorry_..." she murmured. "But...the two of you didn't...break up, right?"

Alison lowered her eyes. "_God_, I _hope_ not." she whispered. "Regardless of our little tiff, I _love_ him; I've _adored_ Kal ever since I was a little girl, before I was even old enough to understand what a boy _was!_ I...I just _can't_ lose him...not for _this_..."

Amanda smiled. "You won't." she said. "I may not know him very well, but from how he looked at you at the dance, he's _just_ as crazy about _you_ as you are about _him!_"

Alison smiled. "Thanks."

Amanda lightly smiled, and then whispered, "But...does that mean that Kal goes to the Institute, too? Is he...like you and the others?"

Alison suppressed a giggle. "Sort of."

"What's he do?" Amanda asked.

Alison smiled. "Amanda, you wouldn't believe me even if I _told_ you." she said. "You have to _see_ him to believe him."

Just then, Kurt walked up to them. "Hey, Alison." he greeted. He then smiled at Amanda. "Hi, _liebchen_."

Amanda smiled happily, her face lightly coloring. "You know, I'm _never_ going to get tired of you calling me that." she cooed, sweetly kissing Kurt's cheek as his arm looped around her waist. "So, all set for the movies, tonight?"

Kurt grinned, nodding. "Vant to grab an ice cream?"

Amanda smiled. "_Sure!_" she exclaimed. Turning to Alison, she added, "See you later, Ali!"

Alison nodded. "See you later!" she replied. Then, Kurt and Amanda headed off, leaving Alison with her thoughts.

Amanda had reassured her somewhat, but Alison was still worried about her argument with Clark. She needed some advice, preferably from someone who _knew_ Clark...

Alison mentally smacked herself. '_Of **course**! How dumb **am** I?_' she thought. After gathering her things, she headed out to the back of the school. After making sure she was alone, she generated a hard-light hover-board, sat down cross-legged on it, and flew straight up, well out of both sight and earshot, before taking out her cell-phone, and dialing the number...

"_Hello? Kent residence, Martha speaking._"

Alison lightly smiled. "Hi, Mrs. Kent."

"_Why, **hello**, Alison! How are you, dear?_"

"I'm okay." Alison answered. "It's just that...Clarkie and I had a fight."

"_Oh, no..._"

"Yeah." Alison said. "Part of it came from how I had a _massive_ headache, and I was _seriously_ cranky, but I think a good part of it was a legitimate reason."

Martha sighed. "_What's that son of mine done, now, honey?_" she chuckled.

Alison lightly frowned. "It's more of what he _didn't_ do." she said. "It's just that every time he goes to 'work,' I feel like I'm left on the back-burner, like he never shares what goes through his head in his 'job.'" She sighed. "Mrs. Kent, I _love_ him so much, and I want to share in _every_ part of his life; I just feel like he's keeping me out!"

Martha chuckled. "_Oh, sweetheart, I **completely** understand._" she said. "_When it came to his...origins, Clark was always very reluctant to share things; from what I could gather, he always felt that his past was **his** burden and his alone. It sounds like he feels the same way about his 'work.'_" She sighed. "_Normally, when he kept things back to the point of him stressing out about it, I'd be sure to give him a proverbial 'kick in the pants!'_"

Alison giggled. "That is _exactly_ what he needs, sometimes, Mrs. Kent!"

Martha laughed. "_I know, sweetie; that's a mother's **job**!_" she said. "_But, when the mother is unavailable, **that** task falls to the **girlfriend**!_"

Alison sighed sadly. "I _want_ to talk to him, Mrs. Kent, but he's out of town, right now; he's on an assignment." she replied. "Not only that, but I just chicken out every time I try to go to call him!"

"_Hmm...maybe I should talk to that boy._" Martha said. "_But don't worry, sweetheart; you two will be back together faster than you can say 'Bob's your uncle'!_"

Alison lightly smiled. "Um...nobody says that anymore, Mrs. Kent."

Martha chuckled. "_That's one of the perks to getting old, dear; you don't have to worry about keeping up-to-date!_" she said. "_I hope you have a nice day! Good-bye!_"

"Bye, Mrs. Kent!" Alison replied, as she ended the call, before snapping her phone shut and descending to earth, dissipating her light-board. Making sure no-one had seen her, Alison headed to meet up with her friends, to head back to the Institute.

She _really_ missed Clark.

_Gotham City_

'_**Boy**, do I miss Ali._' Clark thought miserably as the bus dropped him and Peter off at their motel. The sun had already set over Gotham, making the city seem even _more_ dark and forbidding that it normally seemed.

"Nice place that JJ got us." Peter commented, gesturing to the run-down 'Happiness Hotel.' "It's so nice to know that, even when we're on assignment, we can count on our boss to pull out all the stops for us."

Clark chuckled. "Well, we'd better check in." he said. With that, they both headed to the main office. After checking in, they were shown to their room.

Their room was a fairly small, shabby room, with no TV, and two beds that folded into two closets in the wall behind them. "Cozy." Peter quipped.

Clark nodded. "Thankfully, we're only here for _one_ night."

Peter set his luggage down, and sat down on one of the beds. "Oh, _brother_..._one_ night on this thing is probably about all I can _take_." he muttered. With that, he flopped back down onto the bed...

...and a distinct _sproing!_ sound cut the silence.

"_AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!_" Peter yelped, as the bed promptly flipped itself back into the closet, taking Peter with it.

"_Pete!_ Pete, are you okay?!" Clark exclaimed, rushing to the closet.

"_The **really** sad part,_" Peter groaned, "_is that this is actually **more** comfortable than lying on that bed._"

Clark suppressed a chuckle, as he grabbed the underside of the bed, pulling it back down to the floor. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Peter said. "Listen, I'm just going to step out for a while, okay? I just need to clear out the cobwebs from that bus-ride."

"Okay, but be careful." Clark cautioned. "This is a pretty dangerous place."

Peter grinned. "Hey, it's _me!_" he quipped. "I'll see you soon, Clark."

"Okay. Later." Clark replied, as Peter headed outside. Alone, Clark sat down on the edge of his bed, taking care not to trip the sensitive springs.

He felt _awful_ about having to leave Ali like that, this morning. He _also_ felt lousy because she was partly right. He _didn't_ tell her much about his worries as Superman...because it was _his_ burden to shoulder. Every single day, he could _hear_ every person on the Earth; he could hear their laughter, their joys, their hopes...

...and their sadness, their tears, and their _despair_. He heard every shot from every gun; every family crying because their son joined a gang; every orphan crying for his family; every single person crying out for _someone_ to _help them_...

Sometimes, it was all he could do just to keep from _screaming_. He wanted so _much_ to help them _all_, to be there every time someone needed help...

...but he couldn't. Things slipped by him. Whenever he managed to catch an airplane, or patch up a sinking ship...some poor child on the streets got shot in a gang-war, or someone got hit by a drunk driver.

It felt like too much, sometimes; who was _he_ to do this? '_I'm not a god._' he thought. '_Who am I to decide who lives and who dies? Who am I to decide to help one person and miss another?_'

_How_ could he put that on Alison? Alison made everything worthwhile; she was his reason to come back, and to keep going...

...and he'd hurt her.

Not intentionally, true, but _still_...

Suddenly, he heard the tell-tale beep of his belt-communicator under his clothes. Taking it out, Clark snapped it open. "Hello?"

"_Clark?_"

Clark was surprised at who it was. "Ma??" he asked.

"_Hi, honey!_" his Ma replied. "_I heard you and Alison had a little tiff._"

Clark sighed. "Yeah." he agreed. "She said that I was...keeping her out of my life as Superman."

"_**Were** you?_"

"Maybe." Clark admitted. "But..._how_ can I share that with her, Ma? How can I ask her to take on this burden? Every single day, I hear a world crying out for help...and I just _can't save everyone!_"

"_You're not **supposed** to!_" his Ma chided gently. "_You're not God, honey; you're not supposed to be able to fix every single problem in this world! That's too much for one man; it's unfair of you to even **try** to do that!_" He heard her smile gently. "_Everything happens in its own time, sweetheart; even a Superman can't change the world on his own._"

Clark lightly smiled. "Okay."

"_And as for sharing this with Alison,_" his Ma continued, "_just remember that wedding vows say, 'for better, or for worse,' honey. Things weren't all rosy **all** the time with your father and I! Couples fight, and they make up; Alison is a tough girl, honey, and she **loves** you; give her **some** credit!_"

Clark smiled, nodding. "You're right, Ma." he agreed. "I'll...definitely try to share with her, more."

"_I know you will, honey._" his Ma said. "_Take care, Clark. I love you._"

"I love you, too, Ma." Clark said. "Bye!" With that, he ended the call. After a few seconds of thought, he decided to call Alison...

...when his hearing picked up an emergency. '_Uh-oh._' he thought. '_I'll have to wait to call Ali; this can't wait._' With that, he quickly removed his street clothes, now clad in his uniform before opening the window and flying off at top speeds.

_Batcave_

After his meeting, Bruce had returned to the Cave, and sat down at the Bat-computer, poring over several files from another case; recently, there had been a rash of thefts, all seemingly unrelated. Someone had stolen a massive plastic tube, an industrial boiler, and several suits used for handling dangerous chemicals. Bruce had nearly been at his wits' end...

...until the last piece of the puzzle fell into place; just today, someone had broken into a chemical plant, and stolen a large supply of hydrochloric-alpha-teracen.

'_And only **one** man would need that much._' Bruce thought, his eyes narrowing. '_But he'd need more than that..._'

"What's up, boss?" Dick asked, as he entered the Cave, in his uniform.

"Just catching a preview." Bruce said.

Dick looked to the screen, as he put on his mask. "Looks like _someone's_ going to be trying his comedy act, again."

Just then, the Bat-Wave alert went off on the computer screen; there was a robbery-in-progress at the First Gotham Bank. "Let's go." Bruce said, his voice dropping into the low, soul-chilling growl of the Batman, as he donned his uniform. He put on the suit, clipped the belt around his waist, pulled on his gloves, and slid the cowl down over his face.

Bruce, for now, was gone; only Batman existed.

Just then, Alfred came out of the elevator, his grey eyebrow arched. "Off tonight, sir?" he inquired. "I assume you wish me to explain things to Miss Vreeland?"

"Just tell Ronnie that something came up, again." Batman said, hoping that Bruce's on-again-off-again girlfriend, Veronica Vreeland, the heiress to the Vreeland fortune, would understand. "I already _have_ a date." With that, he leapt down into the waiting Batmobile, and Robin promptly followed. The canopy closed behind them, the chassis of the Batmobile becoming outlined in dark blue as the XP Power-Core pulsed to life. Seconds later, the engine roared, and the Batmobile raced out of the Cave.

Alfred sighed. '_Once more, I must explain things to poor Miss Veronica._' he thought. '_The burden of children, I suppose._'

'_Man, web-swinging around Gotham sure isn't like swinging around New York._' Spider-Man thought, as he fired another web-line, swinging across the dark Gotham skies.

It had taken him a little while to get his bearings, and he'd already stopped a few hold-ups in the area; Gotham's reputation was certainly deserved. He was half-expecting a vengeful figure in black to swoop out of the sky and tell him to get the _heck_ out of his city, if that 'Batman' was anything like Daredevil.

Suddenly, Spider-Man heard an all-too-familiar sound on the streets, below; the sound of a bank alarm. '_Well, here we go, again._' he thought, as he swung down towards the street. As he approached the street, he heard a familiar sonic boom shake the air in another direction, heading towards him. '_Well...whaddya know..._'

After the alarm had gone off, the black van peeled away from the bank, as the six criminals inside it breathed a relieved sigh. "We did it!" one exclaimed. "We got the cash and got out before the Bat caught on!"

"Don't relax, yet," the leader said, "'cause we gotta get clear of Gotham before we can be _sure_ the Bat ain't following us..."

Suddenly, _something_ splatted across the windshield, looking like spider's web, as a massive gust of wind picked up from nowhere, blowing the van off-course, causing it to crash into an empty alley.

All six crooks piled out of the car, their firearms drawn, their bags of loot held tightly. "Aw, man..." the smallest one whimpered, "...I don't like this...what if the Bat got _help?!_ I-I _heard_ that there were _other_ things that worked with him!!"

"_Shut_ it, Freddie!" the leader snapped. "We just gotta stay cool, is all! We stay cool, and we'll get outta here – _HOLY!!_"

The leader's reassurance was cut off, as he slipped on..."_Ice?!_" one crook cried, looking down at the sheet of ice that coated the ground. "W-Where'd _that_ come from?! It's too _warm_ for ice!!"

Another crook started to back up...right into a _huge_ spider-web. "_AAAAHHHH!!!_" he wailed. "_It's the Bat!! The Bat's got me!!!_"

"Oh, for cryin' out _loud!_" the leader yelled, as he walked over to free his comrade. "It's just a bunch of..."

But he got no further, for as he passed by one particularly dark part of the alley..._something_ yanked him right off the street, without so much as a sound.

Screaming in fear, the other five criminals opened fire, filling that space with lead...and hit nothing but air; whatever it had been, it wasn't there, now.

Turning back to their trapped pal, the criminals found that the web was gone...along with their pal. "_Oh, God...oh, God..._" the smallest one whimpered. "_He's here...oh, God, he's HERE!!_"

"Freddie, for the love of..!!" one criminal snapped, but he was cut off as a cable shot out from the dark, wrapping around him and pulling him into the shadows with a scream...and then silence. Before anyone could even _blink_, another shadow darted towards a second crook, knocking him off his feet, sending him sprawling, before dragging him, screaming, into the darkness.

The last two thieves had seen enough. Dropping their weapons and their loot, they ran for their lives. They had only gotten a few feet away when some kind of line shot down, and stuck to the back of one crook's jacket, as it reeled him straight up, screaming. Seconds later, _something_ zoomed down at the last one, grabbing him and taking him straight up. The crook screamed in horror, and passed out.

On the rooftop overlooking the alley, Batman looked down at the three criminals he and his proteges had apprehended, his eyes narrowing as he pondered who could have gotten the others.

To his side, Robin turned to Batgirl. "Thanks for the assist, Babs." he quipped. "I see your throw is getting better."

Batgirl stuck her tongue out at the Dark Squire. She was a few inches shorter than Robin, and of slender frame, her mid-length ruby hair sticking out through a slit in the back of her cowl, which was a dark purple-black, similar in style to Batman's. Her uniform was light violet, with dark violet leggings, and light purple gloves, with a dark-purple scalloped cape, with a yellow belt around her waist. "Maybe it would be even _better_," she quipped, "if your boss would just give me a few _lessons!_"

Robin chuckled. "Well, good luck with that." he said. "It took me _months_ just to get him to let me go on patrols."

Batgirl paused. "But...who got those last three chumps?" she asked. "_I_ didn't, and I don't think _you_ did, and, _sure_, Batman's like _lightning_, but..."

"I know who." Batman muttered, his eyes narrowing as he spotted something on a rooftop in the distance.

To be honest, he wasn't _entirely_ surprised; after seeing some of the things he'd encountered in the past two years of his Mission, _he_ wasn't that big of a surprise. And he'd once reasoned that it was only a matter of time before he sought to do good in Gotham.

_But this was **his** city._ Having another here would complicate things.

Pulling out his grapnel-launcher, Batman took aim, and fired the grappling cable, before shooting across the night sky.

Good intentions aside, he had to nip this in the bud.

After grabbing the last crook and depositing him with the other two that Spider-Man had nabbed, Superman touched down on a nearby rooftop, as Spider-Man landed next to him. "Hey, Big Blue! Fancy meeting you here!" Spidey quipped.

Superman chuckled. "Just enjoying the scenery." he replied. "What about you?"

"Huh? Oh. Right." Spider-Man said. "I'm just...following up on a lead. That, and I hear the hot dogs around here are to _die_ for!"

Superman chuckled. "Okay."

"So, I hope that Batman doesn't mind us dropping by." Spider-Man said. "I think he was working the same case we just were. If he's ticked, I hope we don't run into him, anytime soon."

Superman nodded...and then his eyes widened, as he saw the shadow behind his partner; he'd barely made a _sound_ – even _his_ ears had barely been able to detect him. "In _that_ case, don't look behind you."

Naturally, Spider-Man turned around. "_HOLY!!_" he yelped. "Uh...come here often?"

Batman's expression didn't change, keeping its neutral semi-glare.

"Batman, I presume." Superman said calmly.

No response.

'_Okay..._' Superman thought. "I hope you didn't mind us helping with that bust, back there."

_Nothing_.

"To be honest, we weren't entirely sure you were real, until now." Superman continued. "A lot of people think you're a myth."

"I could say the same about _you_."

Superman lightly chuckled. "Point taken."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "I hope you're listening, because I'm only saying this _once_." he growled. "I already _have_ more 'help' than I _want_. Do us both a favor: keep to your _own_ 'turf'..._and stay out of my city._"

And with that, he moved back into the shadows, darting out of sight behind a maintenance shed. "Wait!" Superman called, chasing after him. "We were just trying to..." but he stopped in mid-sentence...as he found no-one there.

Batman was gone.

"Whoa..." Spider-Man murmured, "..that guy makes _Daredevil_ look nice, and not even _he_ can just disappear like that." He shuddered. "_That_ is _creepy_."

"You get used to it."

Looking up, Superman spotted the two costumed youths standing on the maintenance shed; one was a dark-haired 16-year-old guy in a red-and-green costume, with a dark cape and a black face-mask, and the other was a 15-year-old girl, in a costume similar to Batman's.

The two youths hopped down. "Don't let the big Bat spook you." the guy said, grinning. "I'm Robin, and this is Batgirl." He chuckled. "You guys don't need to bother with introductions."

Superman smiled. "I suppose the 'S' _is_ a dead giveaway." he agreed.

Spider-Man chuckled. "And who else but _me_ wears red-and-blue pajamas with webs on 'em?"

Batgirl chuckled. "It's nice to meet you guys." she said. "And like Short-Pants here said, don't let Batman scare you off; he didn't approve of _Robin_ the first few weeks, so I've heard, and he _still_ doesn't want _me_ around!" She chuckled. "I suppose I've grown on him."

Robin smiled slyly. "So does _cancer_." he quipped, prompting Batgirl to playfully elbow him.

Superman smiled. "We'll keep that in mind."

Robin smiled, nodding. "See you around!" With that, he and Batgirl fired their grapnel-launchers, and swung into the night.

Spider-Man chuckled. "You know, I was half-expecting the redhead to go into 'girly-gush' mode, for a second." he joked.

Superman shot him a disapproving glare. "I guess living here can desensitize _anyone_." he said. "Anyway, I need to get going."

"Yeah, me too." Spider-Man agreed. "Catch you on the flip side, Big Blue!"

Superman chuckled. "You too, Little Red." he replied, and he flew off, as Spider-Man shot out a web-line, swinging off.

After returning to his room and donning his regular clothes, tucking his uniform away in his knapsack, Clark simply sat down on his bed, and started reading. Seconds later, Peter walked in. "Head clear?" Clark inquired.

"Yeah; got in some light exercise." Peter said, as he stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers, before getting into bed, switching off his bed-side light. "'Night, Smallville."

Clark put his book aside, before removing all but his white t-shirt and boxers, making sure to keep his inducer on. "'Night, Pete." he replied, getting into his own bed, and switching off his light.

_Sproing!_

"_AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!_" both Clark and Peter yelled, as their beds both spontaneously flipped into the wall-closets, trapping them both there.

"_Hey, Pete?_" Clark called, his voice muffled through the closet.

"_Yeah?_"

"_You were right. This **is** more comfortable than just lying on that bed._"

_International waters, several hours earlier_

A few hundred miles off the U.S. coast, a single cargo ship sailed through the foggy seas, bound for Gotham City. Spotted throughout the ship were numerous armed guards, making sure that no-one got in the way of the shipment getting there.

Not on the Kingpin's dollar.

In the cargo hold, one guard walked by one crate...and paused, turning back, as he thought he'd heard something.

_Music_.

Walking closer, he realized that it _was_ music coming from the crate. By then, _more_ guards were hearing it; it had started slow, and was going faster, and _faster_...

Finally, the guards couldn't take any more; one guard grabbed a crowbar and pried the crate open...revealing a large, red-and-purple box inside, with a turn-crank..._that was turning on its own..._

Suddenly, the box popped open, revealing the head of a huge clown; it was a jack-in-the-box. "_Man_," one guard muttered, "Fisk's tastes are gettin' weirder and weirder..."

Seconds later, the clown's mouth opened wide...and released a huge cloud of green gas, completely filling the cargo hold, and seeping into the air ducts. In seconds, the entire ship was contaminated.

One guard managed to get outside, coughing repeatedly from the gas, dropping to his knees...

...and he started to laugh. And laugh. And _laugh_. He wanted to stop laughing, but he _couldn't_. Seconds later, he felt his face start to widen in an unnatural grin...

...and seconds before he blacked out, he heard another boat pull up alongside theirs, heard someone board them...and then he heard a sound that he would _never_ forget.

"_HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!_"

_East Gotham Harbor, April 4, 2008_

By the time the cargo ship sailed into East Gotham Harbor in the morning light, the Gotham City Police Department had already cordoned off the area. "This is the Gotham City Police!" one officer called to the ship through a bull-horn. "Come out with your hands up!"

There was no response.

The officer nodded to the SWAT Team. "Move in."

At once, the SWAT officers moved in, heading up the ramp, heading into the ship, expecting resistance...but found none.

All the crew were lying on the ground, all with unnatural grins across their faces.

When the SWAT Team reported in, the officer turned to the Commissioner. "Sir, the entire crew's out; they all have big smiles on their faces."

Commissioner James Gordon automatically scowled. "_Joker._" he muttered. "Everyone, I want that ship and this entire area swept! Top to bottom! If Joker is here, I want him found!"

"Yes, sir!" the officer said, as he went to coordinate the sweep.

James sighed to himself. '_I'm too old for this._' he thought. James was in his late forties, fairly tall, and of athletic frame, though not as athletic as he'd been when he'd been in the Marines. His short, light red hair was mildly streaked with grey, with blue eyes framed by glasses, and a thick red moustache, clad in his beige overcoat over his white shirt and brown slacks, his badge pinned to his coat, his service revolver buckled to his belt.

Glancing to the ship, James happened to spot a shadow at the stern...seconds before it darted out of sight. When the sweep was done, and the ship declared clean, James headed up the ramp, and walked to the stern of the ship, making sure no-one saw him. "Joker." he simply said.

"I know." Batman said from the shadows. "Besides his trademark, I glanced at the ship's cargo manifest; an entire tank of beta-hydroxy-quinoline is missing. A few days ago, a supply of hydrochloric-alpha-teracen went missing."

James nodded. "I remember." he agreed. "Two of the three components for his gas. But he still needs..."

"...2,5,7-tri-nitrophenol." Batman said. "I have reason to believe that someone is shipping some in, tonight."

James blinked. "Joker didn't bring it in, himself?"

"No. The Kingpin is."

James' eyes widened. "I didn't think Joker was _that_ crazy." he said. "And those last two alone can make DX-13 nerve gas...it figures that Fisk would keep them separate. Any idea where?"

"Not yet." Batman said. "I'm still working on it."

Just then, James briefly turned to listen to a report from another officer, before turning back. "Well, good...luck?"

Batman was gone.

James chuckled to himself. '_Godspeed, my friend._' he thought, before heading to a different part of the boat.

It was mid-afternoon when Amanda arrived outside the gates of the Xavier Institute. She took a deep breath, and switched on the intercom. "Hello..?"

"_Yeah?_" came the reply; it sounded like an older guy.

"Um...t-this is Amanda Sefton." Amanda replied nervously.

"_Huh? Oh, yeah; Elf's girlfriend._" the guy answered. "_Come on in._"

At that, the gates swung open, allowing Amanda inside. Slowly, Amanda walked across the vast front garden of the Institute, briefly looking at the garden. '_Wow..._' she thought. '_I bet my Grandma would **love** to talk to whoever does the flowers, here!_'

By then, she had reached the front doors of the Institute, and politely knocked on the doors, before heading inside. Once she was inside, she looked around. "Hello..?" she called.

'_Hello, Miss Sefton._'

Amanda froze, looking around for the owner of the voice...that had seemed to _echo in her head._ "W-Who said that?"

Just then, an older man in a wheelchair rolled into view, smiling pleasantly. "I am Professor Charles Xavier." he said. "We've been expecting you; Kurt has told us so much about you."

Amanda couldn't help but blush. "Really?"

"_Liebchen!_"

Amanda automatically smiled as she saw Kurt, in his utterly _adorable_ fuzzy-blue true form. "Hi, baby!" Amanda cooed, as Kurt darted to her side, embracing her. "You've been talking about me?"

"You kiddin'?" came a gruff voice, as a burly-looking man walked into view, lightly chuckling. "We can't get the Elf to shut up about ya."

Kurt frowned. "Herr Logan..."

But Amanda silenced Kurt with a loving kiss. "You are the sweetest guy _alive_, Kurt Wagner." she cooed. At that, Kurt grinned goofily.

Just then, Scott and Jean walked in. "Hey, Amanda." Jean greeted.

"Hey." Amanda replied. "So, aren't Paul and Taryn coming?"

Professor Xavier smiled. "They just arrived."

Amanda blinked in confusion. "How did you know..?"

At that moment, Paul and Taryn opened the door, walking in, just as Kurt switched on his image-inducer. "Hey, guys." Paul greeted.

"So...what's going on?" Taryn asked.

"That will soon be made clear to all of you." the Professor said. "Please, come with me." With that, he started to roll away, and they all followed him.

The Professor led them to his office, where he sat at his desk, with Paul, Taryn, and Amanda sitting across from him, with Scott, Jean, and Kurt standing off to the side. "I agreed to my students inviting the three of you here," the Professor began, "because it may be time for more people to know of our secret." He smiled. "I also know that the three of you are trustworthy."

"Don't take this the wrong way," Paul said, "but...how could you know that?"

The Professor smiled. "For starters, Amanda knew Kurt's secret for almost an entire _year_, and did not so much as say a _word_ about it." he said. "As for you two...I will discuss that shortly."

He took a deep breath. "I assume that you are all familiar with the theory of evolution." he began. "That theory dictates that all organisms – including humanity – began from simpler organisms, and progressed to the forms of life we know, today."

"Uh, yeah." Taryn said. "But...what does that have to do with anything?"

"Evolution is a _constant_ process." the Professor continued. "It is progressing, even to this day. The point, Miss Fujioka, is that evolution _always_ begins with mutation."

Amanda slowly nodded – Kurt had mentioned that to her, before – but Paul and Taryn were frozen. "Professor," Paul murmured, "what exactly are you saying?"

The Professor closed his eyes. "In the human genome," he said, "there is a relatively rare genetic mutation – which we call the 'X-Gene' – that imparts special abilities to those who possess it. Each X-Gene is different, and thus, each X-Gene-positive individual has their own unique abilities." He looked to them. "That is the purpose of this Institute; to teach those with the X-Gene to use their gifts for the benefit of _all_ humanity. We of the Institute, _all_ of us – with the exception of one – possess the X-Gene."

"In short, we are mutants."

"That is how I knew you were trustworthy." the Professor finished. He closed his eyes. '_I am a telepath._'

"_Holy!!_" Paul yelped.

"_Whoa!!_" Amanda cried.

"_Oh, my God!!_" Taryn cried. "_I just...I just heard you, but your lips didn't move!!_"

'_Do not be alarmed._' came the Professor's powerful mental voice. '_Before you all entered here, I did a brief mental scan of each of you; enough to determine that all three of you were trustworthy. I am sure that you can understand how important secrecy is for us._'

Slowly, Paul looked to Scott, his eyes wide. "Scott..?"

Scott grimaced, pointing to his shades. "Optic blasts." he said softly. "I can't control them, so I have to wear these shades pretty much all the time."

Jean's expression turned grave, as she pointed to the cup of tea on the desk. "And I'm telekinetic." she explained. "I can move things with my thoughts." She raised her hand, and the cup briefly raised itself, before setting back down, causing Taryn to gasp. "I'm also a telepath..."

"But...but that means...you can go into people's heads!!" Taryn cried.

Jean looked stricken. "I would _never_..!"

But Taryn wouldn't listen to any more; she got up, and ran from the room. Jean's expression saddened, as she went after her friend.

Scott glanced to his friend. "So..."

Paul lightly smiled. "'An eye condition,' huh?"

Scott smiled nervously. "Well..._technically_, it's true." he said. "Look..."

Paul held up his hand. "Scott," he said, "ever since I've known you, you've freaked out every time your glasses got knocked off. You weren't worried about your eyes getting hurt; you were worried about everyone _else_ getting hurt." He smiled. "_That_ speaks _volumes_, bro."

Scott smiled, feeling his eyes start to sting; sometimes, he was _glad_ he wore shades. "Thanks, man."

Amanda looked worried. "I hope Jean and Taryn work things out." she said.

The Professor smiled knowingly. "Don't worry." he said. "I think they'll be fine."

Jean found Taryn sitting on a bench in the front garden, hanging her head low. "Taryn..."

"Jean, how could you not _tell_ me about this?!" Taryn cried. "_God_, my best friend in the _world_ is some mind-reader that likely knows every single deep, dark secret I've ever _had!_"

Jean looked stricken. "I...understand how that must make you feel..."

"Of _course_ you do!" Taryn snapped. "All you have to do is just reach into my head and _look!_ How am I _ever_ supposed to trust you again?!"

Jean suppressed her tears, and sat down a safe distance from her friend. "Professor Xavier didn't tell you the difference between my telepathy and his." she said. "He has to work at getting _into_ people's minds; _I_ have to work at keeping thoughts _out_."

Taryn looked up. "What..?"

Jean took a deep breath. "Taryn, think of listening to a radio, with the volume on _max_, and with no off-switch." she added. "_Now_, think of a _world_ full of radios like that, and with some of those radio-programs about _you_. If you think of all that...you'll have an idea of what it's like to be a telepath."

Taryn's face went pale. "_Oh my God..._"

"I don't read people's thoughts, Taryn; the Professor has taught me to keep my mind shielded; otherwise, all those thoughts can and _will_ drive me insane." Jean said. She chuckled lightly. "If I've _ever_ heard one of your thoughts, Taryn, it's _only_ because you were _screaming_ it at the top of your _brain!_"

Taryn lightly giggled. "I guess that must be a pain."

Jean smiled. "I just...couldn't lie to you, anymore, Taryn." she said softly.

Taryn looked ready to cry. "Aw, Jeannie..." she said, as she hugged her friend. "I'm so sorry I freaked out..."

"Actually, you reacted better than I thought you would." Jean said, chuckling. Smiling, she added, "So, do you want to see the rest of the Institute?"

Taryn smiled. "Sure." she said. "But...the Professor said that _one_ person here didn't have that 'X-Gene' thing. Who did he mean?"

Jean laughed. "First things first, Taryn." she replied. "I'll tell you later."

Taryn smiled. "Okay." she said. With that, both friends stood up, and headed back inside.

_Wayne Manor, Gotham City_

It was fairly late in the afternoon when Clark and Peter arrived at the stately Wayne Manor. "Wow." Clark murmured.

"_I'll_ say." Peter added. Wayne Manor was built atop a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, with a vast front yard, spotted with gnarled old trees. "It's nice; kinda lonely-looking, but nice.

Clark and Peter headed up to the Manor's front doors, and Clark rang the doorbell. After a few seconds, the doors opened, and an older, distinguished-looking gentleman walked into view. "Hi, I'm Clark Kent, and this is Peter Parker. We're both from the Daily Bugle, New York." Clark said. "We're here to do the interview with Mr. Wayne."

The man smiled pleasantly. "Ah, yes," he said, in a British accent, "Master Wayne has been expecting you." He paused. "Oh, please excuse me; I am Alfred Pennyworth, Master Wayne's 'gentleman's gentleman,' or, as the more popular saying goes, his butler."

Clark smiled. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Pennyworth."

"The pleasure is mine, I assure you, Mr. Kent." Alfred replied. "Please, do come in." At that, Clark and Peter headed inside.

The interior of the Manor was just as nice as the exterior. "I will inform Master Wayne that you two have arrived." Alfred said. "Please, excuse me." With that, he headed off.

After a few minutes, Alfred returned, with a tall, athletic-looking young man of 25. With short black hair, and cobalt-blue eyes, clad in a casual black suit, with a blue shirt under the jacket.

The younger man smiled. "Bruce Wayne." he greeted.

Clark smiled. "Clark Kent, Daily Bugle."

"Peter Parker, photographer." Peter added.

"Sorry it took me so long to see you both." Bruce said. "I had...business to attend to."

"Oh, Master Bruce," Alfred said, "Master Richard called to tell you that he has just stepped out for a 'joy-ride,' but that he _will_ be back for that...event, tonight."

"Sure, Alfred. Thanks." Bruce said. Alfred lightly bowed, and walked off.

Peter smiled. "He's a nice guy."

Bruce smiled. "Oh, yeah, Alfred's the best; he practically _raised_ me, ever since my parents passed away."

Clark blinked. "Oh, your parents..?"

"They passed on ages ago." Bruce said quickly. "Anyway, I promised you both an interview, didn't I?" He grinned. "Well, let's get to work!" With that, he headed to another part of the Manor, and Clark and Peter followed.

Bruce led them to what Clark assumed was his office, where he sat at his desk. Over the ensuing hour, Clark asked Bruce numerous questions about his business, Wayne Enterprises, and the numerous charities that Bruce contributed to, most notably the Wayne Foundation, while Peter snapped a few photos, of Bruce and of the Manor. Bruce stated that the Foundation was established for the sake of all the young children on the streets, orphaned by crime, so that no child would have to suffer a life alone.

And during the interview, Clark discerned something; Bruce put on the front of just being a swinging bachelor...but beneath that, he truly _cared_.

He managed to suppress a knowing smile.

After Clark had finished all his questions, he suddenly heard a high-pitched electronic beeping coming from Bruce's pocket; most ears would have missed it.

Luckily, his ears weren't most ears.

Bruce smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to cut this short." he said.

"No problem." Clark replied. "We were just about done, anyway."

"Thanks." Bruce said. "Well, see you later!" With that, he headed out of his office.

"Hey, listen, Clark, I'm just going to head back." Peter said.

"Oh, sure." Clark replied. "I'll catch up to you, after a few minutes."

"Sure." Peter said. "Later." With that, he headed out.

Alone, Clark briefly looked around the office, before he headed out, going for the door...

"_Where is he?!!_"

Clark paused, as he saw an angry-looking young woman of 22, with long, auburn hair, flashing green eyes, with a curvaceous, elegant frame, clad in a stylish pink track-suit. Clark then saw Alfred hurrying after her. "Miss Vreeland, I can assure you..."

"No more excuses, Alfred!" the young woman – "Miss Vreeland" – snapped. "I want to know where that lowlife 'boyfriend' of mine slunk off to after standing me up, last night! _Again!!_" Her furious emerald gaze whipped around to glare at Clark. "Where's Bruce?!"

Clark gulped. "Um...I-I think he went this way." he "babbled," pointing down a corridor. "I'm pretty sure I saw him go down there."

Miss Vreeland's eyes narrowed, as she stormed down the hallway, turning into one room. "There's no-one here!!" she shouted.

Confused, Clark hurried after her, and peered into the room; there was nothing there, save a piano, a bookcase, and an old grandfather clock. "Huh??" Clark murmured, genuinely confused. "But...I was sure..."

Miss Vreeland buried her face in her hands, losing much of her fury. "Why is Bruce _doing_ this to me?" she sobbed. She turned a remorseful gaze to Clark. "Oh, I'm so sorry; I practically chewed your head off..."

Clark smiled. "Don't worry about it, ma'am; with _my_ boss, I've handled _much_ worse yelling." he said. He extended his hand. "Clark Kent."

The young woman weakly smiled. "Veronica Vreeland." she replied. She sighed. "If this were the _first_ time Bruce had run out on me, it wouldn't be so bad..."

Alfred quickly piped up. "If I may speculate, Miss Vreeland, Master Bruce may have had to re-schedule your evening as he had to visit his parents' graves, as he does _every_ time, this year."

Veronica gasped. "Oh my _God_...Alfred, you're _right!_ Yesterday _was_ the anniversary of their murder!"

Clark's eyes widened. "Bruce's parents were _murdered?_"

Veronica nodded. "When Bruce was eight, his parents were gunned down, right in _front_ of him." she said softly. "My poor Brucie..."

Alfred lightly smiled. "I'm sure Master Bruce is _more_ than regretful, Miss Veronica." he said gently. "Now, why don't I make you a nice cup of tea, to calm some frazzled nerves?"

Veronica smiled. "Thanks, Alfred." she said. "I'd like that." She turned to Clark. "It was nice meeting you." she added. With that, she headed off, followed by Alfred.

Alone, Clark puzzled over Bruce's disappearance. '_I **know** I saw him head this way...wait a minute._'

He turned to the old grandfather clock, as he saw a little black bat stuck in the clock face. After a few seconds, the bat _somehow_ managed to slip _behind_ the clock face. Clark's eyes flashed electric-blue, as he looked beyond the clock...and into the cave beneath; he caught sight of high-tech systems...

...and bats. _Lots_ of bats.

Clark's eyes widened, as his mind began to piece things together subconsciously; Bruce's height, his voice, his absences, the attention to charities...it all came to one glaring computation.

Clark's expression became remorseful. '_Bruce Wayne, we hardly knew ye._' he thought.

Just then, his hearing picked up an emergency call over in Europe; he had to go. Quickly, Clark darted out of Wayne Manor, headed around to the back, and discreetly dropped off of the cliff, changing as he fell, stashing his clothes in a crag in the cliffs, before flying off, a sonic-boom echoing behind him.

Deep in the Batcave, Bruce sat in front of the Bat-computer, frowning; that Bat-Wave alert had been a false alarm – the police were calibrating the new alarm system in the First Gotham Bank. Still, it gave him more time to work on his case.

And he needed every second; the Kingpin's shipment was due to come in, tonight, and he had no idea _where_.

Absently, he checked the security feeds from the Manor, to clear his head; he sighed regretfully as he saw Ronnie get angry with Clark. The lovely Vreeland heiress _did_ have a temper when provoked, he knew from experience. He _did_ care for Ronnie, and he hated doing this to her...

...but the Mission came first.

Then, Bruce's eyes narrowed as he looked at Clark's image. He hadn't seen it, himself, but the computer had caught something...

_There!_

Quickly, Bruce focused in on it; a fractal pattern in Clark's image. '_Holographic technology._' Bruce thought with a frown. '_Looks like the Boy Scout has something to hide._' He quickly tapped a few keys, to remove the pattern from Clark's image.

His eyes widened in sheer surprise. He hadn't been expecting _that_. '_He was right in my office, right under my **nose**._' Bruce berated himself.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said as he walked into the Cave, "I was just speaking with Miss...oh, my." Alfred's eyes momentarily widened as he noticed the considerable difference in Clark's height and frame. "I've heard of people being taller or shorter in real life, but _this_ is ridiculous!"

"Apparently, he didn't get the message." Bruce muttered, as he got up, to prepare for his early patrol.

Alfred frowned. "Sir," he said, "if I may say so, it _is_ generally a good idea for one to have allies in _any_ endeavor."

His change fully complete, Batman half-glared at Alfred. "I don't need any more 'help,' Alfred."

Alfred looked sad. "Sir," he said softly, "to do what you do, night after night...that is a terrible burden to bear, alone."

"I'll manage." Batman said, before he leapt into the waiting Batmobile, and raced off.

The sun had mostly set, by the time Superman returned to Gotham City, the crisis in Europe averted. He was heading back to the hotel...

...when he heard the crash.

Superman took off at top speeds, flying as fast as he could...but he knew it was already too late.

He found the old lady lying on the sidewalk, from where the drunk driver had hit her, the street completely empty. Superman quickly descended, gently lifting the old lady into his arms, letting her lie on his lap. "Miss?" he whispered. "Can you hear me?" The old lady simply looked at him, but did not answer, though she tried, a trickle of blood leaking from her mouth.

Superman tried to smile reassuringly, as he tapped his buckle, sending the silent alert to the nearest hospital, to send an ambulance. "You're going to be _fine_." he whispered. The old lady just smiled gently, as if she knew something he did not. Then, she let out one breath, her eyes closing...and then she was still.

"Miss?" Superman whispered. "_Miss?!_" No response.

She was gone.

Superman stayed with her until the ambulance came, retreating to the rooftops as the paramedics took her. Alone, Superman simply put his hand to his forehead. The driver had simply driven off, leaving her there to die...

...and he hadn't been there to save her.

"Still here, I see."

Superman looked into the shadows behind him, finding Batman there. "I thought I told you to leave..._Clark Kent_."

Superman's eyes momentarily widened. '_How did he..?_' he thought, and then his eyes narrowed. "If _you_ were in New York, would _you_ ignore a cry for help..._Bruce Wayne?_"

_Now_ it was _Batman's_ turn to go wide-eyed...before his eyes narrowed. "Looks like we have a stalemate."

"I didn't realize we were at war."

"I _don't_ need your help."

"I never said you _did_." Superman said. He looked down as the ambulance drove off. "She was likely someone's mother, someone's grandmother..." he whispered, "..._how_ can _anyone_ not care about that?"

Batman's expression saddened. "Nobody could get to her in time." he whispered.

Superman nodded. "Every time I manage to avert one disaster, I hear another one strike."

"Stopping _one_ criminal just distracts me from another." Batman whispered.

Superman smiled sadly. "Sounds like we have the same problem."

Batman didn't answer.

Superman's expression turned grave, as he looked to the Dark Knight. "We may have different ways of doing things, but we _do_ have the same _goal_: to make the world a better place." he said. "As much as we can do alone, we can do _more_ if we work together." He extended his hand to Batman. "What do you say?"

Batman didn't move.

Superman sighed. '_I gave it my best shot._' he thought, as he turned to go...

"The Kingpin is sending in a shipment of 2,5,7-tri-nitrophenol through Gotham, tonight."

Superman turned around. "What?"

"He tried sending beta-hydroxy-quinoline in, last night." Batman continued. "It was stolen."

"Someone's going to steal it." Superman said. "Those two chemicals, when mixed, make DX-13 nerve gas!"

"True," Batman agreed, "but when you add hydrochloric-alpha-teracen to the mix, you get something else _entirely_: Joker-gas, a potent airborne agent that induces hysterical laughter, followed by a paralytic 'rictus' state." His tone turned dark. "_Joker_."

"Who?"

"A pure, soulless, old-blooded _psychopath_." Batman said. "No-one knows his real name. Chaos and murder are more than just compulsions for him; he _likes_ it. He's a crazed clown who always tries to leave his victims _dying_ with laughter..._literally_. And if he gets that shipment, he'll be able to make enough gas to cover the entire _city_."

"We _have_ to stop him." Superman said. "Where's the shipment going to be?"

"I don't know." Batman said. "I haven't been able to locate, and all my leads have gone dry."

"Fisk will be keeping in contact with the boat." Superman said. "I can listen in on him and find out where he's meeting it!"

Batman turned to go. "Contact me when you know more."

As the Dark Knight darted out of sight, Superman followed him. "How will I contact...you?"

Batman was gone...but he'd left a small, black electronic device, depicting the flashing image of a bat.

Superman smiled, as he picked it up. "Oh." he said. "Well, I guess I'd better try to find Spidey." With that, he darted into the sky, keeping his eyes – and ears – open.

_South Gotham Harbor_

It was a few hours after sunset when the sleek black limousine pulled into the dock, followed by several black vans, all filled with armed thugs. After the criminals got out, securing the area, Tombstone got out of the limo. "Looks clear, Boss."

Wilson Fisk calmly stepped out of the limo, holding his ornate cane. "It had _better_ be." he said coldly. "I will not tolerate another debacle like last night."

Suddenly, a sound echoed from the darkness, and all the armed men aimed their guns towards it...as several small jack-in-the-boxes on wheels rolled towards them. The Kingpin arched an eyebrow quizzically. "Is this someone's idea of a _joke?_" he growled.

"_Ya got **that** right, Fiskie!_"

At that exclamation, the toys all popped open, unleashing clouds of noxious-looking green gas, engulfing over _half_ of Fisk's forces; in seconds, all the poisoned men were laughing uncontrollably, as their faces turned up in unnatural smiles, their bodies frozen in place.

"_HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !!!_"

That insane laughter made the remaining thugs flinch, but neither Tombstone nor Fisk were affected. "Whoever you are, you're _dead_." Fisk snarled. "Do you have any _idea_ of who you're dealing with?!"

"You don't remember me?" the voice cried. "Oh, Fiskie, I'm _crushed!_" By then, Fisk thought he could see the faint silhouette of someone in the shadows. "Don't you remember? The good old days?"

At that, a single playing card flitted out of the darkness, landing at Fisk's feet. Fisk picked it up; the Jack of Spades. His mind instantly flashed back to his old right-hand man and enforcer...who he'd had dumped into a vat of unstable chemicals for having an affair with his girlfriend, who was now his wife. He forced a smile. "Jack Napier!" he exclaimed. "Why, Jack, is that _you?_"

"You _do_ remember!" Jack exclaimed.

Fisk managed to suppress his snarl, keeping his smile. "So, how have you been, old friend?"

"Oh, not too bad...considering _someone_ gave me a chemical bath." Jack replied. "But, hey! The past is the past...even though you had me killed over a _woman! A WOMAN, Fisk!!_"

Fisk's eyes narrowed. "If you so much as _touch_ me, Jack," he snarled, "your life won't be worth _shit!_"

The insane laugh cut the air, again. "'_Jack??_'" Jack replied. "Ain't you heard, Fiskie? Jack's _dead_." With that, he walked into view.

Fisk wasn't easy to startle...but _nothing_ could have prepared him for _this_.

It was a twisted, clownish version of his old enforcer, tall, and lean...his short hair now a sickening green, his skin bleached pure white, his eyes a dark, blood-red...and his face twisted in a crazed, perpetual grin. He wore a purple zoot-suit, consisting of a coat and pants, with dark purple shoes, and a light orange shirt under the jacket, with a blue bow-tie, and purple gloves, with a broad-rimmed, flat-top purple hat atop his head, and a clownish cane in his hand, a purple flower pinned to the jacket.

"Jack" just grinned. "The _name_," he said, "is _Joker!_" He cackled insanely. "And as you can tell, I'm a _lot_ happier!"

Fisk found his voice. "What..._happened_ to you?"

"Oh, like you're surprised!" Joker laughed. "After hiring Stone-Face on after _his_ chemical bath, seeing _me_ alive and kicking should be par for the course!"

He cackled, as a forklift drove into view, driven by two large men, in jester-outfits, carrying a massive device, knocked together from an industrial boiler and a massive hose. The contraption had two hoses running from it; one labeled "Intake," the other, "Output."

"Ah, I see you've met my two helpers, Punch and Judy!" Joker crowed. "When I heard you were dropping by, Fiskie, I just _had_ to throw you a little party!" At that, one henchman, Punch, took the Intake hose and ran up to the chemical vat on the ship, attaching it to the nozzle on the vat, before turning it on.

"Jack..." Fisk warned, "...that can make DX-13! If you unleash that here, you'll kill us _all!_"

"Oh, give me _some_ credit, Fiskie! People coughing, convulsing, screaming their lungs out? Where's the fun in _that?_ Where's the style, the flair, the _panache?_" Joker said. He grinned. "Add _one_ thing to this stuff, and you get DX-13...but add _two_ things, and you get Joker-gas!"

Tombstone scowled. "Listen, clown, that's enough to cover the entire city, including _you!_"

"I _know!_" Joker cackled, as his henchmen donned gas-masks. "I've become immune to the wonderful effects of my gas, Stone-Face; sorry to disappoint you!"

"Jack," Fisk began, "I'm sure we can make _some_ kind of a deal..." As he spoke, he gestured to one of his thugs, who took aim...

The Joker scowled, and grasped the flower, which shot out a stream of gas, engulfing the shooter, sending him into giggling convulsions. "_Don't_ try to be cute, Fisk!! I spent _months_ setting p this party, so you're gonna enjoy it if it _kills_ you!!" He grinned. "_Which it might just do, anyway!!!_" he cackled, erupting in laughter. "Now, as soon as this gizmo finishes mixing the gas, the laughs will _really_ start! The whole _city's_ invited to join in the laughs!"

Joker grinned evilly at Fisk. "And guess what, 'old pal'? The _first_ laugh...is gonna be _yours._"

At that, Joker's insane laughter filled the air, chilling even the Kingpin's blood.

After Superman had heard Fisk's cell-phone, he promptly alerted Batman via the communicator he now had. He then quickly found Spider-Man, and informed him of the situation.

Within minutes, Superman and Spider-Man touched down on a rooftop overlooking South Gotham Harbor...and Batman, Robin, and Batgirl were already there.

Robin smiled. "Thanks for the intel, Supes."

"It's Joker, alright." Batgirl said.

Superman then caught sight of the crazed clown, as well as his contraption. "_Whoa,_" he heard Spider-Man say, "and here I thought guys like Fisk or Doom were as evil as people got..."

"Joker's an entirely different _breed._" Batman said. "That device _has_ to be neutralized."

"Agreed." Superman said. "If you can surprise Fisk's goons, I can disarm them."

Robin chuckled. "Distraction is our middle name!"

"Spider-Man, you keep Joker off-balance; make _sure_ he doesn't set that thing off." Batman instructed. He turned to Superman. "We're going for the _big_ fish."

Superman nodded. "Got it."

At that, Batman took out a small device, pressing it; it instantly started to emit regular beeps – Ultra-High Frequency sound. Before Superman could inquire, Batman tossed it with expert precision, as it hit Kingpin's jacket, automatically adhering...

...seconds before a small swarm of bats swooped out of the sky and swarmed around the Kingpin, summoned by the UHF transponder.

As if on cue, Robin and Batgirl threw their Batarangs, knocking out the overhead lights, coating the dock in darkness, further panicking the criminals. At once, Superman shot down to the docks, darting through the remaining thugs, easily snatching away their weapons. By then, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl had descended on the hapless criminals. Batman moved through the crooks like a force of nature; he slammed one thug with a side kick, then whirled the motion into a back-kick to get another. His hand moved like a striking cobra, as he crushed a nerve cluster on one thug's neck, rendering him unconscious.

As he dropped, Robin extended his metal bo-staff, tackling two crooks as he landed, before unleashing a back-spin strike to get another three. As he turned, he saw one thug try to sneak up on him...and then, Batgirl knocked him down with a foot-sweep, knocking him out. "Watch your back, Short-Pants!" she teased.

Robin grinned, and rolled to the side, slamming the crook approaching Batgirl to her left with a side-kick. "Same to you, Red!"

By then, the emergency lights had come on. "_Batsy!!_" Joker guffawed, as he moved to the control console on the device. "Now it _is_ a party!" He reached for a lever...

...and let out a yell as his face got coated with webbing.

"Hey, I didn't know the circus was in town!" Spider-Man quipped, as he dropped down, looking at the Joker upside-down. "If I'd known, I'd have brought popcorn!"

Snarling, the Joker ripped off the webs. "This is _my_ party!!" he yelled. "_I_ do the streamers around here!!" He sent a stream of gas at Spider-Man...who darted away.

"_Sheesh!_" Spider-Man said, as he landed. "I thought _you_ would have a better sense of humor, Clowny!"

Joker grinned. "Oh, I'm _hilarious_, Bug-Boy!" he cackled. "Punch? Judy? _Split his sides!!_"

'_Oh, boy._' Spider-Man thought, as the two big clowns advanced on him. He ducked under the first one's swing, before unleashing a flip-kick, knocking him back. As the second one charged, he shot out a web-line, darting straight up, before dropping back down on the clown's shoulders, kicking him in the head. The two burly clowns looked dazed...and then quickly shook off his attacks, coming at him again. '_Aw, man...can't super-villains **ever** have **small** goons?_'

As the last of the Kingpin's thugs fell, Tombstone glared at Batman, before letting out a roar, charging at him, catching him in his arms, starting to crush him. "I've been lookin' to size you up for one of my coffins for a _long_ time, Bats!" he snarled.

Batman's eyes narrowed, as he reached up and around Tombstone's arms, grinding his thumbs into Tombstone's eyes. The un-dead man howled in agony, letting Batman go, as the Dark Knight leapt back, stopping next to Superman. As Tombstone recovered, Batman simply said, "Shield your eyes." He then took out a small black sphere, and tossed it at Tombstone, where it erupted in a flash worthy of a magnesium flare, blinding the criminal.

Superman lightly smiled, and tilted his head towards Tombstone; Batman nodded in automatic understanding. Superman lifted Batman up, and spun him in a circle, before tossing him at Tombstone; Batman did a mid-air flip, to strike Tombstone right in the face, heels-first. As Tombstone stumbled back, Batman executed a perfect back-kick to his chest, making him double over...giving Superman the _perfect_ opening to slam into him, shoulder-first, sending him flying.

As Spider-Man _finally_ managed to finish off Punch and Judy, his spider-sense started buzzing...but he was too late; the Joker, cackling like the madman he was, slammed him with a huge mallet, sending him sprawling. Laughing insanely, he pointed the Output hose towards Gotham, and pulled the lever. "_Smile, Gotham!! **Smile**!!!_"

"Bats! Blue!! _Heads up!!_" Spider-Man yelled.

Superman and Batman were about to close on the Kingpin when they heard Spider-Man's call. Batman's eyes widened, and then narrowed, as he threw two Batarangs; the blades whirred through the air, the first one pinning Joker to his device, and the second shut off the lever...but not before a large cloud of gas escaped, heading towards Gotham...

"Superman!" Batman shouted. "Joker-gas will _sublimate_ if it cools!" Superman understood completely, and unleashed a blast of frost-breath, chilling the gas, causing it to instantly solidify, falling into the Gotham bay.

"_NO!!!_" Joker wailed. "My precious gas! _Passed!_ By a bunch of party-poopers!"

Turning back, Superman and Batman saw that Kingpin and Tombstone had already fled; if they went after them, Joker would escape.

They looked to each other, nodding in mutual understanding; Joker was the greater threat.

The five surrounded the pinned clown. Joker sniffled piteously. "Nobody _ever_ gets the joke." he whimpered.

Superman scowled, not buying the act for a minute. "Oh, we _got_ the joke, Joker." he said. "It just wasn't _funny_."

Joker sighed. "_Everyone's_ a critic, these days!"

The five of them slipped away as the police came, watching from a rooftop as the Joker was taken away. "Well, so much for nabbing the big fish." Robin muttered.

"What goes around comes around." Superman said. "Fisk will get his, soon enough."

Batgirl smiled. "We all make a good team."

Spider-Man chuckled. "Yeah; maybe we oughtta start a bowling league!"

Superman chuckled. "_That_ would be interesting."

Batman stayed silent.

"Well," Spider-Man said, "I gotta get going. Catch you guys later!" With that, he swung off.

"We'll just do another patrol." Robin said. Batman nodded, and Robin and Batgirl fired their grapnels, and swung off.

Only Superman and Batman were left, now. "We _do_ make a good team." Superman commented.

No answer.

Superman wasn't bothered; Bruce was just being Bruce. "Maybe we could team up for bigger things." he suggested.

Batman was silent for a moment, and then..."You have the Bat-Wave transmitter." he said, walking around a corner. "Take care of yourself, Kent."

Superman followed Batman around the corner...only to find no-one there. He chuckled. "You, too, Bruce." he said. With that, he took to the air, flipping out his belt-communicator, to call Peter and let him know that he was going to take another route home, to go on without him, before heading to the hotel to pick up his gear.

Time to head home.

It was evening by the time the little tour of the Institute finished, and Amanda – along with Taryn and Paul – was amazed. "This is so _cool!_" she exclaimed.

Next to her, Kurt smiled. "I'm glad you're okay vith everything, Mandy."

Taryn smiled. "And I thought _we_ had it tough at school!" she exclaimed. "That Danger Room looks _way_ worse than Gym class!"

Jean chuckled. "We manage."

Paul laughed. "But, _man_, you guys have that guy Logan as a teacher?"

Scott grinned. "He's not _too_ bad, once you get to know him."

Taryn blinked. "But...what about that other guy?"

"What other guy?" Alison asked as she walked up to them.

"The guy that doesn't have an X-Gene." Taryn said.

Alison lightly smiled. "That would be Kal."

"_Kal_ lives here?" Taryn asked. "What does he do?"

Suddenly, a sonic boom shook the air overhead, causing the three humans to jump. Scott chuckled. "Kal's back." he said. "Don't worry; it took _us_ a little while to get used to that, too."

"_Whoa_...who _is_ this guy?" Paul murmured.

Jean took a deep breath. "Taryn?" she asked. "Do you remember yesterday, when you said it was as if I _knew_ Superman?"

Taryn blinked, confused. "Y-Yeah."

"Taryn...you have no _idea_ how ironic that was."

All three of them were silent. "W-What?" Amanda stammered.

Alison smiled. "Amanda, let's just say that you're not the _only_ girl at Bayville High who has a thing for guys in blue." she said. "Although, in _my_ case, it's more of a thing for guys in _red_-and-blue."

"You're _kidding_." Paul said.

"Nope." Scott replied.

Alison sighed. "Listen, I'm just going back to my room, okay?" she said. "Later." With that, she walked off.

"_Jean, you're JOKING!!_" Taryn all but squealed. "He's _HERE?! And you KNOW him?!!_"

Jean couldn't help but smile. "Want to meet him?" Taryn couldn't speak, as Jean, Scott, and Kurt led the three of them outside.

As they all walked outside, Amanda managed to see the silhouette of someone touching down in the shadows. Then, he slowly walked into view.

Blue suit, red shorts, yellow belt, red boots, red cape, and the stylized 'S' emblazoned on his chest. There was no mistaking him.

"Hey, guys." Superman greeted. Then, he noticed the three of them. "Aw, dang it! I forgot that you were bringing your friends, down, here; I'm sorry, guys..."

"No problem, Kal." Jean said.

Superman smiled pleasantly. "It's nice to meet all of you." he greeted.

Taryn's eyes rolled up in her head, as she fainted dead away, with Paul catching her as she fell back.

Superman blinked. "Was it something I said?"

Amanda managed to smile. "Probably not." she replied, masking her nervousness.

Paul chuckled. "Okay, Scott. Pay up." she quipped.

Scott groaned. "Darn."

Jean arched an eyebrow, half-heartedly frowning. "What's going on?"

"A few months ago, I bet Scott that if Taryn ever _did_ meet Superman, she'd faint, while Scott bet that she'd squeal and ask for his autograph." Paul explained.

Scott half-smiled. "Serves me right, I guess."

Paul looked to Superman. "After everything I've seen today, Superman, meeting you just seems to be par for the course."

Superman chuckled. "Fair enough." he replied. To Scott and Jean, he added, "Is Ali still here?"

Jean nodded. "She's up in her room." she replied.

"Thanks." Superman said. "Well, it was nice meeting you all!" With that, he simply headed inside.

Amanda could only blink in amazement. "_Wow._"

Kurt chuckled. "_Ja_, zat's vat _I_ thought, zhe first time I met him."

"So...what's the difference between _him_ and the rest of you guys?" Paul inquired.

Scott grinned. "_That_, Paul, is a _long_ story." With that, Scott and Jean headed back inside, as the others followed him.

Some time after Taryn had recovered, she and Paul had headed home...after the amazing revelation of Kal's origin. Amanda, however, had chosen to stay a while. Currently, she and Kurt were sitting together on the Institute's roof, looking up at the stars; it had become their favorite pastime.

"It's really amazing," Amanda said, smiling, "that now we _know_ that there are other beings in the universe who are probably looking up at the stars, right now, and wondering if there is anyone _else_ out there!"

Kurt grinned. "Ve have living _proof!_"

Amanda smiled. "I have the _coolest_ boyfriend in the world." she cooed. "You are as cute as _heck_, you're the _sweetest_ guy alive, you have special powers that you use for the good of _all_ humanity, _and_ you're pals with an actual _alien!_ Kurt, that is so _cool!_"

Kurt smiled. "_Danke_." he replied.

Amanda looked a bit sad. "I just hope that Kal and Ali work things out."

Kurt smiled. "Zhey vill." he said. "Trust zhe fuzzy dude, _liebchen_; he knows zhese things!"

Amanda smiled, cuddling into her boyfriend's side. "Okay." she cooed. Then, the two simply continued to watch the stars, enjoying each other's company.

In her room, lying on her bed, Alison frowned as she absently chewed on the end of her pencil, pondering her last algebra problem. Then, she smiled to herself. '_Eureka!_' she thought, as she jotted down the solution.

Putting her homework to the side, Alison sighed to herself. '_That's **one **problem taken care of._' she thought. She was a bit nervous about talking to Clark; she hadn't talked to him since last morning. She was worried...

"Ali?"

Mildly startled, Alison looked up to see Clark – in uniform – standing in her doorway. "Hey." he softly greeted.

Alison lightly smiled. "Hey." she replied. "So...I guess you made an impression on our three guests."

Superman smiled. "They actually took it pretty well." he replied.

Alison took a deep breath. "Clark..." she whispered, "...about yesterday...I'm so..."

"Ali, I am _so sorry._"

Alison looked up, surprised. "What?"

"You were _right_." Superman said, his expression sad. "I _was_ keeping you out of that part of my life." He lowered his gaze. "I've always thought that my being Superman was _my_ burden to bear...and I forgot that there were people who cared about me, who could understand what I felt...especially _you_." He looked into her eyes. "Forgive me, _taushi_." he whispered.

Alison paused, digesting his words...and then smiled, before walking to her boyfriend's side, sweetly kissing his cheek. "_I'm_ sorry, too." she cooed. "I was _majorly_ cranky, yesterday, Clarkie; I had a _serious_ headache, and I kinda took it out on _you_." She smiled sadly. "I guess we're _both_ morons." She looked into his eyes. "But I _want_ to understand your burden, Clark; I want to be in every _part_ of your life." She nuzzled into his chest. "Please don't shut me out."

Superman smiled. "Suit up, Ali, and _definitely_ bring your winter coat."

Alison blinked. "Why?"

Superman grinned. "We're going out, for a while."

Once Alison had suited up, and donned her coat over her uniform, it had taken only minutes for Superman to fly them both far to the north; she was _glad_ she'd brought her coat. After a few minutes, the green of forests was replaced by the white of glacial ice, the air growing heavy with snow, until they were in the middle of a massive blizzard. "Clark?" Alison cried over the wind. "Where are we?"

Superman smiled knowingly. "My old home." he said. He then took out his belt communicator. "Deactivate defense network." he instructed.

Almost instantly, the blizzard dissipated...and Alison's eyes widened. "Is this..?"

Superman nodded. "My Fortress of Solitude."

Alison gazed upon the massive crystalline sanctuary with awed eyes. "It's _beautiful_..."

Superman only smiled, as he touched down in front of the Fortress' massive doors, setting Alison down, before walking to the four crystal orbs in front of the door; his eye-rays shot out, striking the third, first, second, first, fourth, second, and third again, each orb letting out a distinct sound from each hit. Instantly, three holographic discs appeared in front of the door; Superman walked to them, and turned them, aligning them, before pushing them into the door; his family crest appeared in the door, seconds before the crystal of the door turned to blue energy. Superman extended his hand to Dazzler, who took it, as he walked through the energy field, and Dazzler followed.

As they came through, the massive door re-solidified behind them. Dazzler looked about the Fortress in wonder; the walls were all pure white crystal, with flashing light-patterns built into the walls – _quantum circuitry_. "_Wow..._" Dazzler murmured.

"The last trace of Kryptonian civilization." Superman said. "The collected knowledge of Krypton and all the worlds it had contact with is in here."

Dazzler lightly smiled. "Clarkie, this is _amazing_." she said. "But, you didn't bring me here _only_ to show it to me, did you?"

Superman smiled at her. "No." he admitted. "Could I see your belt for a moment, Ali?" Confused, Alison unbuckled her belt, handing it to him. "Thanks." Superman said. "I'm going to be a few minutes; in the meantime, feel free to look around. Once I'm done, I'll give you the grand tour."

Alison smiled. "Okay." she cooed. Smiling at her, Superman retreated deeper into the Fortress, letting Alison explore.

After a few minutes, Alison felt like a little girl lost in a massive museum; the Fortress was so incredibly beautiful, so _peaceful_...but it was felt so _lonely_, so apart from the rest of the world.

Alison's expression saddened. '_Was this how Clark felt, once?_' she thought.

Looking around, she saw that she was standing in an incredibly vast chamber, filled with massive crystalline pillars, and a large, central circular platform. '_I wonder what these are for..?_' she thought, as she reached out to touch one...

"These are the Archives."

Superman's voice mildly startled her as she spun to face him. "Sorry." he apologized. "Like I was saying, all of the Fortress' knowledge is stored here." He reached out, and touched a crystal pillar; instantly, it turned to blue energy, with golden circuitry inside, before it retracted away, revealing countless smaller crystals within, each in its own slot.. "This particular Archive holds Krypton's history."

Alison was awed as she looked at all the crystals detailing the history of her lover's world. "_All_ of them?" she whispered. Then, she spotted a larger crystal, at the top of the collection. "What about _that_ one?"

Superman smiled. "_That_ one is different." he said. He simply reached out, and touched it; automatically, the crystal rose up, as four crystalline prongs reached down, grasping it...as a beam of light shone from it, towards the circular platform, where it took shape...the shape of a tall, strongly built man, in black robes, looking _very_ much like Clark. Alison was about to ask who he was...but the man spoke for himself.

_"Hello, my son. I am Jor-El, of the planet Krypton...and I am your father. By the time you hear this, I will be long dead; Krypton, our world, is undergoing a chain-reaction in its core – our world is doomed. To save you from our fate, your mother – Lara – and I have sent you to Earth. There, you will have power that no human can match, as your Kryptonian body draws strength from Earth's yellow sun. I have designed this structure, this Fortress of Solitude, to teach you of your heritage, your abilities...and my hopes for you, Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton."_

_"They can be a great people, Kal-El; they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. And for this reason above all others, their capacity for good, I have sent them a light...for I have sent them you, my only son."_

_"Live among them, Kal-El, and find where your great power is most needed. You must never directly interfere in their natural development; that is forbidden by our highest laws. Instead, lead by example, my son; show them that there is a better way, through your actions."_

_"There may be those on Earth who will fear and hate you for what you can do, my son. Do not be disheartened, for no matter what happens...your mother and I love you. Be happy, my beloved son. Farewell."_

The message then ended, the crystal ceasing its projection, returning to its slot. "I saw that message the very first day I came here." Superman said. "It took me the better part of four years to get over my grief and truly _understand_ what my father was saying...only to learn that I was still missing something."

He turned to look at Alison. "Ali, every single day, I hear people crying out for help; I hear this entire _world_ crying out for _someone_ to help them." he said. "I once tried to help them all...but that's just too big a task for _any_ one man."

Alison giggled. "Not even a Man of Steel." she cooed.

Superman smiled. "I got a reminder of that fact in Gotham, these past few days." he said. With that, he held her belt out to her...

...with a buckle-communicator identical to his own built into it.

Alison's eyes widened, as she smiled. "Clark..."

"It _also_ made me realize how _important_ you are to me, _taushi_." Superman added softly. "You make everything I do _worthwhile_; I don't ever want you to feel left out of _any_ part of my life." He gestured to her belt. "That communicator is a more advanced version of mine; it can instantly link to the Fortress' computer, and upload schematics of _every_ situation I head into in _nanoseconds_." He smiled. "Ali, I want you to be my spotter; my eyes and ears, to keep an eye out for things I might miss." His smile grew. "Your skills with your powers _are_ getting better, Ali; for now, you can just be my spotter, but later...who knows?"

Alison smiled radiantly, before she practically _flew_ into his arms, kissing him passionately, giggling as her _tausha_ returned her kiss. After a few wonderful minutes, their kiss ended. "That's all I wanted, baby." Alison cooed. "_You're_ all I wanted."

Superman smiled. "I think I owe you a tour." he said, extending his arm to her. Dazzler smiled, and laced her arm around his, as they headed further into the crystal sanctuary, the former home of Alison's beloved, the man who was sharing _all_ of his life with her.

It was midnight in the Gotham Ritz Hotel when Wilson Fisk retired for the night, his guards outside the door. Tonight had been a _wash_.

'_As if Superman wasn't bad enough,_' Fisk thought, as he donned his silk pajamas, before slipping into bed, turning off the lights, '_now I have cowl-wearing lunatics to worry about..._'

Fisk froze as he heard a sound, before he bolted out of bed. "Who's there?!" he roared. He looked around...

...and found an open window, the glass doors bumping against the wall.

Wilson promptly closed the window. He was just jumpy from tonight; he was hearing things...

"_Wilson Fisk._"

That sandpaper-on-glass voice made Fisk's blood run cold; if he'd had hair, it would have stood on end. He quickly recomposed himself. "Who are you?!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Fisk saw a shadow move. "_You **know** who I am, Fisk._"

Wilson's face contorted in a snarl. "Do you have any _idea_ of who you're dealing with?!"

"_Yes. I do._"

Pain exploded across Fisk's jaw as an unseen fist slammed him with a punch, taking him by surprise, knocking him back. Roaring, Fisk swung at the shadow...

...but hit nothing.

Bewildered, Wilson whirled around. "_Where are you?!_"

"_In your nightmares._"

An elbow of iron slammed into Fisk's neck, sending him flying. Fisk lashed out again...and again hit nothing.

He was fighting a _wraith_.

"_I don't want to see your filth in this city ever **again**, Fisk._"

The shadow punctuated the sentence with a precision strike to Fisk's knee, causing Wilson to howl in agony, seconds before the iron fist bloodied his eye. "You think this will scare me?!" Fisk exploded, swinging blindly. "Not even _Superman_ can scare me!!"

It was then that Fisk saw the eyes: two narrow, lidless, _soulless_ white eyes, staring right at him, right in front of him.

They were _staring into his soul..._

"_Tell me, Fisk,_" the demonic shadow snarled, "_what kind of enemy is more frightening? The kind you can hear coming?_"

The last words were a whisper in his ear.

"_Or the kind you **can't**?_"

Just then, the light flicked on, as Tombstone burst in, followed by two guards. "Boss! Boss, are you okay?"

Wilson looked around; there was no sign of anyone else. The shadow was gone.

As if he'd never even _been_ there.

"I'm fine." Fisk said. "Just...a minor mishap."

Tombstone relaxed. "Boss..?"

"We're pulling out of Gotham." Wilson said. "Spread the word."

Tombstone's eyes widened. "But..."

"_You heard me!!_" Fisk exploded. At once, Tombstone and the guards nodded, and darted out of Fisk's room.

'_Business in this city has been barely profitable on the **best** of days._' Fisk thought. '_I'm cutting my losses. Nothing more._' He looked down at his hands.

If that was true...then why were his hands shaking?

From the rooftop outside the Gotham Ritz, Batman watched as Fisk gave the order to pull out, before half-smiling to himself.

Sometimes, being free and _feeling_ imprisoned worked _just_ as well as _real_ prison.

As he turned to go, Batman spared one last glance to the horizon, towards New York City, as Superman's words, along with Alfred's, echoed in his mind...

'_Maybe._' he thought to himself, before he fired his grapnel, swinging into the night.

_Author's Note: I am SO sorry about the delay. Between work and writer's block, this chapter took forever. I hope you all like it, and I hope I captured Batman's character correctly._

_Speaking of the Dark Knight, some time after I finish this story, I plan to do a story describing Batman's back-story in this universe. It's still in VERY early development, though. In the future, keep an eye out for "Crusade." Thanks for understanding!_

_Coming Soon:_

_After so many months at the Institute, Hank is feeling a bit cooped up._

_Will a field trip soothe our not-too-savage Beast?_

_Or will a bunch of Bigfoot-hunting yahoos spoil their fun?_

_And as our Man of Steel continues his search for the long-lost Kryptonian ship, his old home is threatened…as an imperious sea-dweller makes it clear that he isn't interested in being good neighbours._

_Be there to see it, in "Fish Story," coming to your computer soon…_


	20. Fish Story, Part One

CHAPTER NINETEEN: FISH STORY, PART ONE

_Bayville High, April 10, 2008_

Night had fallen over Bayville, and all was quiet...making it the _perfect_ time for the Principal to catch up on some paperwork.

'_Why I ever put off the budget reports until the year's nearly over, I'll __**never**__ know._' Edward Kelly mused to himself as he quickly put the next signature on the extensive budget document sprawled across his desk, before taking a sip of his coffee. After Friday classes had finished up and all the students and staff had gone home, anxious for this long weekend, he'd stayed behind, to finish this task.

And now, several hours past midnight, he was _still_ here.

Edward yawned, forcing his drooping eyelids back open, as he quickly filled in the final few spaces on the last sheet, and put in his last signature, completing the budget report. Edward smiled tiredly. '_Finally!_' he thought. '_Now, I can go home and get some sleep..._'

A rustling outside his window interrupted his thoughts. Confused, Edward glanced outside...

...in time to see a huge, hulking blue form dart past his window at alarming speeds.

Edward blinked in confusion, not sure if he'd seen what he thought he'd seen. He looked out the window, then back into his office...and then to his cup of coffee.

Edward stood up, took the cup, and walked to his trash can, before emptying the last of the coffee into the trash.

'_That's it. From now on, I'm sticking with decaf._'

As he darted around the high school grounds, Hank McCoy couldn't help but feel a tiny twinge of regret. He missed this place. He missed being able to walk in the open; he missed being able to look into the eyes of students, and see hope and inquisitiveness. Granted, he could still teach at the Institute, but he could never leave its walls.

Lately, he'd been feeling more and more restless, there; he'd felt this indescribable _urge_ to just...get out, and _roam_. It had gotten so bad, he'd _had_ to go out, tonight, if only for a little while.

As he moved effortlessly through the back-woods around the little town, part of Hank felt at peace; he belonged here – he was in his element...

Hank shook off that thought; he was a _man_, not a wild beast. He _couldn't_ lose himself out here.

By then, he was in sight of the Institute, as he effortlessly bounded over the gates, landing soundlessly on the lawn, before heading inside. As Hank walked into the main hall, he was greeted by Professor Xavier. "Out for some exercise?" Charles inquired, smiling gently.

Hank lightly smiled back. "I just...needed to get out, Charles." he said. "Lately, I've felt the urge to just...get out, to go into the wilds."

Charles nodded. "That's part of your mutation, Hank. You don't need to explain."

Hank lowered his gaze. "Charles...when I'm out there, part of me..._loves_ it; part of me _never_ wants to leave the wild places, wants to stay there forever." he said. "That scares me, Charles; I'm a _man_, not a beast..."

"No-one's ever said otherwise." Charles said, placing a friendly hand on Hank's shoulder. "We all have our own inner struggles, Hank. You simply need to reconcile with the beast within you."

Hank sighed. "That's a bit difficult to do when the beast gets antsy when he's cooped up."

Charles smiled. "Then perhaps a little vacation is in order." he said. Hank's eyes widened in curiosity, as Charles explained his idea.

_North Atlantic Ocean, several miles above the Arctic Circle_

"_Mayday, Mayday! This is Arctic Tanker Alpha-75, calling Coast Guard! We have struck an iceberg and are taking on water! Main oil tank is about to rupture! Please respond!!_"

The captain of the oil tanker looked grimly at his bridge-crew, including the officer who'd sent that distress call...for the seventh time since they'd hit the iceberg in this stormy ocean. "Coast Guard's too far out." the captain said. "No way they'll get to us in time. Sound the evacuation order."

The executive officer looked to the captain. "Sir," he said, "that main tank is holding over 250 liters of oil; if it breaches, we could be looking at one of the worst ecological disasters in _history_..."

'_Don't you think I __**know**__ that?_' the captain thought. "We're taking on too much water." the captain said. "If we don't abandon ship soon, we won't be _able_ to do _anything!_" He hated himself for thinking this, but there was nothing they could do; that tank was just too badly damaged – it was the worst part hit by that iceberg.

"Sir!!" the radar officer cried. "I...I just spotted something on radar, sir! It's over 1000 miles off our port-bow, closing fast! It'll be here in _seconds!_"

The captain froze; _no_ ship he knew of was fast enough to travel over 1000 nautical miles in a few seconds. "That...that's probably just a radar malfunction." he said. They'd been getting anomalous readings all throughout this voyage; readings indicating that there were..._things_ in the sea below them.

"Wait...it's gone, sir." the radar officer said.

"Figured." the captain said glumly. "Give the order to abandon ship."

_Nothing_ could save them, now.

As he flew towards the dying oil tanker, Superman dove into the stormy sea, out of radar range; with any luck, the crew would think he'd been a radar glitch.

He'd heard the distress call a few minutes ago, as he was finishing up his patrol. It was a good thing he'd done that extra sweep of this area, or else he might have caught it too late.

"_Kal?_" came Alison's voice through the specially designed earpiece he now wore in his right ear, to communicate directly with his sweet spotter; he was glad that he'd made it waterproof. "_The data just came up on my system. That tanker's main tank is on the starboard side; its capacity is __**well**__ over 300 liters, and it's __**full**__! If it breaches, it'll be the marine equivalent of the Chernobyl disaster!_"

"Got it, _taushi_." Superman replied through the microphone of the earpiece. He shot through the water like a torpedo, closing on the starboard side in seconds; there was a _huge_ crack in it, threatening to burst like an infected wound, with a few small black streams of crude oil trickling from it into the water. His eyes started to glow red. "I'll just quickly weld this thing shut..."

"_No!!_" Alison exclaimed. "_The main tank is __**right**__ next to the outer hull, Kal! If you use your eye-rays, the heat might melt the tank; the tank has a low melting point – even a __**tiny**__ bit of heat might cause a rupture!_"

The red glow instantly faded. "I guess I'll have to improvise." Superman said.

"_Wait, I've got an idea!_" Alison exclaimed. "_If you can use your belt-computer to manually shut off the water-pumps that are pumping out seawater, you can momentarily flood the area around the tank; the seawater should distribute the heat long enough for you to weld the crack and then switch the pumps back on!_"

"Ali, that's _brilliant!_" Superman exclaimed. His eyes flashed electric blue as he scanned the area around the tank; it was clear. He quickly took out his belt-computer, and typed in a few commands; in seconds, the pumps disengaged, and the area around the tank flooded with water.

Superman worked fast; his eye-rays lanced out, welding the crack shut almost instantly. Once it was repaired, he quickly sent the commands to restart the pumps; automatically, the pumps reactivated, and rapidly pumped out the water from the flooded area.

The tank was safe.

Superman's eyes promptly turned to the traces of oil that had escaped from the tank, which were snaking their way up to coat the surface. Quickly, Superman unleashed a precisely-aimed burst of frost breath, freezing the oil solid, along with the water around it, trapping the crude in a cage of ice. He then promptly grabbed the ice from underneath, and tossed it up onto the deck of the tanker, making sure it didn't contaminate the sea any further, before he darted around the ship's hull, using his eye-rays to weld the remaining cracks, stopping more water from seeping into the vessel, letting the pumps get rid of the water that had already flooded parts of the ship.

"_Kal, you did it!!_" Alison cheered over their link.

Superman smiled. "_We_ did it, _taushi_." he corrected. Before he could say anything else, he saw something.

It was far off in the water, floating there. Superman's eyes narrowed as he began to focus in on it; it looked like...

...a _man_...

The roar of rescue-helicopters overhead momentarily distracted Superman. When he looked back, the aquatic apparition was gone. Certain that the Coast Guard had the situation well in hand, Superman swam off, until he was well out of sight, before rising to the surface, flying home at top speeds.

Within minutes, he had reached the Institute. Slowly descending from the clouds, Superman smiled as he saw Alison's open window. Effortlessly, he glided in through the window, sitting down on the edge of her bed, where his _taushi_ had been waiting for him. Alison smiled happily, her strawberry-blonde tresses lightly gleaming in the moonlight, her creamy skin now giving off a faint moonlit glow. She now wore a simple white t-shirt that covered her to her waist, as well as the pair of blue bikini-style panties with his crest on them.

"Hi." Alison cooed.

Superman smiled back, taking her hand in his. "Hi." he replied. "_Taushi_, you were _brilliant_, just then. You saved a lot of lives."

Alison beamed. "You mean, _we_ did." she corrected, sweetly mirroring his earlier words. Her smile grew. "I'm so glad you started letting me help you."

Superman just grinned. "You've really helped, Ali." he said. "Having a second pair of eyes monitoring things ensures that I don't miss anything." His grin widened. "And hearing your angelic voice _definitely_ keeps my spirits high."

Alison giggled, leaning in closer until their noses touched. "_Flatterer!_" she teased, causing Superman to chuckle, before lovingly kissing her.

After their kiss ended, Superman asked, "So, how was your day, today?"

Alison sighed. "Stressful." she moaned piteously. "Right after school, Aunt Bridget called to tell me that my next CD recording was moved up to _today_. After _that_, I found out that sometime after school lets out, I have a _huge_ concert coming up – the _biggest_ one of my _career!_ This kind of concert is the 'Make-Or-Break' kind of concert, Clarkie! If...if I goof it up..!"

"You _won't_." Superman assured her, gently embracing her, letting her nuzzle her head into the crook of his neck. "You'll _ace_ it, _taushi_. If you sing just _half_ as well as I _know_ you can, you'll blow everyone _away!_"

Alison beamed, her powers activating, coating her skin in sparkles. "Thanks, baby." she cooed. "What about _you?_" Her expression became wary. "Any leads on..?"

Superman sighed. "_Zip._" he said sadly. "There is absolutely no _sign_ of the Speeder _anywhere_, Ali."

Alison's expression saddened. "Oh, _tausha_, I'm so sorry..."

Superman sighed. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be." he said. He smiled. "Hey, how are you and your dad getting along?"

Alison smiled. "We're better, now." she said. "Dad's still pretty busy, but at least he's _trying_ to make time for me; we were going to go out for dinner, in early May! We're gradually mending our relationship, I guess."

Superman smiled. "I'm really glad for you, _taushi_."

Alison's smile became a bit more forced. "As much as I'd _love_ to ask you to join us...maybe you shouldn't." she said.

Superman's eyes widened. "_Why??_"

Alison sighed. "Because I'm _also_ meeting my Aunt Embeth, too." she said softly. "_God_, if Auntie Bridget is my _favorite_ relative, Embeth is my _least_ favorite! She is ten _times_ as snobby as LeRoux is on a _good_ day, and she's cold enough to make _Iceman_ look warm! Even _worse_, she's always hounding me to 'go out with _respectable_ young gentlemen'...and _her_ idea of 'respectable' is a guy like Shinobi Shaw!!" She sighed. "If you meet her, Clarkie, after five minutes, you'll _never_ want to see me, again..."

Superman chuckled, and held her close. "_Taushi_, if getting threatened by _Doom_ can't scare me away from you, I don't think a grumpy aunt is anything to worry about."

"You don't know Aunt Embeth."

"No." Superman admitted. "But I know _you_. _Nothing_ on this planet will _ever_ make me give you up, Ali."

Alison beamed, smiling happily. "Oh, _God_, Clark Kent, I love you so _much_."

Superman smiled back. "And _I_ love _you_, Alison Blaire." he replied, before he lovingly kissed her, smiling as Alison sighed, happily reciprocating.

After a few perfect minutes, Superman ended the kiss, smiling as he saw Alison's eyes drooping. "Ali, you should have gone to bed..."

"I wanted to wait up for you." Alison said sleepily.

Superman lightly frowned. "Ali, you _need_ to sleep, to let your body and mind recharge."

Alison pouted prettily. "_How_ can I _possibly_ sleep without at least a _few_ minutes of cuddling?" she teased, her eyelids nearly closed, her movements slow, as she was falling asleep, right there.

Superman couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'd better make sure my _taushi_ gets a good night's sleep." he said, as he tenderly hugged her, before he pulled back the covers, and placed her in the bed, before tucking her in.

She was asleep the very second the blankets fell over her.

Superman smiled at his beloved. "Sweet dreams, Ali." he whispered, before leaving her room, heading towards his own room, to turn in, himself.

_North Pole, April 11, 2008_

As the sun slowly rose over the endless white of the polar snow, a single polar bear padded towards a hole in the ice, before diving into the frigid water, searching for food...but found none. The polar bear simply swam back to the hole, and climbed out of the water, shaking itself dry, before lumbering off, to try again, later...

Suddenly, a splash cut the air, causing the bear to turn around...and spy a fairly tall humanoid creature, with light blue skin, and long, white dread-locks, clad in scuba-type battle armor, with a water-filled re-breather fixed across his face, holding a trident, a pair of high-tech binoculars fixed to his belt, as well as a communicator.

The bear simply gazed at the creature, who stared back...before walking off. Alone again, the polar bear simply dove back into the water, to see if the creature's passing had scared up any food.

The sea-dweller headed even further north, hardly repelled by the cold...or by the slowly falling snow, which seemed to fall heavier and heavier as he continued on.

By the time the sea-dweller neared his destination, he was in the middle of a full-scale _blizzard_. Kneeling behind a snowdrift, he took out his binoculars, and looked ahead, to his destination.

It was a massive, seemingly crystalline structure, consisting of crystals jutting up from the ice at 45-degree angles, interweaving in seemingly impossible ways. The sea-dweller's eyes narrowed...as he switched on his communicator. "_This is Deep-Sea One calling Fleet Command._" he said, his voice muffled through the re-breather. "_I am in line-of-sight contact with the structure._"

"_Report, Captain._"

The Captain of the elite Atlantean Deep-Sea reconnaissance unit widened his eyes in sheer surprise at the regally commanding voice who answered him. "_M-My King!!_" he exclaimed. "_I am...I am honored!_"

"_Captain. Your report?_"

"_Y-Yes, my liege._" the Captain replied. "_As I said, I am in direct visual contact with the unknown structure. It is as previous scouts described, Highness; a crystalline abomination in our territory, __**mocking**__ us._"

"_As I thought._" came the King of Atlantis' reply. "_The surface-dwellers' arrogance knows no bounds._"

The Captain paused. "_Highness...may I speak freely?_"

"_You may._"

The Captain took a deep breath. "_Sire...truthfully, I am not entirely convinced that it __**is**__ the surface-dwellers who constructed it. Whatever this structure is, or whatever its purpose, its construction does not seem to be something that the surface-dwellers – or even __**we**__, for that matter – are capable of._"

The King paused for a moment. "_Go on._"

"_When I initially approached the structure, Sire, the weather was calm, but as I drew nearer, the weather __**worsened**__ to the point of a blizzard._" the Captain said. "_It is entirely probable that this structure has caused the change as a defensive mechanism. That __**alone**__, my liege, indicates a level of technological sophistication that we have not yet even begun to __**approach**__! Based on this assumption, Sire, I would strongly advise against sending in a conventional demolition team!_"

"_I see._" came the reply. "_And I agree. Return to Fleet Command for debriefing, Captain. I will deal with this matter decisively._"

The Captain was confused. "_My liege?_"

"_I submitted the treaty declaring the North Pole as Atlantis' territory to the United Nations, and they signed it knowing full well that any outpost upon it would be forcibly removed._" the King said. "_Though we are well within our rights to destroy that...monstrosity, I will at least __**attempt**__ to see if the surface-dwellers can offer an explanation. Perhaps that fool Richards knows something of this; if not...the Fleet is on stand-by._"

The Captain nodded. "_Of course, Sire. I will return for debriefing. Deep-Sea One out._" With that, the Captain deactivated the communicator, before heading back the way he came, diving back into the frigid water, to head for home.

_Xavier Institute_

'_Will the New Mutants please report to my office?_'

At the mental summons of their mentor, all the New Mutants dropped their Saturday-morning activities, and headed to the Professor's office. "So, what do you think Professor X wants?" Bobby asked aloud.

Ray chuckled. "Probably to punish us for that prank we tried to pull on Clark, a few days ago!" he snickered.

Rahne shook her head. "When are ye lads gonna learn? Ye canna pull the wool o'er Clark's eyes when 'is eyes can see through _walls!_"

Amara giggled. "You'd think they'd have learned their lesson, by now!"

Jamie gulped. "But...you don't think Mr. Logan's gonna be there, do you?"

Everyone gulped; Bobby, Ray, and Roberto had planned to drop a shaving-cream balloon on the Man of Steel...but Clark had seen it coming, and snuck up on them just before they planned to release it...causing them to drop it on _Logan_, instead.

"Ah wonder whah he hasn't done anything, yet." Sam thought aloud.

Jamie looked horrified. "Probably because it's taken him this long to think of something _really_ horrible!"

Tabitha shuddered. "Thanks a _lot,_ guys!" she muttered, glaring at Bobby, Ray, and Roberto. "Now we're _all_ screwed, 'cause when Logan gets mad at _one_ of us, we takes it out on _all_ of us!"

"Clark won't let him do anything _too_ bad!" Jubilee exclaimed...and then her tone turned worried. "Right?"

By then, they had all reached the Professor's office...where Logan was waiting for them, just outside the door. As they spotted him, Roberto grinned sheepishly. "Uh...h-hey, teach! W-What's up?"

Logan merely scowled, and pointed to the door. The New Mutants all gulped, and went into their mentor's office...to meet whatever horrible fate their teacher had arranged for them.

The Professor was sitting at his desk, with Mr. McCoy standing to one side, and Clark was standing to the other side of the desk. The Professor smiled at them. "I assure you all, the reason I called you all here is not for anything _horrible_." he said.

The New Mutants all let out a relieved sigh.

"The reason I called you here was to let you know that you will be going on a little hike with Mr. McCoy, this weekend." their mentor continued. "Hank decided that he needed a little outing, and I thought it would be a good idea for you all to accompany him."

A collectively disappointed chorus of "Awww..." filled the room.

"Hey, it won't be _that_ bad!" Clark said. "The X-Men went on an outing like this, last year, and _we_ enjoyed it!"

Hank nodded. "And while we're on this outing, I'll be able to give you all a few lessons on the local flora and fauna."

"Terrific." Ray said under his breath. "We're gonna get bug-bites _and_ get bored out of our minds."

Clark half-frowned. "I _heard_ that, Ray."

Ray scowled as Tabitha chuckled. "Forgot he had super-hearing, didn't you?"

"Now, of course, Clark and several of the other X-Men will accompany you on this excursion." the Professor added.

"This _sucks!_" Roberto muttered. "There's no _way_ we're giving up our long weekend!"

"Well, Firecracker, you got a _choice_." came Logan's voice from outside, as their gruff instructor walked in. "You either go on a nice hike with Hank, Flyboy, Half-Pint, Shakey, and Diva..._or_ you can stay here and run a day's worth of Danger Room drills with _me_."

"We'll take the hike." Bobby said quickly, and the New Mutants all nodded in agreement.

Logan chuckled. "There ya go."

Clark smiled. "Democracy in action!" he joked.

Noting their expressions, the Professor finished, "I believe that this hike will take you by a few swimming holes, so pack accordingly!"

That lightened the New Mutants' mood somewhat. "So...Kitty, Lance, and Ali are coming, too?" Jubilee inquired. "Cool!"

The Professor smiled. "You all leave in a few hours." he said. "You'd best go get ready." The New Mutants all nodded, and headed out of the Professor's office.

"Oh, this is gonna be _sweet!_" Ray exclaimed, as soon as they were out of earshot. "We're gonna get to see _Alison Blaire_ in a _swimsuit!_ There _is_ a God!"

"_I heard __**that**__, too!_"

Clark's voice echoing down the hall was like a glass of cold water right in Ray's face, causing him to stop right in his tracks. Jubilee laughed. "Serves you right!"

Amara shook her head. "_Boys_." With that, they simply headed to their respective rooms, to prepare for their little excursion.

After speaking with the New Mutants, Clark had quickly headed to his room, changing out of his street clothes into hiking gear: a dark, olive-green t-shirt, brown shorts, and black hiking boots. He'd then promptly loaded up his backpack, and headed down to the vehicle hangar.

A few minutes later, Hank came in, clad in a black t-shirt, brown shorts, and a broad-rimmed hat, with a backpack strapped on his back, and a walking-stick in his hand. Hank smiled, and walked over. "I trust the Professor told you about the reason behind this little outing."

Clark nodded. "You just needed to get out for a bit; there's nothing wrong with that." he replied. "Sometimes, I just..._need_ to go flying, just for the sake of flying."

Hank's smile grew. "It must be nice, being able to see the world from up there."

Clark grinned. "There's nothing quite like it."

Just then, Alison walked in, clad in a light blue tank top and brown khaki shorts, with brown hiking boots, her backpack on her shoulders, her hair tied in a ponytail. As she saw him, she smiled, and walked over. "Hey." she greeted.

Clark automatically smiled back. "Hey." he replied. "All set?"

Alison nodded. "Compared to dealing with talent agents and CD recordings, this will be a _vacation!_" she laughed.

A few minutes later, Kitty, Lance, and the New Mutants, all in hiking gear, walked into the hangar, followed by Logan, who would be flying them out. "So, Mr. McCoy," Kitty inquired, as she walked over to them, "where are we headed?"

"I thought a trip to the Redwood Forest National Park would be a good idea." Hank replied. "It's only a few hours from here if we take the Blackbird."

"Sounds good to me." Lance said, and the New Mutants all nodded in agreement. With that, they all got on board the Blackbird. Clark strapped himself into the seat next to Alison, before smiling at his girlfriend, who smiled back, before slipping her hand into his...

"Hey, Clark!"

Clark couldn't help but smile as Jamie sat down in the other seat next to him, smiling up at him. "Anything new in the superhero business?" Jamie inquired.

Clark chuckled. "Oh, not much, really." he replied. "There was just an oil tanker in distress, last night; it wasn't too much trouble..." he glanced to Alison, and smiled, "...with a little help, of course."

Alison lightly blushed.

Clark then paused, looking thoughtful. "I _did_ see something strange, last night, though." he thought aloud. "It was underwater; it looked like there was a _man_ in the water, watching me. Whatever it was, it disappeared before I could get a closer look."

Alison looked worried. "Do you think that Doom is behind it?"

"I don't know, Ali." Clark replied. "If so, I suppose we'll find out, soon enough."

Jamie frowned. "Clark, why don't you just fly to Latvery...Lutver...wherever it is that Doom lives and kick the _crud_ out of him?" he exclaimed. "He's probably the baddest bad guy in the _world!_"

Clark chuckled. "No argument in _that_ regard, Jamie." he said. "But if I _did_ do that, what kind of person would _I_ be? I have to play by the same rules as _everyone_ else does, Jamie." He sighed. "And, _unfortunately_, those rules say that Doom, _officially_, is untouchable."

Jamie looked confused. "But why?"

Alison frowned. "Two words, Jamie: _diplomatic immunity_." she said. "It means that, since Doom is the ruler of Latveria, all other laws except Latverian laws don't apply to him." She sighed. "And since he's the ruler, he _makes_ Latverian law."

Behind them, Bobby overheard. "I don't know, Ali," he interjected, "after some of the stuff Doom's pulled, if Clark _did_ stick it to him, I don't think there's a _single_ court in the _world_ that would convict him!"

Clark chuckled. "Regardless," he replied, "if I did, I'd basically be saying that I hold myself _above_ the laws of this planet." He frowned. "Just like _Doom_ does."

Jamie lowered his gaze. "I...guess I didn't think of that."

Clark smiled. "But there's an old saying, Jamie: '_what goes around, comes around._' Sooner or later, all of Doom's evil will catch up to him."

Jamie smiled. "Right!" he agreed.

By then, everyone had buckled in, and they were ready to go. From the cockpit, Logan called, "You all set?" They all nodded, and Logan powered up the engines. Slowly, the Blackbird accelerated down the underground airstrip, and soared into the sky, heading for the Park.

Within a few hours, they had arrived at the impressive Redwood Forest Park. The Blackbird touched down in a secluded clearing in the forest, far from prying eyes. As Clark and the others promptly disembarked, Logan called out, "I'll meet you back here, early Monday morning, so don't be late!"

Hank chuckled. "We won't." he replied. With that, the hatch shut, as the Blackbird took off. After quickly getting organized, the group headed into the woods.

Clark had to admit, the forest was certainly peaceful; all around them, the massively tall trees loomed overhead, giving an almost ethereal stillness to the forest. They were traveling well off the beaten path, to keep out of sight of other campers and Park visitors. Although Professor Xavier had purchased a Park-permit, and informed the Park that they would be visiting, they had not been able to check in, due to Hank's 'condition.'

After a few hours of hiking, with Hank stopping them occasionally along the way, to point out noteworthy plants that could be used for food or had medicinal value, they came to a clearing, with a small pond being fed by a waterfall. Hank looked up to the slowly reddening sky. "Well, this certainly looks like a good place to make camp." he remarked. "Why don't we set up here?"

"Sounds good to me!" Clark agreed, and the others all nodded. With that, they set their backpacks down, and started to set up camp.

Within the hour, they had set up their tents and constructed a small fire-pit for campfires. They had brought mostly small tents, with two to each tent. By the time everything was set up, it was just about sunset. Using a low-powered eye-ray, Clark easily started a nice campfire, allowing them to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. After the sun had fallen behind the horizon, and the dark of night had cloaked the park, they all took turns telling ghost stories around the waning campfire.

After a few hours had passed, Hank said, "We all should turn in, now. Tomorrow, we can go on another walk; I think I spotted a grove of rare wild-flowers on the way here." With that, they all headed to their tents, to turn in.

All except Clark.

Clark simply flew to the large rock overlooking the pond, and sat down on its tip, looking up at the stars. This was another reason he'd wanted to come; out here, the stars were _much_ easier to see.

'_There's the Crown of Creation,_' Clark mentally remarked, as he found the constellations of Krypton, one-by-one. Then, he lightly sighed, as he spotted a large cluster of stars, one that he was most familiar with.

_Xerius._

Clark always felt a bit depressed when he spotted the galaxy of his birth in the night sky. '_It'll likely be millions of years before people on Earth see the explosion that was Krypton._' he noted to himself. Judging from the few calculations he'd once done, Krypton's explosion had likely obliterated half of the Xerius Galaxy...

"Clarkie?"

Turning, Clark smiled as he saw Alison walk up to him, sitting down beside him, clad in her oversized t-shirt and blue panties, her hair flowing freely down her back, pooling around her shoulders. "Hey." Clark greeted. "Why are you still up?"

Alison smiled. "I could ask _you_ that."

Clark chuckled. "I just...wanted to see the stars."

Alison nodded, and looked up into the night sky. "What's that?" she asked, pointing towards the Xerius Galaxy.

Clark sighed. "Xerius."

Alison paused. "Oh."

Clark nodded. "It'll take millions of years for the light from the Xerius Galaxy's star to reach here...meaning that, eons from now, astronomers will spot a bright flash from Xerius...and then notice a few dark spots in the sky where Krypton used to be."

Alison smiled lightly. "So...did Krypton have its own constellations?"

Clark automatically smiled; that was _exactly_ what he'd needed to lighten his mood. '_How does she do it?_' he thought. He looped a loving arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder, and used his free arm to point to the stars. "There's the Crown of Creation," he said, gesturing to the large semi-halo of stars in the skies, "which Kryptonian mythology states was formed by the Creator after He breathed life into the universe; He left it in the sky, to remind all that He created that He would always watch over them."

Looking through the stars, Clark spotted another constellation. "And that one is the Blade of Von-El." he added. "Von-El was my ancient ancestor, and the founder of the House of El. He, along with eleven others, ended the Great War on Krypton, laying the foundations of modern Kryptonian society. These twelve were known as the Twelve Wise Ones, because they had great wisdom, and could understand the minds and hearts of their fellow Kryptonians, enabling them to negotiate peace. Legend says that, at the end of negotiations, Von-El threw his blade into the sky, and told his fellows to do the same. That day marked the end of all warfare between the people of Krypton, and the Creator is said to have left a memoriam to Von-El and the rest of the Twelve for all time, by creating that constellation, to remind all of Krypton how peace was won." He chuckled. "It wasn't known at the time, but the Twelve were actually telempaths, capable of both telepathy _and_ empathy, making them wise negotiators."

Alison smiled. "They were mutants?"

Clark nodded. "The Twelve had what we called the 'W-Gene,' since its gift imparted _wisdom_ to its holders." he explained. "The Twelve went on to form Krypton's ruling body, the Council of Twelve, which ensured that all of Krypton had peace and prosperity for all time."

Over the next hour, Clark pointed out all the Kryptonian constellations he could find to Alison, until it was nearly midnight. As Clark pointed out the last constellation, Alison yawned, and Clark automatically noticed. "_Taushi_, you should go to bed." he said.

"No, really, I'm okay." Alison said quickly. She looked to Clark. "So...are you okay?"

Clark smiled, and nodded. "I guess I was just a bit bummed about not finding the Speeder." he admitted. "I just thought I might be able to _really_ catch a glimpse into my people's past." He shrugged. "I'll be fine, Ali. Don't worry."

Alison smiled, and yawned again. "Well, I think I _will_ go to bed." she said, getting up. As she walked down to the campsite, she looked over her shoulder, smiling. "And you should come _with_ me."

Clark froze, his brain racing to process that sentence, unsure of _exactly_ what he'd heard. "W-_What??_" he stammered, feeling his face go as red as his uniform's cape.

Alison froze, her face going _just_ as rosy. "Oh, _no_, I didn't mean like _that!_" she cried. She smiled sheepishly. "I just meant...for _you_ to go to sleep, too!"

Clark smiled, fighting down the fierce redness that had colored his face. "I will." he promised. "Goodnight, _taushi_."

Alison smiled back, her eyes sparkling for him. "Goodnight, _tausha_." she cooed, before she headed to the campsite, and darted into her own tent.

Smiling to himself, Clark took one last look at the stars, before heading down to the campsite, walking to the tent he was sharing with Hank. Carefully, he lifted the tent flap...only to find that Hank's sleeping bag was empty. '_He must be out for some night air._' Clark thought. After taking off his shorts and t-shirt, clad only in his boxers, now, Clark got into his sleeping bag, and went to sleep.

Shortly after all the students – save for Clark – had turned in, Hank left the campsite, now clad in only his blue shorts. The students would be safe with Clark.

He _needed_ to get out, if only for a while.

Now among the foliage of the wilds, Hank allowed the Beast-side of his personality to come out a bit. He darted into the underbrush, moving like lightning through the shrubbery, guided by his beast-senses. Hearing the voices of a nearby campsite, he instantly stopped, crouching low in the foliage, to take a look.

The site was inhabited by a bunch of three armed men: hunters. "So, you think the Doc's gonna find anything?" one hunter asked.

"Beats me." a second replied. "But even if he _does_, he's _nuts_ about just tryin' to study it."

"Yeah!" a third added. "_I_ say if the Doc _does_ find this 'Bigfoot,' we oughtta lock it in a cage an' sell it to a _zoo!_"

Hank frowned to himself; he didn't want to be mistaken for a 'Bigfoot,' as long as _these_ types were around. He turned to go...

_Snap!_

Hank's eyes widened in horror as he felt the twig snap under his foot. The hunters instantly took notice. "What the hell..?!" one yelled.

Quickly, Hank darted off, trying to get as far away as he could...but it was too late.

"There's something in the brush!!" another hunter yelled. "It's the Bigfoot!! _After_ it!!" With that, the three hunters ran after Hank.

Hank darted this way and that through the forest, keeping well ahead of the hunters, but he was unable to lose them. Finally, he got an idea. He quickly made a sharp turn to the left, causing the hunters to lose sight of him, and ran for a pair of tall redwood trees. He leapt towards the massive trunk of one tree, and then leapt off the trunk towards the other. He did this several times until he grasped a tree branch, and climbed up to a well-leaved branch, hiding in the foliage.

The ploy worked perfectly; the hunters ran to the base of the trees, looking around. "I don't see him." one hunter muttered.

"Must've lost him." the second said. "Well, it don't matter. The rest of the crew will get here, tomorrow; with all of us here, we'll track it down."

"Okay, then." the third added. "Let's get back to camp, and get some shut-eye." With that, the three hunters walked off, heading for their campsite.

Once the coast was clear, Hank dropped down from his perch, landing silently, frowning to himself. '_It looks like I'll have to be more careful._' he thought to himself. It was probably for the best if he headed back to camp...

...but his Beast-self wasn't finished.

'_A few more hours couldn't hurt._' Hank thought, before he darted back into the brush, moving swifter than the wind.

He was in his element.

After waking up the next morning, Kitty had promptly put on her yellow t-shirt and blue overall-shorts, and gotten out of her tent. Looking around, she saw that, except for Clark and Mr. McCoy, who were preparing breakfast, she was the only one up. "Good morning." she greeted, as she walked over to the kitchen-tent they had set up.

Clark smiled. "Morning, Kit." he replied. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah." Kitty answered. "You guys?"

Hank chuckled. "Truthfully, I didn't get much sleep, last night." he admitted. "I was out in the wilds until the early morning."

Kitty smiled. "Hey, that's part of why we all came out here."

Hank sighed. "When I was out there...I _enjoyed_ it." he whispered. "The part of me that is a beast _loved_ being out there, in the wilds, and the rest of me...the rest of me enjoyed it, too." He lowered his gaze. "And _that's_ what frightens me." he whispered. "I'm a _man_, not a beast..."

Clark smiled. "Why not be _both?_" he inquired. As Hank looked up, Clark continued, "For the longest time, I always thought of myself as a human, before I learned of where I came from. From then on, I thought of myself as an alien. But after I spent time in the Fortress..._and_ after living in the Institute, I realized that I was _both_; I am Clark Kent _just_ as much as I am Kal-El." He smiled. "And it can work the same way for _you_, Hank."

Kitty nodded. "Maybe it's time for you to become who you were _meant_ to be." she added.

"Morning." Lance greeted, as he walked over, rubbing his eyes. As he spotted Kitty, he smiled. "Hey, Pretty Kitty." he said, giving her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

Kitty smiled. "Hey, Lance." she cooed, happily accepting her boyfriend's embrace.

Lance smiled. "I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"

Clark chuckled, shaking his head. "Just talking shop, that's all."

Before too long, the others had all woken up. By that time, breakfast was ready, and the entire group enjoyed a nice breakfast. After finishing breakfast and putting away their cutlery, Hank suggested that they postpone their nature-walk until the afternoon, giving them all the opportunity to go for a swim.

The New Mutants all cheered at that.

Quickly, they headed to their respective tents to change, taking turns changing in their tents. Alison stood outside her tent, waiting for Tabitha to finish. Before too long, Tabitha stepped out, clad in a one-piece light rose swimsuit, with a diamond-shaped hole exposing her naval. Tabitha smiled. "All yours, girl!"

Alison smiled back. "Thanks." she replied, before she ducked inside to change. After a few minutes, Alison stepped back out; she now wore a two-piece swimsuit, consisting of a silvery, bikini-style bottom, and a silver-blue, tank-top-style upper-piece, completely covering her chest all the way up to her neck, with a zipper in the front, zipped all the way up to her swimsuit top's collar.

As Alison stepped into view, someone let out a whistle...a whistle that sounded distinctly like Ray's. Alison rolled her eyes. Tabitha chuckled, and gave her the thumbs-up of approval. "_Jeez_, girl, you're gonna knock Clark's super-peepers out of their _sockets!_"

Alison chuckled, suppressing a light blush at the thought. "Thanks." she replied.

Tabitha grinned slyly. "Although," she added, "I might be hesitant to wear something like that if _I_ had a boyfriend with X-Ray vision..."

"_TABITHA!!_" Alison cried, her face going rosy. "Clark wouldn't do that!!"

"Why?" Tabitha chuckled. "He _is_ a guy, after all, Ali!"

Alison shook her head. "Clark would respect my privacy." she said firmly. "He wouldn't do something like that." '_Unless I __**wanted**__ him to._' a naughty little voice in her head added. Alison quickly shook her head, silencing her libido.

Tabitha just smiled, as if she'd sensed her unspoken thought. "So, where _is_ the Man of Steel?" Tabitha inquired, changing the subject, as she glanced to the pond. "I don't see him."

"I think he's in the waterfall, cooling off." Alison said, as she recalled what her sweetie had said he was doing before they had gone to change.

Tabitha chuckled. "Waiting in the waterfall, huh?"

Alison half-frowned. "Are you suggesting something?" she quipped.

"Nope." Tabitha chuckled. "Just remarking on how that sounds like a sweet set-up..."

Alison suppressed a laugh. "_Sure_, Tabby." she replied. "Later!" With that, she walked towards the pond. As she did, she took note of her friends in the pond; Kitty was splashing Lance playfully, seconds before Lance ducked under the surface and pulled Kitty under, only to come up seconds later with her trapped in his arms as they shared a sweet kiss. Bobby had crafted a makeshift ice-water slide, and was sliding down it, only to get splashed by a laughing Jubilee. Rahne had changed to her wolf-form and was dog-paddling to the edge of the water, climbing out and shaking herself off, spattering Roberto, before she changed back. Amara was helping Jamie build an impressive sand-castle, since Amara wasn't fussy about the water. And Sam and Ray were both doing cannonballs off the top of the waterfall.

Then, Alison spied a silhouette in the waterfall itself, and she smiled, before she walked around to the back of the waterfall, walking into the small cave formed by the rushing of falling water.

Clark was standing in the waterfall itself, letting the jet-stream wash over him, clad in his dark blue swim shorts, his eyes closed, a contented smile upon his face. Alison couldn't help but smile as she looked her boyfriend over; his eight-pack abs were perfectly defined, his pecs were _flawless_, his shoulders _equally_ perfect, and his arms and legs were perfectly muscled; all in all, Clark had the physique of a Greek _god_.

As Alison drew near, Clark's smile grew, and he opened his eyes, stepping out of the waterfall. "Hey, Ali."

"Hey." Alison replied, fighting the blush that was creeping over her face as she saw beads of water collecting across her sweetie's skin, his jet-black hair down slicked down on his skull, only serving to enhance his good looks. "What were you doing?" Alison babbled.

Clark smiled. "Listening to the water." he replied. "Each droplet makes its own sound; if you listen, Ali...it's nature's own _symphony_."

Alison smiled. "I can imagine." she replied, turning to look at the waterfall.

As she turned, Clark gazed upon his beloved _taushi_, admiring her beauty; her sapphire eyes, her strawberry-blonde tresses, her smooth, creamy skin, her perfectly slim midriff, her ample curves, and her perfectly trim-yet-sumptuous _derriere_...

'_Cut it out!!_' he thought to himself, snapping out of his love-struck fog. He _couldn't_ think of his Ali this way; she deserved _better_...

"See anything you like?"

Clark froze, as he saw Alison looking over her shoulder at him, smiling coyly, looking at him as if he'd been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Clark grinned sheepishly. "Uh...well..."

Alison smiled flirtatiously. "You were looking at me, _weren't_ you?" she teased.

Clark smiled goofily, and nodded. "Sorry."

"_Why?_" Alison laughed, her laughter echoing like a chime.

"Well...I know how upset you get when people stare at you." Clark said softly. "I just...didn't want you to..."

"I don't like getting ogled by every hormone-crazed teenage boy in a twenty-mile radius." Alison agreed. Smiling flirtatiously, she walked closer to him, standing up on her toes until their noses touched. "But being stared at by the man I _love_, and the man who loves _me_, whose thoughts are going haywire simply because I'm in a swimsuit...well, that's a _different_ story."

Clark didn't dare speak. Alison smiled, and added, "You're my _boyfriend_, Clarkie. You're _allowed_ to ogle me." Giggling, she finished, "Within _reason!_ I don't think it's appropriate to use your X-Ray vision to look at me all the time!"

"Well, I know _that_, Ali." Clark said. "I wouldn't betray your priva...wait, '_all_ the time'??" He froze. "Ali...what exactly are you saying?"

Alison giggled, and touched her nose to his. "What do you _think_ I'm saying?" she cooed.

Not for the first time, Clark was glad that his respiratory system was constructed differently from a human's...because Alison had just made him forget how to _breathe_. '_Wow._'

Alison giggled, looking just as flustered as he was. "So," she said quickly, leaning back, "how did you know it was me when I walked up?"

Clark gave her a loving smile. "Your heartbeat."

Alison's eyes widened. "My heartbeat?"

Clark nodded. "It's different from everyone else's." he explained. He gently placed his hands on her waist, lightly pulling her close. "I know _exactly_ what my _taushi's_ heart sounds like; I can hear it from _anywhere_." He smiled warmly. "It's how I know you're okay."

Alison smiled happily. "You are the sweetest man _alive_." she cooed. With that, she stood up on her toes, her eyes closing in loving trust, as Clark leaned down to her. Alison placed her hands on her lover's arms, eagerly anticipating their kiss...and froze. "Clark, you're all _tight!_" she exclaimed, feeling the tension in his muscles.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "Ali, really, I'm fine..."

Alison frowned, folding her arms. "Clark, it is _not_ good for you to have all this _tension!_" she exclaimed. She lightly smiled. "You work _way_ too hard."

Clark smiled. "Hey, in _my_ line of work, working hard is par for the course!"

Alison chuckled. "True," she agreed, "which is one of the many reasons why I love you."

"So...what should I do?" Clark asked.

Alison smiled. "Fortunately for _you_," she teased, "your girlfriend has been doing yoga for several years; I think I can help."

Clark grinned. "If you're talking about anything like my 'Christmas gift,' I'm all for it!" he joked.

"Oh, _you!_" Alison laughed. Smiling, she added, "Now, sit down." Smiling, Clark slowly sat down on the rock, and Alison sat down on top of him, straddling him, as she glided her hands over his shoulders, slowly working the tension out of them, smiling as Clark closed his eyes, letting her work her magic.

As she massaged her beloved's shoulders, Alison sighed as she felt the powerful muscles below Clark's skin; they felt _solid_, and yet fluid, like liquid _metal_, hard to the touch, yet capable of moving like lightning with _deadly_ force. ''_Man of Steel' is __**right**_' Alison thought, as she continued her ministrations. She could feel her heart rate quickening, her breathing speeding up as she touched him, loving the feel of him...and _yearning_ to feel him touch her, and to toss her inhibitions to the wind and just _pounce_ on him...

'_**Stop**__ it!!_' she thought. '_I-I shouldn't be thinking this way! Nice girls don't think these kinds of things!_'

'_**Screw that!**_' that naughty voice in her mind shot back. '_**Be a little bit bad, Alison. You owe it to yourself...and to Clark. You love him, you want him, and you KNOW he feels the same about YOU. Why don't you REALLY make this trip a memorable one?**_'

That debate went on and on in her mind...until her heart won out. Slowly, Alison leaned into Clark's flawless chest, and placed a loving kiss between his pecs, over his heart. And another. And another.

Clark instantly took notice, and enfolded Alison in his mighty arms, to Alison's delight, as he tenderly lifted her face to meet his gaze, where he snared her lips in a passionate kiss. After a few blissful minutes, Clark ended the kiss. "My God, Alison," he whispered, "how on _Earth_ have I controlled myself around you for this long?"

Alison giggled. "I guess the time is just right." she cooed, as her heart and mind finally came to an agreement. "In most relationships, things _start_ with physical attraction, and then turn to a very close friendship, and then blossom into true love." Smiling, she continued, "But with _us_, we _started_ as friends, and _then_ fell in love, and only _now_ we're really starting to get physical." She looked into his eyes. "I love you, Clark Kent, and I want no other man but _you_."

Clark almost died, then and there, but he managed to smile back at his _taushi_. "And I love _you_, Alison Blaire." he replied. And he meant _every_ word of that declaration. He didn't know how he could have loved any other woman but this sweet creature in his arms, right now. The only way he could _possibly_ have loved another was if he'd been born in another universe.

But it would had to have been a universe without Alison.

Slowly, lovingly, Clark pulled his beloved into another kiss, smiling to himself as she softly moaned in bliss, holding her close, savoring the feel of her against him. After a few more perfect minutes, Clark released Alison from the kiss, and tenderly leaned down to her, kissing the side of her throat, savoring her blissful gasps, as he lovingly cupped her breasts, gliding his hands over her curves, caressing her nipples through the fabric of her swimsuit.

"Oh, _God_, Clark," Alison whispered, "don't stop..._please_..."

"I won't." Clark whispered to his beloved. After another few blissful minutes, Clark stopped his loving caresses, to gaze into Alison's crystal eyes. They only needed that brief meeting of gazes to convey how they felt about each other. Alison closed her eyes in perfect trust, as Clark lightly grasped her zipper, and slowly began to unzip her top, every inch revealing more and more of her ample curves, moving flawlessly with her quickened breath. In seconds, pure bliss would be theirs...

When Clark had the zipper one-quarter of the way undone, revealing the swell of his beloved's curves, he froze; it was something that Alison knew all too well. Not knowing whether to scream in frustration or to laugh at how hilarious the timing was, Alison buried her head in Clark's chest, letting out a noise that sounded like a combination of the two. Clark's statement indicated that he partially shared her sentiment; "Dang it, of _all_ the lousy, rotten timing..." he muttered. He looked apologetic. "Oh, God, _taushi_, I am _so_ sorry..."

"I know." Alison sighed, slowly returning to sanity.

Clark smiled. "Rain check?"

Alison smiled coyly. "You'd _better_ believe it, buster!" she teased. "Now, get going! I'll get to my communicator and get the 411, right now!"

Clark smiled. "You're the _best_, Ali!" he exclaimed. He quickly gave her one more loving kiss, before helping her to her feet, and darting off. Seconds later, a sonic boom shook the air as he flew off. Chuckling to herself, Alison quickly zipped her top back up, and walked out of the cave, to get her communicator, to help her _tausha_.

It hadn't taken Superman too long to deal with this latest emergency. A cargo ship had developed engine trouble off the coast of Portugal, and he'd had to guide it into port. With Alison providing the layout of the nearest port, he'd easily towed the vessel into port from underneath its hull, easily avoiding the underwater hazards in _half_ the time it would have taken him alone.

And now, he was just flying back to camp, his mission accomplished...

Suddenly, his belt-computer started to beep. Superman stopped in mid-flight, and took it out, opening it; he was getting an alert from the Fortress' computer. Apparently, the Fortress' scanners were reading significant activity in the Fortress' immediate area.

Superman arched an eyebrow in confusion; recently, the Fortress had been getting sporadic sensor contacts in its vicinity, but nothing like this. Before, it had only detected one or two individuals.

_Now_ it was detecting what looked like an entire _fleet_ approaching it.

"Fortress," Superman instructed, "deploy sensor-drones; analyze incoming vessels. Cross-reference with known Latverian aircraft and armaments." The only adversary he knew of with access to such military force was _Doom_. He'd hoped that the Fortress' current defenses were sufficient to shield the Fortress _completely_ from Doom's sensors...

In seconds, the Fortress had sent out two small sensor-drones, completely shielded from enemy sensors. Seconds later, the drones returned to the Fortress. "_Analysis complete._" came the computerized reply. "_Vessels do not match any known Latverian configuration._"

Instantly, the screen brought up an image of one of the ships; it was quite large, slightly smaller than an aircraft carrier, but it was sleek, graceful-looking, and made of blue-green metal, and it did not bear Doom's crest. "_All vessels are Class-D shooter vessels._" the Fortress continued. "_Armaments include moderate-yield concussive shells and low-yield beam cannons. Shields are not detected; hull composed of high-density alloy of previously unknown type. Tactical analysis indicates 100 percent vulnerability to Polaron Disruptor fire and conventional beam weaponry; higher-yield armaments would constitute excessive force. Overall threat assessment: none. It should be noted that vessel design suggests amphibious capabilities._"

'_So they came from the sea._' Superman reasoned. '_Well, hopefully I can talk with them without this turning into a firefight._' "Fortress, raise defense shield and put the defense network on standby." Superman instructed. Hopefully, he could reach these people before they got to the Fortress at all...

Suddenly, his computer started to beep, indicating that someone was trying to contact him. He promptly put the call through. "Hello?"

"_Superman? It's Reed. Sorry to bother you; the Professor put me through to this line._"

Superman smiled. "No problem, Reed. What can I do for you?"

"_We were just wondering if you could drop by the Baxter Building, just now._" Reed answered. "_We have something of an...international incident._"

Superman's eyes widened in surprise. "Is everything okay?"

"_For the moment._" Reed replied.

"What's going on?"

"_This is something that you'll need to see to believe._" Reed said. "_Please, just come as soon as you can._"

"Of course." Superman replied. "I'll be there soon. Superman out." With that, he switched off his communicator, clipping it back to his belt.

The Fortress could handle itself, for now; with the shield up, those ships were no threat. If the Fantastic Four needed his help, he couldn't keep them waiting. Quickly, Superman changed course, heading for New York.

Superman reached New York in minutes, flying above the clouds, out of sight, until he was directly over the high-tech Baxter Building. He rapidly descended, touching down silently on the landing pad atop the Baxter Building, marked by the stylized '4'. The second he did, the landing pad automatically descended, stopping inside the Building's vehicle hangar. As Superman stepped off, the landing pad promptly ascended back to the top of the Building.

"Hey."

Turning, Superman saw an African-American woman, in her mid-twenties, with a slim frame, and mid-length, brown hair in elegant braids, clad in blue jeans and a light orange tank-top, walk towards him. Her glassy eyes told the tale as easily as her white walking stick did.

She was blind.

The young woman smiled. "Alicia Masters." she said. "The Four said you'd be dropping by soon, Superman."

Superman smiled back. "Nice to meet you." he replied. "So, what's the situation?"

Alicia chuckled. "Well, it's nothing world-shattering..._yet_." she answered. "So far, Reed's managed to keep His Highness from going ballistic like he _normally_ does."

Superman arched an eyebrow. "Who??"

"You'll see." Alicia said. "Follow me." With that, she walked off, tapping her cane ahead of her, and Superman followed.

After a few minutes, Alicia led Superman to a conference room. "Brace yourself." she warned with a chuckled, before walking off. Superman opened the door, and walked in.

Inside the conference room were five people: the Fantastic Four, and one that Superman didn't recognize. The newcomer was quite tall, though a tiny bit shorter than he was, and well-built, with flashing green eyes, light skin and short black hair, with slightly pointed ears, clad in a sleeveless black vest and black pants, a gold belt around his waist adorned with a golden conch shell, and golden armlets around his wrists, with an imperious expression upon his face.

As Superman walked in, the newcomer whirled towards him, automatically glaring. "Who are _you?_" he snapped.

Superman refused to take offence. "A friend." he replied simply.

Reed smiled wearily. "Hello, Superman. We're glad you could come."

The newcomer turned back to Reed, scowling. "If you think I will be intimidated by _another_ surface-dweller, Richards, you are _sorely_ mistaken." he snapped. "I have lost track of the number of times I have warned your people of the consequences of breaking this treaty..."

"We remember those times well, Namor." Reed replied, remaining calm. "But _we_ didn't break the treaty."

"Superman," Sue interjected, "allow us to introduce Namor, the King of Atlantis."

Superman blinked. "_Atlantis??_" he repeated. He looked to Namor. "As in, the mythical island that sank below the waves? _That_ Atlantis??"

Namor nodded condescendingly. "We are no more myth than _you_ are, 'Superman,' or whatever you call yourself." he said.

Superman stayed cool. "Well, Your Highness, what seems to be the problem?"

Namor's eyes narrowed. "The _problem_, surface-dweller, is that there is a crystalline monstrosity on Atlantean territory!"

Superman had a sneaking suspicion about what Namor was talking about. "Where exactly is it?"

"It's on the North Pole." Reed explained. "Much of the North Pole is now considered Atlantean territory."

"Yeah, so when Namor here spots some crystal thing on his turf, by pure reflex, he blames _us!_" Johnny quipped. "And then he drags his two cousins here with him just so he can bitch about it!"

"_Can_ it, Matchstick." Ben warned. "This ain't the time."

Namor momentarily glared at Johnny, before looking back to Reed. "Though the flame-whelp's tone is insolent, his words speak the truth, Richards." he said. "_If_ your people did not construct that..._abomination_, who _did?_"

"That's what we hope to find out, Namor." Reed answered. To Superman, he added, "This is why I asked you here, Superman. We need you to fly to the North Pole and investigate this crystalline construct. We'd go ourselves, but we need to stay here, to smooth things over with Namor."

Namor smirked. "What Richards _means_," he chuckled, "is that he doesn't trust me with his wife in his absence." Sue _glared_ at Namor at that remark.

'_Hoo, boy._' Superman thought. '_So that's __**Namor's**__ fleet at the Pole. This isn't going to end well._' Out loud, he said, "I think I can spare _all_ of you the trouble." To Namor, he added, "Your Highness, the structure you're talking about is _huge_, consisting of crystals jutting up from the polar ice at 45-degree angles, all interweaving in a complex pattern."

Namor's eyes momentarily widened, as he arched an eyebrow quizzically. "You've seen it?"

Superman sighed. "Actually, Your Highness," he replied, "I _built_ it."

The entire room was silent for a good few minutes at that.

Reed was the first on to speak. "You..._built_ it?" he murmured. "Then that's..?"

Superman nodded. "The Fortress of Solitude." he replied. "I assembled it from the nano-crystal bequeathed to me by my father, five years ago."

Namor's eyes narrowed in sheer _fury_. "_YOU'RE responsible?!_" he roared. "_You DARE to trespass on Atlantean territory?!!_"

Superman kept his cool. "With all due respect, King Namor," he said, "in my defense, I didn't know the Pole _was_ your territory."

"At the time, it _wasn't_." Sue said. "What you're forgetting, Namor, is that the treaty giving the Pole to Atlantis is only _recent_. Five years ago, Atlantis didn't care at _all_ about the Pole."

At that, Namor calmed somewhat. "With all the polluting that you surface-dwellers seem to do, we had to take measures to safeguard the last great repository of fresh water." he said. He looked to Superman. "In light of this, I am willing to overlook your trespassing..."

His eyes narrowed. "..._provided_ that you remove that crystal monstrosity _immediately!_" he snapped.

Superman wasn't intimidated. "Your Highness, exactly what _is_ the problem you're having with the Fortress being there?" he asked. "Is the Fortress polluting your waters?" He was _sure_ that the Fortress didn't produce _any_ waste-emissions; the technology was entirely clean.

Namor scowled. "At the moment," he admitted, "no." His scowl grew. "But, knowing you surface-dwellers, it's only a matter of _time!_"

"Well, then, is the Fortress occupying a territory on the Pole that your people had intended to use?"

"Don't be absurd!" Namor sneered. "None of my people can breathe on the surface, unless equipped with re-breathers; only myself and my family can survive up here for any extended periods of time! Personally, I can't _stand_ the surface; I'm certainly not going to force my people up here unless absolutely _necessary!_"

Superman frowned, as Namor's arrogance and rudeness was starting to get on his nerves. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Then _what_, Your Highness, is the problem?"

Namor's eyes narrowed, as he looked Superman in the eye. "Your crystal _abomination_ is on _our_ soil, and your presence is _not_ welcome." he snarled. "Atlantis' Fleet is in position, ready to _blast_ that..._thing_ off of our territory." He crossed his arms imperiously. "Either _you_ remove that abomination...or _we __**will**_"

The Fantastic Four all looked stricken. "Uh, boy..." Ben muttered.

Namor smiled smugly. "Well?"

Superman refused to lose his cool. "Your Highness," he said calmly, "it's not as simple as that..."

"Then I shall consider myself answered." Namor sneered, as he took out a small communicator. "Commence firing!" he ordered into it.

After a few seconds, there was a burst of static over the communicator, and then a reply came. "_W-Weapons ineffective, my liege!_"

Namor's eyes widened in sheer surprise. "_What?!_" he exclaimed. "Explain!"

"_Our beam-weapons, Sire, seem to be striking some sort of...of invisible barrier!_" came the reply. "_None of our beam-weapons can pierce it!_"

"And that would be the Fortress' defense shield." Superman said. "I noticed your Fleet approaching the Fortress before I came here, so I set the defense network on standby."

Namor scowled. "Increase rate of fire!" he ordered into the communicator. "Use concussive weaponry!"

"_Uh...we would, Sire...provided we were still in range of the structure._"

Namor paused for a few seconds. "Explain yourself, Captain."

"_Well, Sire...shortly after we began firing, some sort of beam engulfed the Fleet...and we all found ourselves over a hundred miles from the structure, back where we emerged onto the surface._"

"Wide-field quantum teleportation." Superman said. "It's one of the Fortress' passive defenses."

Namor put his hand to his head, as if developing a headache. "Return to the structure and re-commence firing!" he ordered.

"_Big_ mistake, Your Highness." Superman said firmly; enough was enough. "You see, the Fortress' computer has been monitoring your communications to your Fleet; the minute you made the initial order to attack, the Fortress intercepted your signal. That static sound we all heard? That was the Fortress' computer piggy-backing into your signal, and uploading a virus into your computer systems. When you gave that _second_ order, the Fortress switched on the virus. By now, your entire Fleet is nothing but the world's largest _paperweight_ collection."

Johnny whistled. "_That_ is one _smart house._"

"You lie." Namor sneered. "Atlantean battle technology is _infinitely_ superior to anything you surface-dwellers can muster! You cannot incapacitate the Fleet with a simple computer virus!"

"Call them." Superman suggested. "See for yourself."

Namor scowled. "Captain," he said, "have you reached the target?"

"_N-Negative, Sire!_" came the frantic reply, muffled by static. "_Every system on...ship has gone dead! Weapons...propulsion...sensors...nothing...working! All other...experiencing similar...dead in...water, Sire!_"

Namor froze, rage and disbelief warring on his face. "All I want," Superman said calmly, "is to live in peace; nothing more. If you send your Fleet home, I'll shut off the virus."

Namor snarled in pure rage, and spoke into the communicator, "Captain, at the earliest possible moment, you and the rest of the Fleet are to break off the attack and return to the rendezvous point!"

At that, Superman took out his belt-computer. "Fortress, disengage viral attack-countermeasure. Send kill-code to virus and stand down all active defenses."

After a few seconds, a reply came over Namor's communicator. "_We...we can move again, Sire! Whatever caused the failures is gone!_"

"Proceed to rendezvous point." Namor ordered, before he shut off his communicator.

"Well, I'll be darned!" Ben laughed. "How do you like _that_, Your Highness?"

Namor snarled at Superman. "This..is _an OUTRAGE!!_" he roared.

"Aw, what's wrong, Fish-Face?" Johnny laughed. "Upset 'cause you're not the _big_ fish, anymore?"

"_Johnny_," Sue admonished, while trying unsuccessfully to stifle her own laughter, "we shouldn't laugh..."

Utterly furious, Namor sent a murderous glare at Superman. "This is _not_ over!" he shouted.

Superman glared right back. "I'm afraid it _is_." he said firmly. "You said so yourself, Your Highness: the Fortress isn't polluting your seas, and I can _guarantee_ that it _won't_, it's not on any territory that you're using or ever _will_ use, and as we've just seen, your Fleet is no threat to it. Now, if anything regarding the first two reasons changes, feel free to speak with me about it, but until then..._swim off._"

Namor's eyes widened in surprise...and then narrowed. "_HOW __**DARE**__ YOU?!!!_" he exploded, and he pulled his fist back to punch Superman.

"Namor, I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Reed warned, but Namor didn't listen.

_CRACK!_

Namor's punch struck Superman square in the face, and Superman merely leaned his neck back, taking the strike easily...but it was _Namor_ who received the brunt of it. "_AAAAAAHHHHHH!!_" Namor howled, clutching his hand, yelling in more incredulity than anything else. "My...my _hand!!_"

"Don't worry." Superman said. "You didn't break anything, Your Highness." Namor scowled in fury, and stormed out of the conference room.

Superman shook his head. "Nice guy."

"Oh, yeah, he's a real runner for this year's 'Mr. Congeniality.'" Ben quipped.

"_Dude_," Johnny said to Superman, "you are _officially_ my best friend!! Do you know how long we've been waiting for _somebody_ to put that tool in his place?? I _swear_, every single time he comes here to bitch about something, he _always_ plays the '_Do-what-I-say-or-I'll-send-my-Fleet_' card! It's about _time_ someone called his bluff!"

"Namor's social skills leave...something to be desired, I admit," Reed said, "but it's not _entirely_ Namor's fault; we _do_ have to remember his...unique situation."

Superman arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Namor is half human, and half Atlantean, species name _Homo mermanus._" Reed explained. "As a result, he has the superior physical capabilities of the Atlantean people, and he can survive on the surface, as well as several other unique abilities. However, due to his dual nature, he is afflicted with a condition similar to bipolar mood-disorder; constant exposure to the oxygen-enriched water of Atlantis puts him in a manic state – which we all just saw – and constant exposure to the surface atmosphere does the opposite, depressing him. His two cousins are also human-Atlantean hybrids, and are thus afflicted in the same way, but, unlike Namor, they divide their time equally between the water and the surface, which seems to neutralize this condition."

"Yeah." Johnny agreed. "Unlike Fish-Face, Arty and 'Nita are pretty cool."

"I'm guessing those are Namor's cousins." Superman hazarded.

Sue nodded. "Princess Namorita is the daughter of Namor's Aunt, Namora, who ruled Atlantis before Namor came of age, and stepped down, letting Namor take the throne." she said. "As for Prince Arthur, he is the long-lost son of Namor's Uncle. Arthur was lost for over ten years; apparently, he was raised by a human family in the U.S."

Superman's eyes widened, as he remembered one of his friends from childhood. "Where exactly was he raised?" he inquired.

"Hmm..." Sue thought aloud, "...I really can't remember the name of the town, but I'm pretty sure it was in Kansas..."

"Smallville?" Superman asked.

"Why..._yes!_ That's it!"

"Did you say Namor's cousins were here, as well?" Superman asked. Sue nodded. Quickly, Superman darted out of the conference room, following Namor's trail; he _had_ to be sure...

He soon found the room that Namor had entered, and headed in. Inside, he found Namor, and two others. One was a young woman, in her late teens, of a slender, graceful frame, with light blue skin, blue eyes, long white hair, and pointed ears, clad in a one-piece red swimsuit. The other was a young man, around the same age as Superman, tall, and well-built. He had light skin, green eyes, and mid-length sandy blond hair, clad in green pants and an orange vest. He had a small blond goatee beard, but Superman would recognize his face _anywhere_.

Namor snarled at Superman as he walked in. "_You!!_" he snapped. "After what you've done, you _dare_..?!"

But Arthur cut him off. "_Smallville?!_" he exclaimed, laughing. "Smallville, is that _you?!_"

Superman smiled. "It's good to see you again, Arty."

"_Likewise_, you old Boy Scout!" Arthur laughed, walking over and hugging his old friend. "How've you been, old pal?"

"Oh, I've been busy."

"I'll _bet!_" Arthur chuckled. "So _you're_ this 'Superman,' that everyone talks about; should've known! Why, after all the misadventures us freaks had in Smallville, I should have _known_ it was you!"

Superman laughed. "And what about _you_, _Prince_ Arthur?" he asked. "It looks like you found your _real_ family, after all!"

Arthur chuckled. "Well, shortly after you disappeared, I decided it was time for me to find my birth family." he replied. "I spent a couple of years searching the country; the money that Mr. and Mrs. Curry gave me helped keep me afloat while I searched. When I came to the east coast, I just...felt this _pull_ towards the ocean, so I dove in. I met up with an Atlantean task force, who identified me as the King's long-lost cousin. One thing led to the next, and here I am!"

Namor's incredulous expression was nearly _comical_. "Cousin...you _know_ this..._creature??_"

Arthur grinned. "Namor, he's _only_ one of my best friends in the _world!_" he chuckled. "Guys, this is..."

"Kal." Superman quickly interjected. "My birth name."

"Oh. Right. Gotcha." Arthur agreed.

The young woman – Namorita – smiled kindly. "I am pleased to meet you; Cousin Arthur has spoken very kindly of you and his other four friends from the place he was raised in." she said.

Superman smiled. "Thank you, Princess."

Namor scowled. "My cousin's words _might_ have been less kind," he said, "if he had been aware that his 'old friend' was responsible for that crystalline _abomination_ upon the polar ice!"

Arthur frowned at his cousin. "Namor, didn't 'Nita and I _tell_ you that trying to attack that thing head-on was a bad idea?" he said. To Superman, he asked, "Is that true? _You_ built that thing?"

Superman nodded. "I found out about _my_ birth-family, too." he said. "The Fortress of Solitude – the structure – was left to me by my father."

Arthur half-smiled. "And this old blow-fish was giving you grief about it, just now."

Namor's scowl grew. "My _duty_, dear cousin, is to protect Atlantis, just as it is _yours_. Perhaps you should remember that."

Namorita frowned. "We _didn't_ forget that, cousin; we had no _idea_ exactly what that structure was. Attacking it could have had consequences we could not have foreseen; blindly lashing out could have destroyed the Fleet, or incensed its creators." She lightly smiled at Superman. "We were fortunate that its master was so understanding. Personally, I think that structure – this 'Fortress' – is quite beautiful."

Namor rolled his eyes. "Cousin, your interest in things unnatural boggles my mind." he said. "If it is not this crystalline monstrosity upon the ice, it is the _smaller_ abomination in the ancient shrine."

Superman instantly perked up at that. "Pardon me?"

Namor frowned. "Not that it is any concern of yours, but I was just referring to my cousin's 'hobby' – her interest in the lore surrounding the crystal object in the ancient shrine just outside of Atlantis' borders. Many of my people – including Namorita, I'm sad to say – believe that the object is a...craft, of some kind."

Namorita frowned. "Namor, the object in the Traveler Shrine _is_ a vessel!" she exclaimed. "Our records _clearly_ indicate that a person escaped from it just prior to it crashing into the ocean's surface!"

Superman took a deep breath. "When did this happen?"

Namorita looked confused. "Approximately 500 years ago." she said. "Why?"

Superman didn't speak for a moment. "The object is 25 meters long, composed of both silver-colored metal and off-white crystal." he finally whispered. "Its shape is that of a rectangular parallelogram, but it extends out more at the top of the stern, and starts to taper at the lower section of the bow, just below an opaque screen."

Namorita blinked. "You've seen it??" she asked.

"No, but I know what it looks like." Superman said. "I've spent a good part of this year looking for it. You're right, Princess; it _is_ a ship – a _Swift-Justice_-Class Speeder."

Namorita froze. "How do you know this?" she whispered. "How _can_ you know?"

Superman took a deep breath. "Because it was my people who _built_ it."

"This is _ridiculous!_" Namor sneered. "You expect us to believe that there were people who, 500 years ago, built such a device, on this planet?"

"No, Your Highness." Superman said. "Not on _this_ planet."

All the while, Namorita had been slowly backing up, her eyes wide. "_Merciful Neptune..._" she whispered, "_...you're...you're a __**Traveler**_"

Superman blinked. "What?"

Instantly, Namorita dropped to her knees in mortal terror, averting her eyes. "_We didn't know, we didn't know, we didn't know!!!!_" she wailed, terrified. "_Please, mighty one, have pity!!!!_"

At once, Namor helped his cousin to her feet. "That's _enough_." he said sternly. His tone softening a bit, he added, "Namorita, I have told you countless times, there are _no such things as Travelers._ They do not _exist_. I do not know how that object appeared, but it was _not_ by a race of beings capable of flight, abnormal strength, or anything _else_ mentioned in the legends. They are not real; they are not coming to take that object and destroy Atlantis in doing so. The legends _are not true._"

Turning to Superman, he scowled, and added, "The matter regarding your presence on our soil – for _now_ – is closed...but if you set foot in my realm, creature, I will have your _head!_" To his cousins, he finished, "If you wish to conclude matters with Richards and his family, you may do so. I am returning to the Fleet, to debrief them." With one last contemptuous glare at Superman, Namor left the room.

Superman lightly smiled. "Well, Arthur, your cousin is definitely...devoted to his country."

Arthur chuckled. "Try being _related_ to him."

Namorita still looked fearful. "P-Please, mighty Traveler, forgive him." she whimpered. "_Take_ your craft back, _please_..._but spare our people..!!_"

"Princess, please, _stop._" Superman said. "I don't want to hurt _anyone!_ _No-one_ has to be afraid of me."

Arthur arched an eyebrow. "So..." he began "..._your_ people built the object in the Shrine? Exactly who _were_ they?"

Superman took a deep breath. "Brace yourselves." he said, and he quickly told them of his origins.

When he was finished, both of them were wide-eyed. "You're an _alien?_" Arthur said.

Superman smiled sheepishly. "I know that's a bit hard to believe..."

Arthur chuckled. "Actually, Smallville, it makes a _lot_ of sense."

Namorita looked horrified. "Your people were..._destroyed?_" she murmured, her eyes full of sorrow. "I...I am so sorry..."

Superman lightly smiled. "Don't worry about it."

Arthur chuckled. "Well, we all sure were quite the bunch back in Smallville, weren't we?" he said. "You, me, Ollie Queen, Vic Stone, and Wally West: one alien who _can't_ 'phone home;' one prince of a country that _never_ has to worry about its water bill; one rich kid..."

"_Two_ if you count Lex." Superman interjected.

"True." Arthur agreed. He continued, "One guy who's into heavy metal, _literally_; and one speedster whose feet run _exactly_ twice as fast as his yap."

Superman chuckled. "The Six Musketeers."

Arthur nodded. "Whether it was taking down the local bully while staying out of sight, or trying to keep Lex's pranks from backfiring, we stuck together, through thick and thin."

Superman nodded. "It was great while it lasted." he said. "'One for all and all for one.'"

"So, why were you looking for this thing?" Arthur asked.

"It's the only piece of Krypton that's left." Superman replied. "I had hoped to examine it, to find out why it crashed. I thought it was lost, since I couldn't locate its power-signature; the ocean depths must have masked it from detection."

"Well, examining it will prove difficult." Namorita said. "To this day, the ship is surrounded by some kind of invisible barrier, though recently, the barrier is flickering."

"Its power must be nearly depleted, if its shields are fluctuating." Superman said. "I need to get to the Speeder to install a fresh power-module; if its shields fail at that depth, it will be crushed."

Arthur smiled. "I'm sure Namor won't mind if we help you find it, since the Shrine is outside of Atlantis' territory."

"I need to get a fresh module from the Fortress." Superman said. "When you're finished here, just head for the location directly above the Shrine, above the surface; I'll meet you there."

"How will you find us?" Namorita asked.

Superman smiled. "I'll find you; don't worry." he said. With that, he darted out of the room, heading for the vehicle hangar, took the elevator to the roof, and flew off at top speeds.

As he flew, he quickly called Alison on his communicator, brimming with excitement. "Ali, I _found_ it!" he exclaimed. "I know where the Speeder is!!"

"_Kal, that's __**great**_" Alison exclaimed. "_How did you find it?_"

Superman laughed. "I'd tell you, _taushi_, but you'd say it was just one big fish-story!"

"_Huh??_"

"I'll explain when I get back." Superman said. "You guys can handle things there, right?"

"_Oh, sure! Don't worry, baby; we'll be fine! See you soon! Love you!_"

"Love you, too." Superman replied, before he ended the call, putting his communicator back, and flying off, towards the Fortress.

_Atlantic Ocean, 500 meters below sea-level_

Deep beneath the ocean waves, a somber blue-green-metal leviathan glided through the waters. The Atlantean warship, resembling a massive manta-ray, made no sound as it headed towards its target.

Aboard the bridge of the vessel, the entire bridge-crew saluted as the commander entered. He was a very tall, strongly-built Atlantean man, with the characteristic blue skin of his people, clad in blue-and-gold battle armor, his helmet resembling the head of a fearsome manta.

"Lord Attuma," the Captain said, "we have just received word from one of our spies in the Royal Palace; Namor is heading out into the border-lands..._alone_."

Attuma smirked. "Proceed." he ordered. It was as if Neptune _himself_ was smiling upon him; a direct confirmation of his destiny. The ancient Atlantean Chronicles had foretold that he would conquer Atlantis and its empire...

...and now, the opportunity to do just that had been _presented_ to him.

Attuma chuckled. "Namor, you _fool_." he said to himself. "Your attempts to reason with the surface-dwellers is _proof_ of your weakness."

"My Lord?" the First Officer piped up. "The...crystal structure upon the polar ice..."

Attuma frowned. "What of it?"

"Well, my Lord...based on its description...it seems to...to resemble the object in...the ancient Traveler Shrine, my Lord..."

Attuma blinked...and then burst out laughing, along with half the bridge-crew. "The _Traveler Shrine?!_" he guffawed. "_Fool._ The Traveler is nothing but a _myth_; a story told to frighten unruly children!"

The First Officer lowered his head. "Yes...my Lord..."

Smirking, Attuma returned his gaze to the screen. "Full propulsion, Captain!" he ordered, smiling wickedly as his orders were obeyed. '_Soon, Atlantis will be __**mine**_' he thought, '_...and Namor will pester me no more._'

Alison couldn't help but smile after speaking with Clark as she sat in her tent, in her hiking clothes; she was happy for her beau – she knew how much finding that Speeder meant to him. '_I hope he gets some answers from it._' she thought to herself.

Currently, she and the others were back at the campsite, after a brief hike, led by Mr. McCoy; Alison had to admit, some of the plants around the Park were quite interesting. Hank had gone off, at the moment, after his beast-side-wanderlust started acting up, again. She and the others could only wait until their teacher got back...

Alison bit back a scream as a searing pain shot through her head; her headache was acting up, again. It had happened a couple of times, these past few months, but _this_ one was a bit different.

The previous migraine-attacks were sound-based; every sound was amplified over a _thousandfold_. _This_ migraine seemed to radiate from her _eyes_, as every light seemed _blinding_, as she occasionally saw the world in creepy hues of red, orange, blue, and violet, and then in black and silver-blue, before returning to being blinded by light. Alison shut her eyes tight, _willing_ herself not to scream...

"Ali?" came Kitty's voice, as her teammate drew near. "We've got visitors..." but her voice trailed off. "Oh, my God...Ali, are you okay? Is it your headache, again?"

Alison nodded, as tears leaked from her scrunched eyes.

Kitty enfolded her in a sympathetic hug. "Hang in there, Ali." she whispered. "It'll pass; just hang on."

Slowly, Alison's headache started to fade away, her vision returning to normal. "I'm...I'm okay." Alison whispered, smiling weakly. "Thanks, Kit."

Kitty smiled back. "What are friends for?" she replied. "Now, let's go!" Alison nodded, and they both headed out of the tent.

Outside, Alison saw that all the others had gathered to greet a slightly short, somewhat portly man, in his late forties, with red-orange hair, blue eyes, and a fine red beard, clad in khaki shorts, a green shirt and a khaki vest, with a broad-rimmed hat upon his head.

The man smiled kindly. "I hope I didn't disturb you all." he said. "I was just scouting the immediate area, looking for places to set up my sensors."

"No problem," Lance said, "but..who are you?"

"I am Dr. Lewis Patronete, Cryptozoology." the man said.

"What's that?" Jamie asked.

Dr. Patronete smiled. "Cryptozoology is the study of cryptids; animals that have not yet been identified."

Lance chuckled. "He's a Bigfoot-hunter."

Dr. Patronete chuckled. "We're not _hunting_ the Sasquatch; we're merely trying to collect evidence that it exists. The sensors I plan to deploy about the Park will monitor for Sasquatch activity...and, hopefully, capture an image of the Sasquatch."

Kitty smiled. "Well...good luck with that!"

"Thank you." Dr. Patronete said, smiling. "Have a good day." With that, he headed off.

After the Doctor had left, Kitty looked worried. "What if Mr. McCoy gets spotted by these guys?" she exclaimed.

"Someone should go find him." Lance said.

"But who?" Bobby asked. "I mean, you'd have to _be_ a beast just to keep pace with him, _if_ you can _find_ him!"

Alison smiled. "Rahne?" she asked.

The young Scottish mutant smiled. "Aye, I think I can catch up to 'im." she replied. With that, she instantly changed into her wolf-form, and darted into the brush. Alison and the others could only watch her go.

Hopefully, Mr. McCoy was okay.

As he darted through the underbrush, Hank once again felt at peace. Perhaps Clark and Kitty were right; perhaps being a beast was just as much a part of him as being a scientist...

Suddenly, the brush rustled to his right, and Hank dashed away, to his left...seconds before a shot _whooshed_ over his head, striking the trunk of a tree.

A tranquilizer dart.

Growling to himself, Hank doubled his speed, trying to evade his pursuers, rapidly darting away from sounds he heard in the brush, as his pursuers tried to close in on him.

He never even saw the almost-invisible trip-wire in his path...

Hank roared in fury as the thick net dropped from the tree, trapping him, snarling as he felt numerous darts pierce his skin. He groaned groggily, the drug flooding his system, as his pursuers stepped into view.

As he'd expected, they were the hunters from last night...but there were about ten of them, now...

"Looks like we caught us a Bigfoot, boys!" the leader crowed, as the other hunters cheered. "Be careful with it; we can't let our ticket to fame an' fortune get roughed up, none!" Then, as the hunters walked towards him, Hank passed out.

_Author's Note: I am SO sorry for the delay. I've had SERIOUS issues with the call-center I worked at, as well as a NASTY case of writer's block. I think I'm back in my groove, now._

_For the record, I HAD intended this to be ONE chapter, but it ended up being a LOT longer than I had thought it would be, so I divided it in two. I tried to divide it up as evenly as I could. Also, I hope I captured Namor's character correctly, as well as Arthur's; I tried to base Arthur on his Smallville incarnation, but I never saw all of that episode, so I took a few creative liberties. The references to the other DC heroes are a nod to the Smallville episode, "Justice." I hope you all enjoy! With any luck, I'll get Part Two done in the next few days._

_Coming Soon:_

_Hank is captured... _

_The last trace of Krypton lies buried beneath the sea, its shields failing…_

_Will our heroes rescue their beloved teacher?_

_Can the Man of Steel and his new friends retrieve the Speeder, as well as save a king who would just as soon blast him and his home off of the planet?_

_Find out in the conclusion to "Fish Story," coming to your computer soon…_


	21. Fish Story, Part Two

CHAPTER TWENTY: FISH STORY, PART TWO

It hadn't taken Rahne long to track down Hank in wolf-form; in minutes, she'd picked up his scent, and followed it through the forest...where she saw a bunch of hunters trap him and take him away.

From her hiding spot in the brush, Rahne suppressed a feral growl; her wolf-self wanted to _pounce_ on these men with guns, and free her fellow pack-member – and tear out a few throats while doing so – but her human mind argued the wolf down – wolf-fangs didn't match up against shotguns. They needed a _plan_. After a few minutes, the wolf concurred, and Rahne stealthily followed the hunters to their camp, where they locked her unconscious teacher in a cage.

Rahne's feral rage flared up at that, but she managed to calm down. After noting its location, Rahne ran back to the campsite, to tell her friends of what had happened. When she reached it, she changed back to human form. "Hunters 'ave captured Mr. McCoy!" she cried.

Everyone else froze. "Where?!" Kitty exclaimed.

"Their camp is a few miles away, just o'er the ridge to the north." Rahne reported.

"We have to rescue him!!" Jubilee cried.

"Easy, Jubes; panicking won't help him." Bobby said.

"We need a plan." Lance said.

Alison nodded. "Rahne, show us the camp; we need to know what we're up against." she said. Rahne nodded, and she headed back into the woods, with the others following her.

Soon, they had reached the hill overlooking the hunters' campsite. "Looks like about ten of them," Lance observed, "all armed. We go at 'em head-on, Mr. McCoy could get hurt."

"We'll need the element of surprise." Alison said. She smiled. "I think I have an idea. Gather 'round, guys." As the others all drew close, Alison continued, "Here's what we'll do..."

_Atlantic Ocean_

Deep beneath the waves, Namor swam towards the very outskirts of Atlantis' territory, moving like lightning through the water, his element, heading for the borders of Atlantis...

...where the Traveler Shrine lay.

Namor frowned to himself as he recalled all the legends associated with the Shrine, and the object that lay within it. '_It cannot be true._' he told himself. The legends spoke of the one who had escaped from that object in a beam of light as it fell into the seas. It was said that a tribe of his people had confronted the strange man as he escaped into their domain, but their primitive weapons had caused the stranger no harm. The stranger's very _gaze_ was said to bring fiery death, and even his _breath_ was a weapon; he was said to have might beyond what any Atlantean could fathom, and could move swifter than _thunder_, and could move through the _sky_ as effortlessly as he could through the sea.

Even after the strange Traveler was said to have left, it was still impossible – to this _day_ – to approach the object; an invisible force was said to repel all who approached it. '_A force-field._' Namor thought; he knew that Richards had once theorized about such a thing being possible, but it was _well_ beyond anything both his people and the surface-dwellers were capable of producing.

'_But not beyond what Superman's kind – whoever they are – are capable of._' Namor thought. Now that the heat of his anger – the initial rage of being defied – had cooled, his logical mind began to process exactly what he'd learned. '_He stated that such technology was not created on Earth; does that mean __**he**__ is not of this world?_' Namor reasoned to himself. Regardless of its origin, the technology of that 'Fortress' rendered it impervious to attack.

Despite his initial fury, Namor had to respect such superior defensive capabilities. '_That Fortress' __**offensive**__ capabilities are likely __**just**__ as formidable._' he thought. '_Such technology could make him a powerful ally..._'

Namor frowned. '_...or a deadly enemy._' he finished his thought. He already had enough to worry about on the home-front with foes like Attuma, the barbarian warlord who ruled a savage tribe of Atlanteans, with his eyes on Atlantis itself. '_An enemy with such superior technology would be an intolerable threat, let __**alone**__ what would happen if Attuma got word of such weaponry._' If Attuma learned that there was a crystal stronghold capable of repelling the _entire_ Atlantean Fleet, he would no doubt want to take it for himself.

Namor chuckled to himself. '_But he would have Hades' own time __**getting**__ it._' he thought. '_Truthfully, I think I would actually __**enjoy**__ seeing Attuma try to take that Fortress._' Frowning, he returned to the issue at hand. '_If the object in the Shrine __**is**__ a ship, warning or no, Superman will certainly go looking for it...with Arthur's help, knowing my cousin._' While Arthur was, ultimately, as loyal to Atlantis as _he_ was, his loyalty to his friends was _just_ as strong.

Loathe though he was to admit it at times, Namor had to admire that in his cousin. Also, since the Shrine was _outside_ Atlantean soil, _technically_, Arthur was doing nothing wrong. Still, if the object _was_ a ship, letting Superman take it would only _solidify_ his technological advantage; Namor had no way of knowing if Superman's wish for peace was sincere – giving him greater power would only make him a greater potential threat to Atlantis...

"Namor!"

Namor stopped, as Namorita swam up to him. "I thought you were going to converse with Richards and his family, Namorita." Namor said.

"I had hoped to speak with you before you reached the Traveler Shrine." Namorita replied. "I stopped at the Royal Palace, but I was told you were heading to the Shrine."

Namor frowned, folding his arms. "And _why_, my dear cousin, would you want to stop me?" he inquired warily. Namorita's slightly guilty expression told it all. Namor sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. "Arthur is helping him." he said flatly. "I suppose I should have known."

"Namor, he means no harm!" Namorita exclaimed. "He merely wishes to retrieve the only remaining piece of his home! Surely, you cannot begrudge him that!"

"Be that as it may," Namor countered, "giving him that object – whatever it is – could only make him a _greater_ potential threat, Cousin."

"Namor, we _all_ saw how powerful his technology is!" Namorita said. "If he had so desired, he could have _obliterated_ the Fleet! Giving him the Speeder he seeks will make no difference!"

Namor had to nod; the point was well made. "However," he replied, "in the past, nearly _all_ threats to Atlantis have come from the surface, Namorita. What happens when the surface-dwellers learn of his existence, and that of his Fortress?"

"Namor, you're _always_ so quick to blame the people on the surface!" Namorita scolded. "There are _good_ people up there, too! People like Reed and his family – no matter _what_ you say, Cousin, I _know_ you respect them – and like Doctor Strange, as well as the Avengers, never _mind_ the fact that Arthur was taken in by kind people on the surface!"

Namor frowned. "That may be true, Namorita, but the fact remains that we have enemies _above_ the surface; enemies who will covet this technology – either for power or for profit – or take its presence as a threat to them, and attack us for it. And what if one of our undersea foes – like Attuma – learns of it? It would make him an even more _determined_ enemy!" His expression hardened. "The truth is, Cousin, that Superman and his Fortress represent a grave potential threat to Atlantis."

Namorita's eyes narrowed. "_I do not __**believe**__ you, Namor!!_" she exploded. "Superman is one of Arthur's oldest and dearest friends!! He showed our cousin kinship at a time when he was far from the country he was born to, in a land that his very nature was _foreign_ to! And you actually have the _nerve_ to call him a _threat?!_ He should have all the honor we can _give_ him!! Letting him stay upon the Pole and retrieving the Speeder shouldn't even be an _issue!!_ We should have _welcomed_ him with open arms, but you _threatened_ him!! _YOU SHOULD BE __**ASHAMED**__ OF YOURSELF, NAMOR MCKENZIE!!!_"

Namor could only watch in bewilderment as his cousin finished her tirade. He was genuinely surprised by her fury; her use of his birth-name _alone_ had startled him, coming from _her_. Namorita was always calm, and had always – with Arthur, in the more recent years since his return – acted as a buffer between him and the people on the surface; he knew that his temper was a barrier to his interactions with the surface, and his cousins had always helped to "translate" his fury, to make his intentions clear.

As Namorita calmed down, Namor lightly chuckled. "Merciful _Neptune_, Namorita, I _swear_, you and Cousin Arthur will be the death of me, yet." he joked, which earned a light smile from his cousin. His expression returned to his normally-severe semi-frown. "Come on; we shouldn't keep Arthur waiting." With that, he swam on, followed by his cousin.

"Lord Attuma, we are approximately ten minutes away from the Traveler Shrine. Sensors detect King Namor approaching in the distance, as well as Princess Namorita."

Attuma frowned. "He won't be 'King' Namor for much longer." he said. "And what of Namor's other cousin?"

"We detect Prince Arthur on the surface above us, my Lord." the Captain reported. "We are also detecting another vessel in the water near him; its readings are consistent with the vehicle used by Richards and his team."

Attuma nodded. "I see. Are our other ships nearby?"

"Yes, sir; we will rendezvous with the other two ships in five minutes."

"Sir!!" the First Officer reported. "Our surface sensors are detecting a massive power-signature approaching Prince Arthur!"

_That_ surprised Attuma. "How massive?"

"It's...it's off-the-charts, my Lord! It's like nothing we've ever _seen!_ The only thing resembling it is...is...the energy signature of the object in...the...Traveler Shrine..."

A deadly silence fell over the bridge. "_Merciful Neptune..._" one officer murmured.

"The legends are _true_..." another gasped.

"The Travelers...they've come back..."

"_ENOUGH!!!_" Attuma roared. "Quiet, all of you! There's no talk of Travelers, here! There are no such things!" Calming, he added, "Proceed as planned. Once we're in range, I want shock-troops sent out; I want Namor and his family alive if possible...but _dead_ if _necessary_."

His commands issued, Attuma looked to where that ancient Shrine lay. '_It is not true._' he told himself. '_It cannot be._'

It hadn't taken Superman too long to reach the Fortress and retrieve a spare EPM. Currently, he was flying over the Atlantic Ocean, with the large, cylindrical crystal strapped over his shoulder, its base composed of grey metal, the crystal itself glowing a brilliant white. Superman's eyes were narrowed, as his telescopic vision scanned the horizon...until he saw them.

In seconds, Superman reached the spot on the water where Arthur was treading water, and a few meters away from him was a high-tech-looking submersible, with the familiar '4' insignia upon its hull; it was the Four's main vehicle, the "Fantasticar," in its amphibious mode. Superman slowly descended, to hover above the surface of the water, smiling. "I take it that you convinced Reed and the others to tag along." he joked.

Arthur grinned. "Actually, when I told him about what was up, Reed and the others _volunteered!_" he replied. "Right now, 'Nita's running interference with Namor; hopefully, she'll either convince him to lay off, or she'll distract him long enough for you to power up that ship of yours and get out."

Just then, Reed's voice came in from the speaker-phone of the Fantastic Four's submersible: "_Superman, the energy we're detecting from that object you're carrying is __**massive**__; what is it?_"

"An EPM; an Entropic Power Module. EPMs are the basis for all Kryptonian power-systems." Superman explained. "Essentially, it's a replacement car-battery for the ship."

Arthur chuckled. "Well, after half a millennium, it could probably _use_ a boost." he said. "The Shrine is in pretty hard shape, after half a millennium; we'll have to excavate it."

The familiar chuckle of Ben Grimm came over the speaker. "_And that's what __**we're**__ here to help with._"

Superman nodded, smiling. "Thanks." he replied. "First things first." With that, he tapped his belt buckle, activating his nano-suit. "I'll need this to send commands to the Speeder, once we're in range."

"Okay." Arthur said. "Here we go, then." With that, Arthur dove under the surface, and Superman dove in after him, as the Fantastic Four's submersible followed.

Superman followed his old pal down through the blue deeps, the sun illuminating the ocean water, lighting the area around them. As they descended, the sea became gradually darker, eventually turning to a very dark blue, with only the lights from the submersible and the EPM's white glow providing illumination.

And as they descended, Superman started to detect a power-signature; a very faint one, but it was _there_. It popped up on the visor of his nano-suit after he passed around 1000 meters below sea-level. "_We're getting a very faint reading._" Sue reported; they had picked it up, as well. "_It's dead ahead, a few more miles down; it's identical to the signature of that Module._"

"I see it." Superman agreed. "It's the Speeder, all right."

After a few minutes, they touched down on the surface, and in the distance, Superman could see a collection of ancient, Greek-style stone ruins, consisting of mostly large stone columns, covered by a stone dome-roof. The entire structure was very large, but a good number of the stone columns had fallen towards the center...

...where the Speeder lay.

It was _exactly_ how he'd described it; even half-buried under columns of stone, there was no mistaking it: rectangular-parallelogram in shape, its hull made of silvery metal and white crystal, extending back at the stern, and slightly tapering at the bow, with an opaque screen just above the partial tapering...and, once every few seconds, an off-white, semi-translucent layer flickered around the Speeder; its shields had automatically adjusted themselves to only coat the Speeder's hull, conserving power. On its port side, Superman saw a blackened spot, around where its port engine-pod was, where it would extend from the ship when active.

It had been _shot_ down.

Quickly, Superman tapped his helmet, initiating a scan of the Speeder. "It's EPMs are just about _depleted_." he called over his nano-suit's radio. "I have to get in and install the new EPM." The Speeder's shields were at their limit, at their _minimum_ sustainable strength; if the shields failed, at this depth, if the Speeder's hull was compromised to any extent, the pressure would cause it to _implode_.

"_Understood._" Reed replied over the sub's radio. "_we'll have to move those columns, though; we'll help._"

"_Not me!!_" came Johnny's protest. "_I hate water!! Someone has to watch the sub, right?_"

Sue chuckled. "_Correction: Reed, Ben, and I will help excavate, while my baby brother watches the sub._"

Superman smiled. "Okay."

Within minutes, three of the Fantastic Four, in high-tech scuba gear, emerged from the airlock of their submersible, and start to walk towards the ruins of the Shrine, following Superman and Arthur. As they drew near the buried Speeder, its shields flickered again. "Be careful not to touch the Speeder's shields." Superman cautioned. "One touch will send you flying."

"Got it." Ben agreed. "Now, let's dig this baby up!" With that, they got to work.

Working together, Superman, Ben, and Arthur lifted the very heaviest stone columns away from the Speeder, taking care to avoid contact with its shields. Reaching out with his elastic arms, Reed curled his limbs around several blocks of stone, before hauling them off of the crashed ship. Using her force-fields, Sue was able to levitate several medium-sized columns off of the Speeder. After about fifteen minutes, the Speeder was free from debris, with not so much as a mark, save for the carbon-scoring of the blast that had shot it down.

"My God..." Reed murmured, reverently, gazing upon the ship, "...we are _looking_ at an alien spaceship..."

Sue smiled, standing next to her husband. "I _know_." she whispered.

"I gotta hand it to your people, Supes," Ben chuckled, "you guys built stuff to _last_; if you tried stickin' a Ford or a GM vehicle down here, it wouldn't make it past _one_ year, let _alone_ five _hundred!_"

"Thanks, Ben," Superman said, "but right now, I need to get this EPM installed, or the Speeder won't _last_ another year; its power could fail at any _second!_" Quickly, he took out his belt computer, sending commands to the Speeder; only a handful of systems were still online, due to the low power.

Fortunately, one of those systems was the Emergency Teleportation System.

After he'd entered a few commands, a beam of blue light shone from the Speeder's bow, engulfing Superman, and transporting him inside.

The inside of the Speeder was fairly large, enough to carry over 30 people if they crowded in, and _dark_, illuminated by only the light of the Speeder's few online systems. Quickly, Superman moved to the middle of the Speeder's cockpit, in front of the control console, and knelt, touching a panel on the floor; instantly, the panel lifted up, revealing another console, with two EPMs attached to it on the top; one EPM was completely black – depleted – and the other was a _very_ dark grey – it was on its _very_ last legs.

If he'd gotten here _any_ later...

Superman quickly tapped a few keys on the console, bringing up the system status; estimated time to power-failure was three minutes. Tapping a few more keys, Superman unlocked the depleted EPM from its slot, before removing it, setting it to the side – he could recharge it back at the Fortress – and inserted the new one into that slot.

The second he did, bright blue holographics popped up in front of him, displaying the two slots, with a white circle surrounding the slot with the dying EPM – the current power-supply; he had to change the settings so that it would take power from the new EPM. Superman rapidly tapped the holographics, moving the cursor-symbol to the circle, clicking it, twisting it to lock it in place, before dragging the circle to the other slot, and tapping it, before clicking the 'Accept' symbol to confirm the action; like magic, the circle moved to the slot that held the fresh EPM.

The fresh Module instantly flared to life, its brilliance only _doubling_...seconds before the Speeder's interior lit up, revealing the true color of the white-silver crystal-metal inner hull, as well as the control console, as every system started to power up. After retracting the power-control console, Superman sat in the control chair, putting his hands upon the crystal-circuitry panels; the Heads-Up Display automatically came up, showing targeting, navigation systems, weapons, sensors, ship status...and _shields!_

Superman quickly diverted additional power to the Speeder's dying shields; instantly, the flickering dome-image around the image of the Speeder upon the screen stopped flickering, and was reinforced by five additional domes, indicating that the shields were back at full power.

Sighing in relief, Superman tapped a few keys, doing a ship-wide diagnostic; it seemed that the port-side engine-pod had been damaged. The Speeder was still operable, but it just needed about five minutes to re-route power. Superman promptly sent the commands to start the repairs, and activated the Teleporter, 'porting out of the Speeder, to tell his friends the good news.

The Teleporter-beam deposited Superman back outside, exactly where he'd left. "We made it in time." he reported, smiling. "The Speeder's shields are back up at full power; it should be ready to go in a few minutes."

"Kal, that's _great!_" Sue exclaimed.

"Now," Arthur said, "we just need to scram before my grumpy cousin shows up."

"A bit late for _that_, Cousin."

The entire group turned to see Namor swim up, followed by Namorita. "Namor," Reed said quickly, "this doesn't have to escalate..."

Namor raised his hand, wordlessly asking for silence. "I have come to a decision." he said. "After further consideration, I see no harm in allowing that object – whatever it may be – to be salvaged." He glanced to Superman. "For now, you have my permission to take it."

Superman smiled, and lightly bowed. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"_However_," Namor continued, "the fact remains that your presence at the Pole constitutes a potential threat to my people."

"Namor," Sue said, "you can't honestly _believe_ that Superman would attack Atlantis..."

"Even if he does not, Susan, the threat remains." Namor countered. To Superman, he added, "Atlantis has enemies, Superman, both on the surface and below it. These enemies, upon learning of your existence and that of your Fortress, would stop at nothing to either seize your technology, or attack Atlantis on the assumption that such power is allied with us."

Namorita frowned. "Namor..."

Namor turned to face his cousin, an eyebrow arched. "Is this thought incorrect, Cousin? Is it not a _possibility?_"

Namorita stayed silent.

"Your Highness," Superman said, "I will not allow the Fortress to fall into any hostile hands..."

"But can you guarantee its secrecy?" Namor asked. "Can you _honestly_ say that your existence will _never_ become public knowledge?"

Superman paused; it was true – people were getting more and more curious about his existence. Professor Xavier had once said that mutants' existence couldn't stay secret, much longer. And the Fortress had been found – by Namor's people – once before. The Fortress' defense network masked it from satellite scans and radar, and its weather-generator hindered visibility...but _no_ system was foolproof.

"No." Superman admitted.

"Then you see my dilemma."

"_Uh, guys?_" came Johnny's voice over the radio. "_I hate to interrupt the political discussion, but we've got incoming! I'm lookin' at three bogeys – BIG ones!_"

"You needn't worry." Namor said, as he put his communicator away. "I, too, detected those ships; they are three _Manta_-Class Cruisers. I will hail them and warn them away." He tapped a key on his communicator. "Attention, unmarked vessels. You are on a collision course with us. Alter course immediately."

No reply.

"Odd." Namor thought aloud. "Standard procedure is to automatically reply and request confirmation." Into the communicator, he added, "Unmarked vessels, I say again: alter course! This is your King speaking!"

"_Not __**my**__ King, fool._"

Namor's eyes widened momentarily, and then narrowed in pure _fury_. "_Attuma!_" he spat.

"Oh, well that's just _swell_." Arthur muttered.

"_I didn't know you believed in Travelers, Namor._" Attuma mocked through the communicator. "_Once I rule Atlantis, these idiotic myths will be the __**first**__ thing to go._"

"You will _never_ take Atlantis, barbarian!" Namor roared.

"_Oh, no?_" Attuma asked archly. "_Not even at the cost of your cousins' lives? Perhaps when we hold blades to their throats, you'll change your tune._" He cackled evilly. "_Or, better yet, I'll kill you myself and use your cousins to force a surrender! And as for the surface-dwellers...their fates were sealed the second they entered __**my**__ realm._" With that, the transmission ended.

"I'm guessing that this 'Attuma' isn't in your Top-Ten Favorite People." Superman hazarded.

"Hardly." Namor said. "Attuma is the chieftain of a barbaric tribe who once shunned Atlantean society. Now, Attuma seeks to conquer all of Atlantis. We have clashed on several occasions."

Arthur nodded. "Apparently, Attuma thinks he's destined to rule Atlantis – he once read the Atlantean Chronicles, and figured that _he_ was the great conquerer of Atlantis...even though the Chronicles don't mention him by name."

Superman chuckled. "Yeah, prophecies can be a real _pain_."

"Regardless, Attuma has even _less_ love for surface-dwellers than Namor." Namorita added. "His lust for conquest would not end with Atlantis."

"I will be _dead_ before I let that savage take our country." Namor said firmly.

"Well, it looks like we've got a fight on our hands." Superman said.

Ben grinned, and cracked his knuckles. "Fine by _me!_"

At Superman's words, Namor turned to him, an eyebrow arched. "You would aid a people not your own, led by a king who had previously attempted to _attack_ you??"

Superman grinned. "What kind of neighbor would I be if I didn't help _my_ neighbors when they needed it?"

Namor was silent for a few seconds, before saying, "Attuma will send shock troops, first, as his vessels are not yet in firing range; likely, he will lead them himself." His eyes narrowed. "Assist if you wish...but Attuma is _mine_."

"Whatever you say, Fishy." Ben said. He grinned savagely. "_**It's clobberin' time!!**_"

Aboard his ship, Attuma smirked, drawing and extending his trident from his belt. "Captain, you have the bridge." he said. "_I_ will be leading our troops."

The captain nodded, bowing. "As you wish, my Lord..."

"_L-Lord Attuma!!_" the First Officer cried. "We're...we're detecting a change in the energy readings from the object in the Shrine! They're...they're _increasing_, my Lord!"

_That_ surprised Attuma. "Increasing?" he repeated. "How?"

"I-I don't know, sir, but it only started a few minutes ago! It started...when that other surface-dweller – the one in silver, with the cape – actually _entered_ the object, sir! He just...disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared minutes later, just like...just like how the..._Traveler was said to have emerged from it_..!!"

A deathly hush fell over the bridge. "_Neptune be merciful..._" one officer whimpered, "..._the Travelers...they ARE back!!_"

Snarling, Attuma closed on that officer and drove his trident through his back; he was dead instantly. "Now, _HEAR_ me!!" he roared. "If _any_ of you even so much as _breathe_ the word 'Traveler' in my presence ever _again_, you will _share_ his fate!!" With that, he stormed off, to meet his troops.

Despite his words, that revelation about the object was unnerving. It had lain dormant for centuries, but now – as soon as that stranger had shown up – its power was coming back.

Well, that could work to his advantage; after he killed Namor, captured his family and did away with the surface-dwellers, he could take the object as his prize. When Atlantis learned that he wielded the power of the Travelers, they would bow down in fear _alone_. Smiling to himself, Attuma continued on his way.

Within seconds, Superman had spotted the three incoming Atlantean Cruisers. "300 meters and closing, eleven o'clock." he reported.

"We see them." Reed replied.

Just then, several ports on the Cruisers opened, swarming the sea with Atlantean shock troops...led by one larger Atlantean man, clad in blue-and-gold, manta-ray-style armor, carrying a large trident. '_Well, I'm guessing __**that's**__ Attuma._' Superman mentally noted.

Namor snarled in fury, before swimming full-speed at the incoming force. Instantly, Superman, Arthur, and Namorita swam after him, followed by Reed, Sue, and Ben, who could not swim as fast as they could. As one trooper tried to intercept him, Namor swam faster, pulling back his fist.

"_Imperious...__**REX!!**_"

Namor punctuated his battle-cry with a haymaker, sending the trooper flying. With that, the battle was joined.

As one trooper came at him, Superman sent him flying with a punch, only to be swarmed by two more, who grabbed onto him; Superman simply started to spin, throwing them off easily. He then turned to intercept one trooper who'd been sneaking up on him...only to see Arthur tackle him, sending him sprawling with a punch. Arthur chuckled. "Just watching your back, Smallville!"

Superman chuckled, before swimming at super-speed to slam into the trooper that was coming straight at Arthur, knocking him out. "_Ditto!_"

Ben grabbed hold of the first trooper that came at him, before throwing him into a cluster of troopers, knocking them all out. Another trooper rushed him, but Ben slammed him with a punch, then grabbed his ankle, and spun him around before letting go. "Heads up, Princess!"

Laughing, Namorita slammed the incoming trooper with a flip-kick, followed by a hell-kick to the face, sending him flying, minus a few teeth. One trooper tried to grab her from behind, but she easily broke free, before throwing her attacker into the first trooper, knocking them both out. Turning, she saw a cluster of troopers rush at her...

Instantly, Superman intercepted them, and unleashed a burst of frost-breath, which easily passed through his visor; as expected, the burst froze the water directly ahead of him _solid_.

The expressions of the troopers were nearly _comical_ as they frantically tried to slow down...only to crash into the mini-iceberg, knocking themselves out, as the iceberg started to float upwards, towards the surface.

Namorita smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem."

As four troopers came at them, Sue formed force-field orbs around Reed's fists as Mr. Fantastic unleashed a double stretch-punch at them, his attack's momentum doubled by Sue's kinetic bolts; his fists slammed into two troopers with terrible force, knocking them out. As Sue's bolts dissipated, Reed grabbed the other two, and pulled them in...to smack into the force-field wall that Sue had raised.

Two more troopers charged at them...but they were knocked out cold, as they were clotheslined by one of the mechanical arms of the Fantasticar. "_Ha ha!_" Johnny laughed. "_Who __**says**__ reckless driving is a __**bad**__ thing?_" Reed simply chuckled as he unleashed a stretch-punch to knock out one trooper, before sweeping his fist to take out two more, while Sue telekinetically grabbed one and slammed him into a cluster of troopers.

Despite all their efforts, they were vastly outnumbered, and were surrounded by a circle of shock troops. Superman looked around...and smiled. "Hey, Arty? Reed?" he asked. "Ever been to the rodeo?"

Arthur grinned. "Smallville, that is just _crazy_ enough to _work!_" he laughed. With that, he swam over to Reed, who nodded in understanding, and grabbed Reed's arms, before swimming at one trooper. Arthur slammed the trooper with a punch, giving Reed enough time to grab hold of him, as Superman lifted up Reed's feet, turning Mr. Fantastic into a living lasso. With a kinetic nudge from Sue to get the trooper moving, overcoming the water's resistance, Superman spun the trapped trooper around and around, using the lassoed Atlantean to send every other trooper flying. In seconds, all the shock troopers were sent sprawling.

Reed smiled as Superman let go of his feet, releasing the trooper. "Good teamwork."

Superman looked ahead, his eyes narrowing. "It's not over, _yet_." he said, before he darted ahead.

While the others dealt with the shock troops, Namor closed on Attuma, his eyes narrowed in fury, his expression mirrored by the barbarian. "Where's your Fleet, Namor?" Attuma mocked. "You've nothing to hide behind!"

Namor smirked. "You send legions to handle the handful of us and accuse _me_ of cowering?" he retorted. Snarling, Attuma charged him, trying to stab Namor with his trident, but Namor leaned aside, slamming Attuma's skull with his elbow as the barbarian swam past.

Attuma recovered in seconds, and came at Namor, trying to pin him with the shaft of the trident, but Namor grabbed hold of the trident, stopping Attuma's charge. "Atlantis," Attuma roared, "is _MINE!!_"

Namor's eyes narrowed. "Not while _I_ live!!" he declared, as he shifted his weight to one side and twisting, slamming Attuma's face with his own weapon, sending the warlord stumbling back.

Before Namor could press the advantage, a single trooper tackled into him, driving him back towards a large rock. Namor quickly recovered, and head-butted the trooper, before slamming him with a punch, knocking him out...

...but the trooper had done his job: given Attuma time to recover, and making sure Namor's back was to the rock. "The King is _dead_." Attuma sneered, raising his trident. "_Long live the King!!_" And with that, he charged at Namor, who prepared to _try_ to block the attack; it would be close...

Suddenly, Attuma's charge stopped dead in its tracks. Attuma's eyes went wide, as he tried to mover his weapon forward, but it would _not_ budge.

"Two against one isn't exactly a fair fight, let alone eight against _dozens_. I guess fighting fair isn't in the 'Barbarian's Handbook.'"

Looking behind Attuma, Namor saw that Superman had simply grabbed hold of the other end of the trident, and was holding onto it, preventing Attuma from attacking with, apparently, no effort at all.

Attuma's eyes narrowed in pure _hate_. "You _filthy surface-dweller!!_" he roared. "You _DARE_ defy me?!!"

"It's what I seem to be doing, these days." Superman replied.

Attuma roared in sheer rage. "Let go of my weapon, surface-filth!!"

Superman smiled. "_Sure!_" he replied. With that, he spun Attuma around by the trident-handle, before letting go, sending him flying.

Snarling, Attuma quickly recovered, and swam at Superman, ready to strike with all his might, his expression twisted with rage...

...but his fury became surprise as Superman caught his fist effortlessly, like a parent catching the hand of a spoiled child. Superman's eyes narrowed. "I'm _through_ playing nice." he said firmly.

_WHAM!!!_

Even in the water, Superman's punch echoed like thunder, striking Attuma in the face, sending him flying across the ocean floor, to crash _through_ a large rock, landing hard amongst the rubble.

Namor frowned. "I was perfectly capable of handling him."

Superman chuckled. "Just being a good neighbor, Your Highness."

Slowly, coughing from the force of the impact, Attuma stood up, a tiny trickle of blue blood leaking from his lip into the water. "You," he snarled, pointing to Superman, "have _sealed_ your fate, abomination!!" Taking out a communicator, he ordered, "_Fire torpedoes!!_" With that, he swam off...

...towards the three Cruisers that were looming in the distance.

In seconds, each Cruiser fired a torpedo, which lanced through the water, heading towards them; in seconds, they would hit...

"_Sue! Shield the others!!_" Superman called, as his eyes started to glow red. "_The water is about to get __**very, very hot!!**_" At once, Sue raised a barrier around everyone else but Superman.

With the others safe, Superman unleashed a 20-percent-power, wide-field blast from his eye-rays; the blast was further widened by the water refracting the beam, but that was just fine. The beam covered _everything_ ahead of Superman in an endless wave of blazing red, nova-hot energy, utterly _incinerating_ the torpedoes and superheating the water to near-boiling temperatures. As the beam ended, Superman unleashed several bursts of frost-breath, cooling the water to the point where it was safe.

Once the water was cool, Sue lowered the shield. "_Whoa._" Arthur murmured.

Namorita looked fearful. "'_His very gaze brings fiery death..._'" she quoted.

Superman smiled. "Blasting torpedoes is good enough for me." he joked.

"That will not stop Attuma for long." Namor said. "He will fire a _full_ salvo, now. Can your eyes repel that?"

Just then, Superman heard his belt-computer beep, and smiled. "I don't _have_ to." he said. With that, he took out his computer, and tapped a button; instantly, the Speeder's Teleporter-beam engulfed them all, 'porting them inside the Speeder.

Inside the Speeder, Superman immediately sat at the control chair in the cockpit, retracting his nano-suit's helmet, his hands a blur over the control console. As he worked, Reed looked around in awe. "Amazing..." he murmured.

"Not bad." Namor said. "But can it survive combat with _three_ Cruisers?"

Sue looked stricken. "What about Johnny? He's still out there! The sub is a sitting duck!"

Superman quickly ran a quick-pass diagnostic of the Speeder's systems; any deeper problems could be dealt with later – right now, he needed battle systems. '_Shields are good, and engines are running better than expected, though the port engine-pod looks a bit shaky, but I can compensate._' he thought. '_Port-side Ion-Cannon is __**gone**__, but I already knew that – since I stashed it at the Fortress when King T'Challa let me take it – and starboard Ion-Cannon is fried._'

Suddenly, the HUD of the Speeder started to beep, as the radar/sensors screen showed that the three Cruisers had fired; three full salvoes, heading right for them. The Speeders shields could take it, but the Fantasticar...

"_Uh, guys?_" came Johnny's voice over the radio. "_A little help?_"

Quickly, Superman pored over the diagnostic readout. '_I've still got the Polaron Disruptor, but what I __**really**__ need right now are..._' "_Yes!!_ We still have Interceptor Drones!!" he declared. Over the radio, he called, "Hang in there, Sparky! We've got your back!" Superman then entered the commands to start the engines.

At once, the Speeder effortlessly rose from the sea-bed, hovering inside the Shrine, whirring as it hovered, its engine-pods extending from its two lower sides, resembling wings, but with the propulsion units built into the length of the wings.

"Computer," Superman instructed, "enable Interceptors One through Six." At once, the targeting holographics came up in front of him. He pointed to a target-point, ahead of the Fantasticar. "Wide spread, maximum field-radius." he added, before tapping the holographic 'Fire' command.

Instantly, two additional pods extended out from the Speeder's wings – the weapon-pods – before firing six glowing-white crystalline orbs, which lanced through the water, to stop in front of the Fantasticar. In seconds, their glow doubled in luminosity, as each of the Drones raised blue-white energy barriers, which combined to form a solid, semi-translucent _wall_.

The torpedoes impacted the wall, exploding harmlessly, not even so much as _scratching_ the barrier. Superman smiled to himself; under heavier weapons-fire – like the laser-cannons of a Kree warship – an Interceptor Drone could withstand, at most, one or two hits before its barrier failed and it was destroyed, but he'd known that the little nano-assembled automatons could handle a simple, chemical-based concussive blast or two without any problems.

"_Whew! Thanks, Supes!_" Johnny called over the radio. "_Got any more tricks up your sleeve?_"

Superman chuckled. "I think so." he replied. Quickly, he took out his belt-computer and plugged it into the control console, uploading the file he had on the scan that the Fortress had done previously of the Atlantean Cruisers that had tried to attack the Fortress into the Speeder's tactical systems.

In seconds, the HUD now showed computer-enhanced screens of the Cruisers. "_Three Class-D shooter vessels. Armaments include low-power beam weaponry and concussive shells._" Three red dots appeared on the Cruisers' dorsal hull. "_Three power-generators running in parallel detected; simultaneous strikes will cause overload. Shielding not detected; hull plating 100 percent vulnerable to Polaron Disruptor._"

Superman looked to Namor. "I don't suppose you'd mind us teaching Attuma a little lesson, Your Highness?"

Namor nodded. "Attuma may be Atlantean, but he is _not_ one of my people. Do as you see fit."

"Computer, activate targeting grids." Superman ordered; instantly, a targeting grid appeared over the images of the Cruisers. "Recall Interceptors and arm Polaron Disruptor." At once, the six Interceptors retracted their barriers and zipped back into the Speeder, as the weapon-pods started to spark with blue-white electricity.

Superman touched the grid, setting a green targeting reticule on the lead Cruiser, before tapping a symbol to the side of the grid, before touching the images of the other two ships, setting red reticules on them. "Set Primary and Secondary Targets. Key Disruptor to single-shot pulse, 15 percent charge, 50 percent impact dispersion-radius." he instructed. Seconds later, the 'Fire' command appeared on the screen, indicating the Disruptor was ready. Superman tapped it.

Instantly, the weapon-pod fired a three-pronged cluster-blast of blue-white energy, which lanced through the water, spiraling towards its target, slowly condensing into a single blast...seconds before it hit.

The Disruptor-blast exploded in a starburst of blue-white electricity, erupting with terrible force, and latching onto the lead Cruiser's hull like a ravenous starfish, curling deadly electrostatic tendrils around the ship, wreaking pure, unadulterated _havoc_ with every single one of its systems. Then, tendrils leaped from the lead Cruiser onto the other two, caught in its blast-radius, spreading the destruction to the other two Cruisers.

After a minute, the blast died down, but the damage was done; every single light on the Cruisers went dark, as every system went _dead_; the power-generators stopped, the radar went blind, the engines choked and gasped to a stop, the weapons systems froze, and the communications system went _mute_. Slowly, the three ships, utterly powerless, floated down towards the sea bed, coming to a stop...where they stayed, completely helpless.

Arthur whistled. "Now _that's_ a _weapon._"

"The Polaron Disruptor." Superman explained. "Even on its lowest settings, its blast can utterly _devastate_ the electronics of an unshielded foe. Even _with_ shields, getting hit by a Disruptor-blast is _not_ fun."

"_Ouch._" Ben murmured, looking to the crippled Cruisers.

Superman then happened to glance to Namor; the Atlantean King's facial expression was unchanged, but his eyes said _exactly_ what was on his mind.

'_None of our weapons could even __**dent**__ his Fortress...and a single shot sunk __**three**__ of our ships._'

Namor met Superman's gaze. "We have much to discuss."

"I agree." Superman replied, as he started to enter the commands to ascend. "I suggest we head to the Fortress, to clear everything up."

"Very well." Namor agreed.

Reed grinned. "Fine with me!"

Superman chuckled. "I figured it would be."

Ben laughed. "Hey, Matchstick!" he called over the radio. "We're headin' to Supes' place, so follow us!"

"_Got it._" came Johnny's reply. With that, the Speeder and the Fantasticar started to rise towards the surface, leaving the crippled Atlantean Cruisers behind. Soon, they had breached the surface, hovering above the water. Superman then took the holographic controls, and plotted a course, before accelerating; the Speeder responded in less than an instant, picking up _mind-boggling_ speed, searing through the sky towards the Fortress. Superman quickly slowed the Speeder down to a velocity that Johnny could follow.

Ben chuckled. "Peppy little thing, ain't she?" he joked. Superman could only chuckle, as he flew the Speeder towards the Fortress, followed by the Fantasticar.

He wondered how Ali and the others were doing.

Upon the bridge of his ruined Cruiser, Attuma roared in sheer _fury_, unleashing venomous curses in Atlantean.

'_How could this have happened?!_' he mentally fumed. _Finally_, he'd had the upper hand against Namor...only to have that unnatural surface-dweller interfere!!

"Did you see?" one bridge-officer murmured. "That stranger...his _eyes!!_"

"I _know!_ And his _breath..!_ There's no mistaking it!!"

"Captain!!" Attuma barked. "How long until this ship and the others are operable?!"

The Captain looked stricken. "I'm...I'm sorry, my Lord, but the blast from that ship completely destroyed our systems; repair is _impossible_, Lord Attuma! Our only option is to abandon ship; we can't do anything else!"

Attuma snarled to himself. It had taken _months_ to acquire these vessels...and now they were no more than _paperweights_. "You abominable surface-filth!!_ I'll have your HEAD!!_" he roared aloud.

It would take time, Attuma knew – time to gather his forces, acquire more ships – but he would do it. And once he did, he would track that surface-trash to his home – likely the crystal object in the Pole – and _kill_ him.

Attuma smirked. '_And with his technology at my disposal, Atlantis will be mine __**overnight**_' he thought. '_Enjoy your triumph, today, filth, because I'm __**coming**__ for you._' His next thoughts were muttered aloud.

"So help me _Neptune_, filth, your days are _numbered._"

By the time Dr. Patronete returned to camp, with all his sensors set up, it was just about nighttime. As he drew near the site, he could hear his hired help partying; the air was filled with raucous laughter, radio music, and gunshots. "What on _Earth_ are you _doing?!_" Lewis shouted. "All this racket will scare the Sasquatch away!"

"Ya don't got to worry about _that_, Doc!" one hunter declared. "We've already bagged us a Bigfoot!"

Lewis' eyes widened in surprise. "_What??_" he exclaimed. "Show me!" With that, the hunter promptly led him to another part of the camp.

The hunter led Lewis into a tent, before heading back out. The only thing occupying the tent was a large steel cage...and inside it was a large, blue-furred, simian-like creature.

Lewis couldn't believe it.

"My God..." he murmured. "All my life, I've worked and searched...and now, you're _here_..." He managed to smile. "I didn't think you'd be _blue_, though!"

The Sasquatch glared at him, its eyes narrowing. "I hope you're satisfied."

Lewis let out a yelp of surprise, leaping back. "You can...you can..._talk??_" Lewis exclaimed.

The Sasquatch arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Lewis managed to recompose himself. "I...I'm sorry...I just...never expected you to be capable of speech."

"Well, then I should be an even _more_ valuable prize, shouldn't I?" the Sasquatch said bitterly.

Lewis arched an eyebrow quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Drop the pretense, 'Doctor.' It's perfectly _obvious_ that you plan to sell me to a zoo."

Lewis' eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no, no, no!!" he exclaimed. "All I intended was to find conclusive _proof_ that you existed, so that this habitat and others like it could be _preserved_ as sanctuaries for your kind!" His expression turned sad. "I never wanted this at _all_."

The Sasquatch's expression softened. "I believe you." he replied. "But, whether you intended it or not, that's what's going to happen."

Lewis' expression became firm. "Not if _I_ can help it." With that, he headed out of the tent.

Storming out of the tent, Lewis confronted the leader of the hunters. "Is what I hear _true?_" he demanded. "Do you mean to sell the Sasquatch to a _zoo?!_"

The hunter grinned. "Sure do, Doc." he replied. "We figure he'll fetch a pretty penny at the New York Zoo!"

Lewis' eyes narrowed. "That is _not_ what I hired you all to do!" he shouted. "Release the Sasquatch immediately, or you're all _fired!!_"

The hunter frowned, and simply cocked his shotgun. "In case you ain't noticed, Doc, there's a lot more of _us_ than there is of _you_." he said, as the other nine hunters walked over, surrounding him. "Way I figure, _we're_ in charge, now, and _we_ say Bigfoot's gonna be a star attraction, like it or not. You can tag along, or..." He didn't finish.

Lewis could only lower his head, as the hunters headed off, to get ready to leave with their prize. '_This is all my fault._' he thought. The Sasquatch was going to be paraded around like a carnival attraction...

...and there was nothing he could do about it.

The sun was just starting to set as the hunters started to load Hank's cage onto one of their trucks. Hank could only sigh sadly. '_I suppose it's sadly fitting for a beast-man to be sent to a zoo..._'

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees, causing all the hunters to turn, aiming their weapons at the underbrush. "What was that?!" one yelped.

_RRRRRRAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!!!!!_

That massive, inhuman roar caused the hunters to all jump in fright, seconds before a reddish-furred wolf leapt from the underbrush, pouncing at one hunter, tackling him to the ground and pulling his rifle away. The other hunters started to take aim...

...but they froze in utter _horror_ as the wolf started to _change_, growing larger, its hind legs growing, lengthening, its front legs straightening, its paws becoming _hands_; in seconds, the wolf had become a half-wolf..._thing!!_

Snarling at the hunters, Wolfsbane grabbed the hunter and tossed him at his cohorts, knocking several down. The others tried to take aim, but the ground suddenly started to shake, knocking half of them on their rears.

As the first hunter started to get up, a pair of hands reached up _through_ the ground, and pulled him down into the earth, screaming, up to his neck. A second hunter went for his gun, but dozens of identical-looking pairs of hands grabbed him from the brush, and yanked him in, as a scuffle sounded from the brush, before the hunter was tossed back out, unconscious.

As Wolfsbane slashed one hunter, before kicking him away, three more started to take aim...but a frigid blast of air shot in at them from the brush, freezing their weapons solid, before a blast of electricity shocked them into submission.

The remaining hunters started to back away, scared, as a totally black humanoid creature, surrounded by flame, stepped into view. Sunspot simply picked up one of their trucks, and threw it onto another, smashing them into scrap; now, the only vehicle left was the one with Mr. McCoy.

The hunters tried to run, but they were intercepted by a girl seemingly made of living _fire_, who created a wall of flame, blocking their path. The turned another way, but another girl blocked them, sending waves of sparks flying at them.

Frantic, the hunters tried to flee into the forest...but they stopped, frozen in fear, as a being – seemingly a young woman – made of pure _light_ stood in front of them. The light-creature simply raised her hand, and shot a light beam from her fingertip...

...which missed them entirely.

At first, the hunters breathed a relieved sigh...until they heard the feral snarl as Hank leapt out of his cage, the lock melted by Dazzler's light-beam. The hunters tried to flee, but Dazzler had created a hard-light barrier to block their path, letting Hank get a little justice. With one mighty, sweeping-fist strike, Hank sent the hunters _flying_, to land hard, out cold.

The sound of a shotgun clearing made Hank turn, to spy the lead hunter, battered and bruised, aiming at him. "I didn't came all this way for _nothin'_." he snarled. "Get back in the cage, freak, or I'll..!"

_CRACK!_

The hunter was cut off as a shotgun-handle cracked him in the side of the head, and he went down, revealing Dr. Patronete behind him, holding the weapon like a club. "Sir," he said to the fallen hunter, "you're _fired!_"

As he put down the weapon, Dr. Patronete looked to Hank and the others, all of which who had come into view. He sighed sadly. "I'm so sorry that this happened."

Hank lightly smiled. "I know."

Dr. Patronete smiled regretfully. "You're _not_ Sasquatch, are you?"

Hank shook his head.

"Well...what exactly..._are_ all of you?" Dr. Patronete inquired.

Hank smiled. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not ready for that."

Dr. Patronete chuckled. "No, I suppose not." he agreed. He turned to go. "I'll alert the authorities to come and pick up my ex-employees; I'd advise you to be elsewhere when they arrive."

Kitty smiled. "No need to tell _us_ twice!"

Dr. Patronete smiled. "I do hope that, one day, I can understand _exactly_ what happened, here." With that, he hurried off.

Hank sighed. "As do we, Doctor. As do we." With that, Hank and the others started to load the fallen hunters into the cage, before the park authorities arrived.

It only took the Speeder a few minutes to reach the Fortress.

Upon reaching his sanctuary, Superman guided the Speeder into the Fortress' vehicle bay, setting it down and powering down the engines, the engine-pods retracting back into the ship. As the Fantasticar touched down next to the Speeder, and Johnny exited the vehicle, Superman 'ported himself and the others outside. Smiling, he said, "Welcome to the Fortress of Solitude."

Sue looked around, marveling at the white-crystal walls, with traces of golden quantum circuitry within them. "_My God..._"

Reed smiled, choking back a tear. "This...this must be what Heaven looks like..."

"It's..._breathtaking_..." Namorita murmured. She looked to Namor. "Cousin, _how_ could you have _wanted_ to destroy such a place?"

Superman chuckled. "Fortress," he instructed aloud, "commence download of Speeder's flight-log."

"_Acknowledged._"

Reed looked up at that reply. "This place...this is all one gigantic computer, isn't it?"

Superman smiled. "That and _so_ much more." he said. "The Fortress houses the entire knowledge-base of Krypton and all the worlds it had contact with before its destruction."

"So then what Namorita said is true." Namor said. "You're not of this planet, are you?"

Superman shook his head. "I am Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara, and I am the sole survivor of the planet Krypton." he said.

Namor slowly nodded. "I suppose that explains a few things."

Superman chuckled. "I guess so." he said. "Please, come with me." With that, he led his guests deeper into the Fortress.

As they walked, both Reed and Sue bombarded Superman with questions. "What kind of processing power does the Fortress have?"

"How many worlds was Krypton in contact with?"

"Is it possible for the Fortress to interface with our computers, or does it use an entirely different programming language?"

Johnny laughed. "You _sure_ bringing Sis and Reed here was a good idea, Supes?"

Namor frowned. "I trust that the matter at hand will be resolved." he said.

"_Sheesh_, Namor, give the guy a _break_, will you?" Arthur said. "He _did_ save your neck, a few minutes ago!"

"No, it's okay, Arthur." Superman replied. "We need to get this straightened out as soon as possible."

By then, they were in an incredibly vast chamber, where the main door to the Fortress was located; this was the Fortress' central hub. At the moment, they were standing upon a large, white circular disc. "Fortress," Superman instructed, "Command Center." Instantly, the disc started to glow blue, as a wide blue beam engulfed them, teleporting them away.

The beam deposited them in another chamber; this chamber had numerous computer consoles, each lined with multicolored crystals, with screens showing near-indecipherable holographics – in the Kryptonian language. There were also several shielded windows looking out over the polar snows; this chamber was situated near the very top of the Fortress.

"This is the Fortress' Command Center." Superman explained. "From here, I can monitor activity all over the globe. I can also operate every single one of the Fortress' systems, and view any data-file in its Archives."

Ben whistled. "Nice place."

Namor arched an eyebrow. "You can operate any of its systems...including battle systems?" he inquired warily.

"The defense network can be operated from here." Superman said.

"And what kind of armaments does it have?"

Namorita frowned. "Namor..."

"It's a fair question." Namor said.

Superman sighed. "Suffice it to say that I don't see Doom forcing his way in here, anytime soon."

"Impressive." Namor admitted. "How was it constructed?"

"The nano-crystal I used to build it consisted of trillions of nano-bots." Superman explained. "They were pre-programmed to automatically begin construction once they were triggered. Once I activated the crystal, they started to assemble into the Fortress, taking in excess carbon dioxide from the air and converting it into material that they used to reinforce the Fortress' structure."

Namor arched an eyebrow. "Transmutation?"

"A more accurate description, Your Highness, would be 'Atomic Restructuring,' but that's the idea."

"_Most_ impressive." Namor said. His expression hardened. "It is that very reason, however, that I fear for Atlantis' safety with your presence."

Superman nodded. Walking over to a console, he simply picked up a crystal-processor, and walked back. "This, Your Highness, is a crystal-processor; it's every bit as powerful as a supercomputer, likely _more_." he said. He simply touched it with his fingertip; instantly, its holographic interface appeared around the crystal. Superman touched it again, and the holographics vanished. "You try, Your Highness."

Arching an eyebrow, Namor reached out and touched the crystal...and frowned as nothing happened. "I fear it is defective."

Superman shook his head. "No, Your Highness; Kryptonian technology is _encoded_ so that only those with Kryptonian DNA can use it." he replied. "I think that should put _some_ of your worries at ease; even if one of your enemies _did_ break in here, the Fortress would be _useless_ to them."

"Clever." Namor admitted. "Still, that does not address the fact that its presence could entice our enemies to attack us out of fear."

"_Or_ it could _deter_ them." Reed interjected. "_That's_ just as likely, Namor; if it ever gets out that a stronghold with alien technology of incredible power is on Atlantean soil, your enemies will _definitely_ think twice about attacking you."

Sue smiled. "And I'm _sure_ that Superman would aid you if you were attacked."

Superman nodded. "What are neighbors for?"

"Perhaps." Namor said. "Still, it might be beneficial if you were to agree to an exchange of knowledge, so that Atlantis might be better prepared to defend itself."

Superman shook his head. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I can't do that."

Namor frowned, an eyebrow arched. "And why not?"

"Two main reasons." Superman replied. "For one, many of the defensive technologies the Fortress possesses utilize concepts and technologies that no-one on Earth has thought of yet; it would be like giving the schematics for a combustion engine to a society that hasn't discovered metal-working, yet – you just wouldn't be able to make use of it."

"I suppose that makes sense." Namor admitted. "And what of the other?"

Superman looked grave. "That reason is even _more_ important." he said softly. "It is one of Krypton's _highest_ laws: to _never_ directly interfere in the natural development of another society – to do so is _strictly_ forbidden."

Namor frowned. "Your people did not wish for the balance of power to be upset."

"Namor." Sue said, frowning.

Superman shook his head. "Many hundreds of thousands of years ago, when my people were just entering their technological revolution, they encountered a race whose planet had been decimated by a comet; their infrastructure and resources were _severely_ depleted. Millions were going to die." he said. "My people decided to help them by giving them a single modified EPM, to help them get back on their feet; properly maintained, it could provide them with _more_ than enough energy to rebuild." He lowered his gaze. "A week later, a Kryptonian scout-ship reported that it had been destroyed."

Reed blinked. "The EPM?"

"No." Superman whispered. "The _planet._" He took a deep breath. "The different factions of this race started fighting over my people's gift, and they just...destroyed each other."

No-one spoke at that. "Kal," Sue said finally, "your people _couldn't_ have foreseen what would have happened..."

"And that is _precisely_ the point, Sue." Superman said. "Interfering with another race had disastrous consequences that we could not have foreseen. From then on, the Council of Twelve decreed that _no_ Kryptonian was to directly interfere in another race's development in _any_ way, lest such a tragedy happen again."

Namor arched an eyebrow. "But aren't _you_ 'interfering'?"

Superman chuckled. "I'm only providing an example, Your Highness. It's up to humanity to follow it."

No-one spoke at that. "So," Johnny piped up, "exactly what happened with that ship of yours? How did it get here?"

Smiling, Superman moved to a console, tapping a few holographic keys, bringing up the data from the Speeder's computer. "Hmm...it looks like the Speeder _was_ shot down." he said. "The data's pretty corrupted, but it looks like the Speeder wandered into a battle between the Kree and the Skrulls."

Sue frowned. "Don't they sound nice."

Superman nodded. "As much as the Kree and the Skrulls hated each other, they hated _my_ people even _more_, since they refused to get involved in their war _and_ repelled their invasion forces when neither side wanted to take 'no' for an answer. Seeing a Kryptonian ship was the only thing that could make them stop fighting long enough to gang up on it." He tapped a few more keys. "My people's technology might have been more advanced, but the Speeder wasn't built to take repeated laser-blasts from _fifty_ Heavy Cruisers."

Ben frowned. "Nice guys."

Tapping a few more keys, Superman brought up the rest of the data. "Let's see...it looks like the pilot's name was...Kon-Lir!" he said. Sighing, he added, "But that's it; the rest of the data is too corrupted."

"Well, would the Fortress' database have anything on him?" Reed inquired.

Superman smiled. "It just _might!_" he exclaimed. "Fortress: search Krypton's historical database under keywords 'Kon-Lir' and 'Earth'."

"_Searching...files found._"

Instantly, the screen displayed the search results. "500 years ago, Kon-Lir was on a survey mission to this galaxy." Superman said. "This report says that he was marooned on Earth for eighty Earth years – he was assumed dead until a rescue ship found him." He scanned through the file. "It goes on to say that he was reprimanded for breaking the Supreme Law – the one that says to never interfere with other races."

"So he interfered with human development?" Johnny asked. "It doesn't _look_ like humanity's been interfered with; no super-advanced technology, no crystal houses..._zip._"

"There's more than one way to interfere, Johnny." Superman said. "Fortress: bring up telemetry data from Speeder and superimpose on Earth-map."

Instantly, the screen showed the Atlantic Ocean, fairly close to England. "Okay...Kon-Lir probably stayed in England, since he would try to recover his ship, though he had no way of knowing _exactly_ where it fell, and he likely didn't want to risk being found out." Superman reasoned. "Based on historical records, there doesn't appear to be any indication of Kryptonian ideologies suddenly popping up, and there _definitely_ isn't any sign of Kryptonian tech..."

And then, it _hit_ him.

"Kon-Lir _was_ marooned." he said softly. "There was no way to repair his ship; no way to get home. Slowly, he began to adjust to life on Earth."

"So...how does that make him interfere?" Arthur asked.

"Simple." Superman said. "He fell in love."

No-one spoke for a full _minute_ at that revelation.

"_Whoa._" Arthur murmured. "You mean...there might be people with _alien_ DNA walking around?"

Superman nodded. "It's definitely possible." he said. He lowered his eyes. "One of my people, though unintentionally and with no ill will, interfered with human development."

Reed smiled. "Well, humanity – mostly – turned out okay, so I guess it worked out for the best."

Sue smiled. "Does your database have anything on Earth? Had Krypton ever sent any other scouting missions to Earth?" she inquired.

"A few." Superman replied. "The most recent one was about forty years ago, ten years before Krypton was destroyed. Earth was considered a Class One planet, under D-Level Observation, due for re-evaluation of Contact-Decision forty years after that mission – had Krypton survived, the Council of Twelve would be voting on whether or not to make contact with Earth, about now."

"Well, if that ain't a darn shame, I don't know _what_ is." Ben said.

Superman smiled. "I might not be the _last_, after all." he said softly. He turned to the others. "Thank you, _all_ of you, for giving me back a piece of my world."

"No problem, Supes." Ben said.

Arthur nodded. "Glad to be of help, Smallville."

Namorita then lightly nudged Namor with her elbow. Namor sighed. "I _suppose_ that, at least for the time being, I can _tolerate_ your presence here."

Arthur chuckled. "That's just Namor's way of saying thanks for saving his neck." he said. "You take care now, Smallville."

Superman smiled. "You, too, Arty."

Johnny chuckled. "Hey, Supes," he said, "I know you said that Kryptonian tech couldn't be used by humans...but isn't there _some_ way that, once you get that Speeder fixed up, you could tweak it so that...oh, I don't know...maybe..._I_ could drive it?"

Superman's eyes widened in utter horror at the thought of Johnny behind the Speeder's controls, his expression mirrored by everyone else. His eyes narrowed firmly, as his reply made his sentiment clear.

"_Hell. No._"

Johnny snapped his fingers. "Darn."

Ben chuckled. "Nice try, Matchstick."

"We'd better go, before my brother gets any _more_ ideas." Sue chuckled.

Reed looked stricken. "Do we _have_ to?"

"We can't stick around forever, Stretch." Ben said.

Superman nodded. "The Fortress will automatically let you out when you enter the Fantasticar." he said.

"We'll just catch a lift with Reed and the others." Arthur said.

Namorita nodded. "It was nice meeting you!"

Namor simply gave a curt nod, before he and his cousins followed the Fantastic Four to the teleporter that had taken them here; after Superman entered the commands on the console, the teleporter automatically 'ported them to the vehicle bay, where they got in their vehicle, and headed out. After running a full scan on the Speeder, Superman decided to head back to the campsite. He stepped on the teleporter, and 'ported back to the main hall, where he exited the Fortress, taking to the sky and flying back towards the park.

He hoped everything was okay.

Night soon fell after they had returned to their campsite, after rescuing their beloved teacher. After a celebratory campfire and hot-dog roast, everyone had turned in for the night...except Alison.

Alison cringed in her sleeping bag, enduring another horrible headache, with even the crickets' chirping amplified to deafening levels. Thankfully, after a few agonizing minutes, the headache died away...but Alison was wide awake.

Sighing to herself, Alison sat up. '_Maybe a little swim will calm my nerves._' she thought. After quickly changing into her bathing suit, Alison left her tent, heading for the pond.

The moon was out, tonight, in full, bathing the forest in silver light, making the water gleam. Alison sighed to herself. '_If Clarkie were here, this would be __**perfect.**_' she thought. She wondered how her sweetie was doing; hopefully, his mission to retrieve the lost Speeder had been a success...

Suddenly, the sound of feet touching down sounded behind her, seconds before a pair of strong, wonderfully warm arms embraced her from behind. "Hi, _taushi._"

Alison smiled happily, before turning around and hugging Clark, still in uniform. "Hi, _tausha._" she cooed. "You will not _believe_ what happened while you were gone!"

Superman grinned. "Baby, I don't think _you'll_ believe what happened, either!" he exclaimed. Giggling, Alison took her boyfriend's hand in hers, and led him towards the pond.

For the next hour, the two sat next to each other upon the beach, telling each other what had happened in each other's absence. When both tales were told, Superman smiled. "Ali, I am _very_ proud of you, _and_ of the New Mutants." he said.

"Thanks!" Alison replied, beaming. "Maybe I _can_ help with crime-fighting, in the future!" Smiling, she added, "And _I'm_ proud of _you!_ You defused an international incident, recovered the lost Speeder, _and_ saved the ruler of the lost city of _Atlantis!_" Her expression became a bit rosy. "Is there _anything_ you can't do?" she cooed.

Chuckling, Superman replied, "Well, I seem to have trouble finding a few moments to have my _taushi_ all to myself." His smile grew. "The Speeder's logs show that there was a Kryptonian marooned on Earth, Ali, and he had children; children whose descendants may still be around! I might not be alone!"

Alison smiled. "That's a nice thought." she said. "So, what will you do with that Speeder?"

"Well, I'll probably get it back into tip-top shape, as well as make some modifications to it." Superman replied. "Jor-El had previously developed new shielding technology and new weaponry before Krypton was destroyed; luckily, he always took detailed notes – it should be fairly easy to adapt them for the Speeder. Plus, I think I'll try to install a Trans-Warp Drive in the Speeder; it should be able to handle it, and once I move the _Krypton_ to the Fortress, I can use its Drive as a template, which, combined with Jor-El's notes, should make it fairly simple."

"Cool!" Alison said. "What'll you call your new ship?"

Superman thought for a moment. "I think I'll call it...the _Argo_."

Alison blinked. "'The _Argo_?'"

"Argo was Krypton's sister-planet." Superman explained. "Initially, it was a colony of Krypton, which quickly grew in population until it was just as populated as Krypton."

Alison's eyes widened. "Clark...could any of your people have survived on Argo?"

Superman closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Argo was decimated _before_ Krypton was lost." he said softly. "Millennia ago, another race used Argo as a staging area, trying to invade the Xerius Galaxy; my people developed a weapon to combat them."

He took a deep breath. "It was called the Eradicator." he continued. "It was a Kryptonian weapon of mass destruction. It did _exactly_ what its name implied it did; the Eradicator sent out an electromagnetic wave that altered the brain activity of the race it was keyed to attack – within days, the Eradicator drove every _member_ of the invading race utterly and horribly _insane_. Within a week, they had killed each other."

"When my people tried to retrieve the Eradicator, they found that it had an unexpected flaw; it could automatically adjust itself to attack a _new_ race after the previous one was gone; it nearly drove the retrieval party _mad_." Superman finished. "My people had to use a robotic drone to go in and deactivate the Eradicator, before burying it _deep_ below the surface of Argo." His eyes clenched shut. "In the months before the Krypton-Shi'ar War, the Eradicator _somehow_ was reactivated. By the time my people realized what was going on, it was too late; every Kryptonian on Argo was dead." He took a deep breath. "When I learned about the Argo Tragedy in the Fortress, I also learned that my Aunt, Uncle, and teenage cousin were on Argo when the Eradicator went off." he said. "My Uncle's name was Lin-El, my Aunt was Zira...and my cousin was named Kara; Kara Zor-El. She was only about fifteen...and the Eradicator drove them all _insane._"

Gently, Alison took her beloved's hand, her eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Superman smiled. "Thanks, Ali." he replied. His smile became a bit sly, which made color surge to Alison's face. "I believe I owe you a rain check for earlier today."

Alison giggled, closing her eyes as her beau leaned closer to her, before she opened them again, placing a fingertip on Superman's lips, halting his advances; she wanted to say this before her heart took over her mind. Superman just stared at her, his eyes wide, worried if he'd upset her...and looking so goofily _adorable_ that Alison couldn't _help_ but give him a sweet peck on the lips. "Clarkie, wait." she cooed. "As much as I would absolutely _love_ to fool around a bit, we should talk, first."

Superman smiled, nodding. "Of course, _taushi_."

Alison smiled lovingly. "Clarkie, I _want_ you." she cooed. "I love you with all my heart and soul, and I want my first time to be with _you_." She giggled. "I'm pretty sure I gave you that impression, earlier today."

Superman chuckled. "And _how_."

Alison smiled. "In spite of that," she continued, "I'm still not quite ready to go that far." She chuckled. "Maybe it was a _good_ thing that you got called away before things went too far. I mean, I will _never_ regret sharing myself with you, Clarkie – _ever_ – it's just that...I want the moment to be _right_ when we make love." She met his gaze. "Am I making _any_ sense?"

Superman smiled, and gave her a tender, loving kiss. "You don't have to explain, _taushi_." he said. "I understand _completely_; you're _more_ than worth waiting for. I _love_ you, Alison; as long as you're happy, _I'm_ happy."

Alison smiled happily, before kissing him again. "You are the most wonderful man _alive_." she cooed. With that, she stood up, her smile turning coy. "Even though we're not going to do _that_, we _can_ do...other things." She walked towards the pond, before looking over her shoulder. "Care to go for a swim?"

Superman grinned. "As if you even need to ask." he quipped. In seconds, he'd shed his belt and uniform-top, before wading into the water after Alison.

Once they were both out in the deep water, Alison swam across from Clark, giggling, before diving under the surface...seconds before she popped back up and hopped onto his back, playfully trying to pull him under. Laughing, Clark let her win that little battle, going under, where he pulled Alison into his arms and kissed her for a couple of wonderfully long minutes, before they popped back up above water.

Alison smiled, her hair prettily slicked back against her head, as the rest floated about her in the water. "_Wow..._"

Clark smiled. "I'll say."

Alison giggled, as she pressed her finger to the side of her nose. "I could have done without the water up my nose, though."

Clark grinned slyly. "Well, now it's _my_ turn." he said, before he ducked under the surface.

Seconds later, Alison burst into uncontrolled laughter as she felt her boyfriend tickling the bottoms of her feet. "_Clark!! Nononononononononono!!_" she squealed, as Clark's merciless tickling assault rendered her completely powerless. Then, as Clark's tickling ceased, Alison could only sigh in bliss as she felt his hands gently glide up her legs, before resting around her waist, as Clark reappeared above the surface, snaring her lips in a powerful kiss, one which Alison reciprocated with every fiber of her being. As the kiss ended, their eyes met, Clark's eyes wordlessly asking her a question. Slowly, Alison closed her eyes, answering him.

'_Oh, God, __**yes.**_'

Slowly, tenderly, Clark grasped the zipper of Alison's swimsuit-top, and unzipped it, slowly revealing the creamy skin of her curves, until the zipper was undone. Lovingly, Clark slipped the fabric from her shoulders, before tossing it to the beach, with the rest of his uniform.

It was as if a radiant flower had just opened its petals.

Alison's bare breasts were utterly _exquisite_, perfectly round, firm yet supple, moving perfectly with every breath she took, and tipped with pink. Alison's eyes remained closed as Clark kissed her again, his hands lovingly cupping her curves, slowly caressing them, marveling at how soft she was to his touch, and savoring her slow moans of pleasure.

Alison was in _paradise._ She could not remember how many times she had dreamed of her Clarkie touching her this way...and now, she knew that the reality was _so_ much better than the fantasy. She reciprocated the kiss with every ounce of love she had in her now-ecstatic heart, savoring every time her _tausha_ gave a loving squeeze, every time his wonderfully skilled fingers glided across her nipples.

After what seemed like an eternity of bliss, Clark pulled his _taushi_ close to him, in the most amazing, most perfect hug he'd _ever_ had, smiling as he heard her lightly gasp. "I love you." he whispered to her, before kissing the side of her throat.

Alison smiled blissfully, savoring her beloved's kiss. "I love you, too." she cooed, her voice breathy, as she whispered into her lover's ear, her breath tickling him. Soon, his lips found their way to hers, and they shared the most passionate kiss they had _ever_ shared.

After a few more wonderful minutes, they ended the kiss, gazing into each other's eyes. "Clark...that was _wonderful._" Alison whispered, her eyes sparkling happily.

Clark smiled back. "No words could ever describe how much I love you, _taushi_."

Alison giggled. "_Those_ words seem to get the message across!" Her smile turned shy. "Clark...tonight...could I sleep with you?" She blushed. "It's just that, after this, I don't think I can stand to be away from you, tonight." She giggled. "Or ever _again_, for that matter!"

Clark chuckled. "For tonight, I would _love_ to." he replied. "But, as for all _other_ nights, I don't think Professor Xavier would approve."

Alison smiled. "Fair enough!" she chimed. Clark smiled, and reluctantly released his exquisitely beautiful girlfriend from his arms, as they headed back to shore. As they walked onto the beach, Alison picked up the pile of clothes, before pressing them to her chest, to hide her beauty from any prying eyes. Smiling, Clark lifted her into his arms, gently wrapping his cape around her, before carrying her to his tent. Once he reached the tent, Clark set Alison down, before silently opening the tent and taking out his sleeping bag, without waking Hank; having a half-naked Alison in his sleeping bag would have been difficult to explain. After setting it down, Clark very gently exhaled over Alison, drying her off, and then he unzipped the sleeping bag, and got in, before Alison followed him, wreathing her arms around his neck, nuzzling into the crook of his neck, as Clark embraced her, savoring the touch of this beautiful, special young woman that he loved more than life itself. As his _taushi_ fell asleep, Clark was content to simply watch the stars, and listen to her breathing, before joining her in dreamland.

It was a few hours before sunrise by the time Kitty woke up. After dressing, she got out of her tent, and headed to the kitchen tent, where she found Clark, Ali, and Hank starting to pack things away. "Hey, Clark!" Kitty greeted. "When did you get back?"

"Late last night." Clark replied, before smiling at Alison.

Alison smiled back. "Yesterday was certainly...eventful, for the _both_ of us."

Kitty slowly started to smile. When Hank was out of earshot, she asked, "What's going on?"

Clark and Alison just smiled at each other knowingly. "Oh, nothing." Alison said. "Clarkie and I just...had a nice time cuddling, before we turned in."

Kitty's smile grew, but she didn't press her friends, any more. She didn't have to; their smiles told it all.

Before too long, everyone else had woken up, and they were soon packed and hiking towards the clearing where they would meet Logan and the Blackbird. As they hiked, the had all gotten caught up.

"You mean you _found_ that spaceship that crashed on Earth, Clark?" Jamie exclaimed. "That's so _cool!_"

Clark smiled. "Thanks, Jamie." he replied. "I just need to fix it up, and it'll be good as new." He then quickly added, "And before you ask, _no_, you guys can't drive it."

Bobby snapped his fingers. "Darn."

"But _I_ heard that you guys all saved Mr. McCoy!" Clark exclaimed.

Hank smiled. "That they did."

Clark smiled. "I am _very_ proud of all of you." he said.

"The _coolest_ part was when Rahne let out that roar!" Jamie exclaimed. "It scared 'em _silly!_"

Rahne froze. "Jamie...I dinnae make any roar."

"Huh??" Bobby asked.

"Rahne...you _had_ to; we all heard it!" Jubilee exclaimed.

"No, you _couldn't_ have!" Roberto said. "I was with Rahne just before she attacked! It wasn't her! We thought one of _you_ did it!"

"It wasn't any of us!" Ray exclaimed. "Who did it?"

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"You know, we don't want to keep Logan waiting." Kitty said quickly.

"Yeah." Lance quickly agreed. "We should get a move on." With that, they all hurried to the clearing, where the Blackbird was waiting. After they all quickly got on board, the Blackbird took to the sky, flying off towards home.

Had it lingered a few moments more, one of its passengers might have spotted an immensely tall, thickly-brown-furred being, standing on two powerful legs, looking up at the Blackbird as it flew off. When it was gone, the being absently scratched its side, before it lumbered back into its forest home.

_Coming Soon:_

_As his birthday comes around Clark learns that, though he is Krypton's Last Son, he's not __**quite**__ the only being that survived Krypton's demise._

_What revelations will this four-legged newcomer bring to our hero and his family?_

_And as one of the New Mutants goes missing, the X-Men learn that there are mutants in the sewers…_

_…and it ain't turtles I'm talking about._

_Can Superman and the X-Men save the day?_

_Or will they need the help of Man's Best Friend?_

_Find out in "A Boy and his Dog," coming to your computer soon…_


	22. A Boy and his Dog, Part One

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: A BOY AND HIS DOG, PART ONE

_Krypton, Arctura Sector, Earth Date March 5, 1977_

Deep within the polar ice of Krypton's Arctura Sector, a lone crystalline outpost stood, built into one of the majestic ice-cliffs, which gleamed brilliantly in the waning evening light of the red sun. On the outpost's landing pad, a tall, strongly-built Kryptonian man, in his early thirties, tinkered with a small silver-metal spacecraft, shaped like a torpedo, less than half his size. He had short black hair, and blue eyes, clad in his traditional black bodysuit under his silver trenchcoat-style robe, with the crest of the House of El emblazoned in silver upon the suit's chest, a silver head-ring about his head.

As he finished the last of his preparations, Jor-El smiled to himself, before welding the last panel into place. It was finished; his first prototype Trans-Warp vessel.

Despite the Krypton-Shi'ar War having ended a few months ago, the Council of Twelve was reluctant in reactivating Krypton's World-Gate Network, which had traditionally facilitated travel throughout space; Jor-El could understand that, as he was a Councilman, himself. The Council had to be sure that their technology was _never_ used for conquest, as the Shi'ar Emperor, Kral'Nor, had wanted to. Even though Kral'Nor had been exiled, along with his young son and daughter, D'Ken and Caly'see, and a new, more moderate Empress – Kral'Nor's other daughter, Lilandra – was being groomed, this kind of thing could _never_ be allowed to happen again.

Krypton needed a new form of space-travel...and Jor-El hoped that Trans-Warp would be it.

As an earthquake shook the ground, Jor-El frowned to himself; these quakes had been gradually increasing in frequency, lately – this was the _third_ one, this month. He'd once theorized that Krypton's planetary core could become unstable, but the rest of the Council had laughed at such a notion, refusing to even _consider_ it. '_I'll have to send a probe to the core._' he thought. '_Hopefully, it's nothing..._'

But he _had_ to be sure. He would send a probe after he tested the Trans-Warp vessel. Keeping his musings to himself, Jor-El headed inside his home.

As Jor-El walked in, he smiled as he was greeted by his beloved wife, Lara. She was as intelligent as she was beautiful – Jor-El's dream come true. Her long hair was midnight black, her eyes a sapphire blue, accentuating her creamy skin, her flawless curves accentuated by her long, slim, black gown.

Lara returned his smile, as they shared a sweet kiss. "All set for your test, _tausha?_" she cooed.

Jor-El grinned, nodding. "It's ready, _taushi_." he replied. "If this goes well, Krypton will no longer _need_ the World-Gates."

Lara looked worried. "I just hope that nothing bad happens to the dog you purchased to test the ship." she said. "Little Kal's gotten so attached to Krypto."

"Based on my calculations, Krypto should be just fine." Jor-El assured her. "The _worst_ that should happen is that he gets a bit of motion-sickness after the ship jumps back."

Lara chuckled. "As long as _you_ clean it up, that's fine."

Jor-El grinned. "Fair enough." With that, he headed further into his home, looking for their new pet.

As Jor-El came into the living room, he couldn't help but smile; there, sitting on the floor, playing fetch with Krypto, was his son, little Kal-El. Kal was a happy, healthy baby of four months, fairly big for that age, with black hair and sky-blue eyes, clad in black-and-blue pajamas, giggling as he tossed a ball to the little white puppy, who barked happily before catching it and bringing it back.

"Krypto! Here, boy!" Jor-El called; at once, the little animal perked up, dropping the ball. He quickly gave Kal a tiny lick – as if to say 'good-bye' – and ran to Jor-El's feet, wagging his little tail.

Krypto had taken to obedience training very well.

Smiling, Jor-El picked up the little puppy, who licked his nose as soon as he was close enough. "Okay, Krypto," Jor-El said, "you're just going to go on a little trip, okay? You'll just be out and back before you know it." Krypto simply barked in agreement. Smiling, Jor-El took Krypto with him as he walked back out to the launch pad.

Within minutes, Jor-El had placed the trusting puppy within the main compartment of the Trans-Warp ship, wrapping him in his favorite red blanket, before sealing the compartment and placing him in cryo-stasis; the stasis didn't work quite as well for animals as it did for people – Krypto's life processes were slowed to nearly stopping, as opposed to being completely frozen. Still, he'd be fine, as the ship was _more_ than capable of sustaining him indefinitely.

Once Krypto was all tucked in, Jor-El headed inside, to the control console, where Lara was waiting. Jor-El smiled. "Here we go." he said. "Wish me luck."

Lara smiled. "Good luck."

At once, Jor-El started the ignition sequence for the ship; in seconds, the ship's engines ignited, and the little vessel soared into the atmosphere...and then through it, out into the black of space.

Quickly, Jor-El entered the calculations for the initial jump to Trans-Warp, and then the jump back to Krypton, where he could guide the vessel back from here; once the commands had been entered, the ship did the rest. Automatically, two wings extended from the underside of the ship, as two pylons extended from its dorsal side. The pylons quickly energized, and the ship streaked away at Trans-Warp, moving _hundreds_ of times the speed of light.

After a few seconds, Jor-El's scanners quickly picked up the ship's signal as it came out of Trans-Warp...over a hundred light-years from Krypton.

The test had been a success.

Jor-El let out a whoop of joy, hugging Lara to him. "It _worked_, Lara! It _worked!_" he crowed. "With a stronger power source, a ship can travel from one galaxy to the next in _minutes_, without using the Gates! I _have_ to deliver these findings to the Council as soon as possible!"

Lara looked worried. "What about Krypto? Is he okay?"

Jor-El nodded. "I programmed the ship to lock on to our home's beacon, to use it as a reference point." he said. "The ship should be jumping back to Krypton at Trans-Warp any time, now..."

Suddenly, an alarm signal started to beep on the console. Looking to the alert, Jor-El was horrified to see that a spatial rift – a fold in the fabric of space itself – was forming a few hundred meters from Krypto's ship! Jor-El had once theorized that such rifts were natural occurrences in space, but he had never before _seen_ one.

It was threatening to pull the ship into it.

Quickly, Jor-El's hands _flew_ over the keys, as a horrified Lara looked on. '_Hang on, Krypto,_' Jor-El thought, as he tried to jump-start the ship's Trans-Warp Drive, to get it to jump back _faster_, '_just hang on..._'

But it was too late; the rift pulled the little craft inside, closing instantly.

Jor-El hung his head, his eyes clenched tight. '_Poor Krypto._'

Lara looked just as sad as he felt. "That poor little thing..." she whispered. "What will happen to him?"

Jor-El could only shrug. "Spatial rifts are folds in the fabric of space; somewhere in the universe, Krypto's ship is going to just pop out of that rift." he said. "When that happens, the ship's computer is going to try to locate our beacon; it'll wander the cosmos, looking for us – Krypto's still alive, but he's lost."

Lara nodded sadly. "Kal will be just _heartbroken._"

Jor-El sighed sadly, getting up from the console, keeping his balance as another quake shook the ground. "I'll send out a probe, to see if Krypto's ship is nearby. For now, we'd best head inside; it's getting late."

Lara nodded. "Also, there was a message for you from Zod; he says that the Council is investigating his conduct during the war, and he wanted to let you know before the Council told you."

"That's _ridiculous!_" Jor-El exclaimed, incredulous at how the Council could do that to his old friend. "How can the Council even _suspect_ him of misconduct?"

"I don't know." Lara replied. "I just wanted to tell you what his message said."

Jor-El nodded. "I'll sort this out in the morning." he said. "For now, let's just get some dinner." Lara nodded, and they both headed into their home, but not before Jor-El cast one last glance to the sky.

'_Good luck, out there, Krypto._' he thought, and then he headed in.

_Deep space, over 1 billion light-years from Krypton_

Deep in the black of space, a spatial rift opened, and a single, tiny silver ship glided out of it. As the rift closed, the ship's computer resumed its programmed activity.

_Action: scanning for homing beacon._

_Observation: beacon not found._

_Action: scanning for recognizable constellations._

_Observation: no recognizable constellations located._

_Conclusion: ship is no longer in Xerius Galaxy._

_Action: initiate emergency protocol._

_Action: chart most probable course to Krypton._

_Observation: no point of reference; unable to plot course._

_Action: plot random course._

_Action: enable sub-space homing transponder._

_Action: continue scanning for homing beacon._

The little ship began to slowly glide through space, carrying the sleeping Krypto within it, as it continually broadcasted its distress signal, in the hope that a Kryptonian vessel would find it, and as it kept scanning for the homing beacon, which would lead it home.

_New York City, New York, April 26, 2008_

The dead of night had fallen over New York City, and not a soul was stirring in an empty street, the only sounds being made by pieces of newspaper being blown about by the wind.

Suddenly, the silence was cut by the sound of metal grating on concrete, as a manhole slowly rose up , before it was shoved aside...and a youth climbed out of the sewers, of average height, and lean frame, clad in ragged jeans and a tattered white t-shirt. He had pale skin, short brown hair, brown eyes...

...and a face that extended out, almost like a kind of turtle's jaw.

The youth looked about nervously, before darting towards the sidewalk, making his way to the dumpster. As he reached it, he opened it up, and looked in, hoping that, this time, there would be a meal for himself and the others...

The screech of tires cut the air, as several black vans pulled up, surrounding him. The youth darted into a nearby alley, as numerous black-clad armed men poured out of the vans, chasing after him. The youth ran as fast as he could...until he came to a dead end, as the soldiers rapidly closed on him.

He bit back a cry as a dart plunged itself into his arm, before the tranquilizer in the dart flooded his bloodstream, enveloping his brain in a drugged haze. '_This must be...what happened...to the others..._' he thought, before he passed out.

As the mutant went under, the soldiers moved closer, placing their handguns in their forearm-holsters...just above their black arm-bands, with the white letters 'F.O.H.' stitched into them. As two soldiers carried the mutant away, their leader took out his communicator. "This is Squadron One calling in." he said. "You were right, sir; there _are_ mutants hiding in the sewers."

"_As I thought._" came the voice of Graydon Creed on the other side. _"Just like cockroaches. Our other test-subjects must be part of their group._"

"It seems likely, sir." the soldier agreed. "Should we head under, and flush them out?"

"_Negative; we have all the test-subjects we need._" Graydon replied. "_As much as we would all enjoy a hunt, we are on a tight schedule. Once the tests are done, however, we could always conduct a little...field-exercise; test out our new troops in actual field conditions._"

The soldier smiled. "An _excellent_ idea, sir!" he agreed. "Understood; Squadron One is returning to base." With that, he switched off his communicator, and rejoined his men, before they got back in their vehicles, driving off with their new test-subject.

_Castle Doom, Doomstadt, Latveria_

The skies over the foreboding Castle Doom were their usual gloomy grey, even as the sun's morning rays started hinting over the horizon. Deep within Castle Doom, in his private laboratory, Victor von Doom stood at a computer console, looking over a computer readout. '_Interesting._' Doom thought to himself. He glanced to the shielded glass case, which held the glowing green crystalline element. '_Even __**I**__ had not anticipated this substance's properties to be so fascinating._'

"Father?"

Doom smiled to himself as Anita, in her uniform, entered his lab. "_Now, Anita,_" he lightly scolded, "_have I not often told you that I am not to be disturbed when I am in my lab?_"

Anita looked stricken, and lightly bowed. "Please forgive me, Father," she said, "but I wished to see you. I had not heard from you in several weeks, and I was worried..."

Doom turned to his daughter, and gently lifted her chin to meet his gaze. "_You need not have worried, my child. I was simply undertaking an extensive experiment, which produced some intriguing results._" He gestured to the glass case.

Anita's eyes went wide as she saw the glowing green crystal. "Papa...is that..?"

Doom nodded. "_Yes, Anita. That is the element that Kal-El calls 'Kryptonite,' in its processed, refined form._" he said. "_I have made several discoveries concerning its properties._"

Anita smiled. "Would you tell me, Papa?" she asked.

"_Of course._" Doom replied, glad to answer his daughter's curiosity. "_This element, upon closer examination, is a trans-uranium element: Atomic Number 137. The only known source of it is the meteors that crashed into Earth 21 years ago; many of these meteors landed in Smallville, Kansas – in all likelihood, the meteors were chunks of Krypton that were hurled through space when the planet was destroyed. This suggests that the element either existed on Krypton as it exists now, or it was another element that was transmuted by the explosion._"

Anita nodded. "And it is completely harmless to us?"

"_After only brief exposure, yes._" Doom agreed. "_It is no more harmful than the ultra-violet rays in sunlight; only extensive exposure is carcinogenic. In its refined form, however, the radiation from the element is considerably stronger, comparable in strength to weapons-grade uranium or plutonium._"

Anita's eyes widened. "Papa," she asked, "could this form of Kryptonite...be used to make a weapon?"

"_Not an explosive weapon._" Doom said. "_A unique property of this substance is that it is non-fissile; a fission weapon is impossible. However, its emissions __**could**__ be focused into a beam-weapon._"

"I see." Anita said softly. "So...you plan to make such a weapon?"

"_No._" Doom replied. "_That is for our pawns; Kal-El must see the humanity he cares for turn on him and his loved ones, and with such a weapon at their disposal, he will have no choice but to accept his __**true**__ destiny._"

Doom looked to the crystal. "_Not only that,_" he added, "_but the rays of this refined element are considerably mutagenic; having such a weapon close by is a considerable risk. The operator of this weapon will have to be a non-manned vehicle._" He chuckled. "_I do not believe that will be an obstacle for our pawns, given what they are planning._"

Anita nodded. "If _that_ doesn't convince him of his foolishness, I do not know what _will_." she said.

Doom nodded. "_I have learned that, two weeks prior, Kal-El made contact with Namor and his family._" he said. "_They initially met at Richards' headquarters, before proceeding to the Atlantic, where they proceeded with a salvage operation of some sort, with Richards' assistance._"

Anita frowned. "There's _no_ accounting for taste with my future husband." she said archly. She remained composed, though her left hand clenched into a fist. "Just look at who he's dating."

Doom lightly chuckled; if there was _any_ soul whose hatred and disdain of Reed Richards exceeded his own, it was Anita. Even _his_ voice did not carry that edge of venom when Richards' name was uttered. "_Our reckoning with Richards will come soon enough, my child._" he said. "_As will __**yours**__ with that Blaire girl._"

Anita nodded dutifully. "Yes, Papa."

"_Naturally, our pawns should learn of these findings; already, they are experimenting with the element's mutagenic properties._" Doom said. "_But enough of that, my dear; you should return to Bayville. After all, you have school._"

Anita chuckled. "As if those buffoons could teach me _anything_ that you cannot." she said.

"_Nevertheless, you should not pass up any opportunity to observe Xavier's students._"

Anita nodded. "Yes, Father." she said. With that, she left the lab, leaving Doom to his thoughts.

_Xavier Institute, Bayville, April 27, 2008_

It was fairly late in the afternoon when Superman returned to the Institute, the faintest hints of red starting to color the horizon. After heading to his room to change back to his street clothes, Clark headed downstairs, to see what everyone else was doing.

It had been a fairly quiet day. At the Bugle, there hadn't been any major stories to cover, so all he'd really had to do was catch up on his paperwork. After that, he'd headed to the Fortress, to continue work on the _Argo._ After only a couple of weeks, he figured he was making pretty good progress; he'd managed to patch up the Speeder's hull, reinstall the damaged Ion Cannon and repair the other Cannon, and started the upgrades he was planning to install. He'd had to reconfigure the main power-core, and add an extra EPM to compensate for the excess power-consumption that the upgrades would require. After that, he'd started modifying the shield generator according to Jor-El's specifications; based on his father's notes, it was possible to generate a kind of "energy-armor" that was _infinitely_ stronger than the Speeder's conventional shields, as well as a cloaking system that would render the _Argo_ completely undetectable to radar, visual detection, and most other scanning technologies. Once that was done, he could start tweaking the Speeder's weapon-systems, and give the relatively-light-armed _Argo_ a little extra _oomph_. The most difficult task was proving to be installing a Trans-Warp Drive. After moving the _Krypton_ to the Fortress, Clark had gotten a whole new respect for the intricate complexities of the Drive.

As Clark walked downstairs, he was surprised to see that no-one else was in the living room. "Hello?" he called, as he walked through the living room and into the kitchen. "Guys?"

No answer.

Passing through the kitchen, he came to the dining room, which was completely dark. He flipped on the light switch. "Hello?"

"_SURPRISE!!_"

Clark nearly jumped through the _ceiling_ as he saw the entire Institute family gathered in the dining room, each one holding a gift, with a birthday-cake on the table...with his Ma standing next to the table.

The entire group moved closer to him, but Alison was the first one to reach him. "Happy Birthday, Clarkie!" she cooed.

"What?" Clark said. "But..." He mentally smacked himself. "Aw, dang it!" he laughed, returning Alison's embrace. "Thanks, everyone!"

"_Dude_, you forgot _again?_" Evan laughed.

"How can you forget your _birthday??_" Jubilee exclaimed.

"Oh, leave him alone!" Martha said, smiling. "Heaven knows, my boy's been busier than a worker bee in a flower-garden, with that job of his!" Her smile grew, as she walked over, giving Clark a hug. "Happy Birthday, honey!"

Clark grinned, returning his mother's hug. "Thanks, Ma." he said. "Let me guess; Professor Xavier coordinated this whole thing so I wouldn't catch on, right?"

The Professor smiled knowingly.

"Thought so."

"But, seriously, Clark; _how_ can you forget your birthday?" Bobby asked.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "Because it's _not_, technically." he admitted. "Today is the day, 21 years ago, that my ship landed on Earth; we just figured that this day was as good a day as any to celebrate it."

Remy chuckled. "Dat works f'r us, _mon ami._"

Amara nodded. "This _was_ the day that you arrived on this world." she agreed.

"Thanks." Clark said. Grinning, he added, "Well, since you all went to such trouble, let's get started!" With that, they all headed into the dining room, to commence with the celebration.

The celebration went pretty well, Clark had to admit. His Ma had outdone herself with the cake she'd baked, to everyone's delight. After the meal, the others presented their gifts to him, which included a DVD of "Heartbreak Ridge," the only movie that was missing from his Pa's old Clint Eastwood movie collection, a knitted red-and-blue sweater – from his Ma, of course – and a collection of episodes from the old TV comedy "Mork and Mindy."

After a few hours of watching the hilarious antics of Robin Williams' character – Mork from Ork – as he tried to fit in on Earth, Clark and the others decided to call it a night. As most of the others started to retire, Clark headed out to the balcony, to watch the stars, like he always did on this day. Today was about his birth-parents – Jor-El and Lara – as much as it was about him. If they hadn't sent him to Earth...

"Everything okay, honey?"

Clark smiled as his Ma walked onto the balcony, standing next to him. "Yeah, everything's fine, Ma." he replied.

Martha smiled. "Just remembering?"

Clark nodded. "Sometimes I just wonder if...if they'd be proud of me, if they were still here."

Martha hugged her son. "Oh, honey...they'd be the proudest parents in the entire _universe_." she said. "Just like your father and I."

Clark smiled. "Thanks, Ma." he replied. His tone turned sad. "I miss him." he whispered.

"I do, too, sweetheart." Martha answered. "I do, too."

Just then, Alison peeked her head out through the door, smiling shyly. "Am I interrupting?"

Martha smiled. "Not at _all_, honey; we're all done." she said. To Clark, she added, "I'll just leave you two alone; I have to get ready to go home, anyway."

Clark smiled. "Okay, Ma. It was great to see you!"

"It was great to see you, too, Clark. Don't be a stranger." Martha replied, before she headed back inside.

Alison smiled as she walked closer to Clark, who looped his arm around her shoulders in a loving gesture. "So, what were you and your Mom talking about?" Alison sweetly inquired.

"Oh, you know...just family stuff." Clark replied.

Alison nodded, before her smile turned sheepish. "I hope you didn't find my gift _too_ lame."

Clark grinned. "_Taushi_, I _loved_ it." he replied. Alison's gift to him had been a ceramic hand-sized model of the planet Earth, with a message-card saying, '_Without you, this would SUCK._'

Alison smiled. "Regardless, I have a 'back-up' gift for you, but it's for tomorrow." she said. "Starting late-night tomorrow, a week-long horror-movie marathon is starting. I was hoping we could watch it."

Clark blinked in mild confusion. "Okay."

Alison laughed. "You big blue doofus...you don't get it, do you?" she sweetly teased. "Didn't you hear Bobby's 'theory'?"

"Well, sure." Clark said. "Last week, he said that nothing turns a girl on faster than a good horror movie..." His eyes widened in understanding. "_Oh!_"

Alison smiled slyly. "Two tickets to Make-Out City, please!"

Clark grinned, and gave his _taushi_ a kiss. "You are the best girlfriend _ever!_"

Alison smiled at the compliment, before her gaze turned skyward, becoming a bit anxious. "So...do you think that Jor-El and Lara would – I mean, if they were still around – would...approve of me?"

Clark smiled. "What? Ali, they would just _love_ you!" he laughed.

Alison smiled weakly. "Even though I'm not...one of you?"

Clark nodded. "Alison, I'm pretty sure my people mostly grew out of xenophobia and prejudice a long time ago; such things have no place in a space-faring society."

Alison looked worried. "But...what about that guy Kon-Lir? Didn't he get disciplined for falling in love with a human?"

Clark nodded in understanding, seeing what she was worried about. "Ali, Kon-Lir was reprimanded because he interfered – though unintentionally – with humanity. He was disciplined because his actions could have altered the course of human evolution; he was punished for affecting _you_, not us." he answered. "It was nothing against humanity."

Alison smiled. "You really think they'd like me?"

"I _know_ it." Clark said. "My parents would love you to _pieces_, Ali...and if Krypto was still around, he'd have _adored_ you, too."

Alison blinked. "Who?"

"Krypto." Clark answered. "He was my family's dog, just before Krypton was destroyed."

Alison smiled. "You had _dogs_, too?" she exclaimed.

Clark nodded. "Yeah; they were pretty much identical to Earth dogs – the wonders of co-evolution!" he said. "Anyway, Jor-El adopted Krypto a few months after I was born; I found reference to him in my father's notes." His tone turned sad. "Jor-El had needed to make sure that Trans-Warp travel was safe for living beings; he was pretty confident that it was safe, but he needed to _test_ that theory...so he used Krypto as a passenger for an automated Trans-Warp ship. He was right – Krypto came through Trans-Warp okay in suspended animation...but the ship was lost in a spatial rift. Jor-El searched for him, but never found him. A month later, Krypton was destroyed."

Alison looked stricken. "That's awful...that poor little puppy..."

Clark nodded. "The ship's power cells were pretty strong, just in case something like this ever happened," he said, "but they should be running out, right about now, and who _knows_ where Krypto's ship is in space."

Alison nodded sadly, placing a hand on Clark's shoulder. "Wherever he is, he'll be going to a better place." she said.

Clark smiled. "Thanks, Ali." he replied. With that, they headed back inside.

_Deep space, just beyond Pluto's orbit_

The light of the main sun of this system was incredibly faint as the tiny Kryptonian ship, its silver hull dulled with space-dust, glided into the system, its main engines giving off a faint glow, as its EPM-power waned.

_Observation: main power 98 percent depleted._

_Observation: life-support failure will occur in 10 standard minutes._

_Action: continue scanning for tracking signal._

Slowly, the dying ship cruised into the system, still carrying its canine occupant, now aged to adulthood through the slowness of suspended animation. As it flew, the ship continued scanning, in the vain hope that the beacon could be found...

_Observation: beacon found._

_Observation: beacon-signal located on north-magnetic pole of third planet of system._

_Action: lock onto beacon and initiate Trans-Warp Drive._

_Action: plot course for stable re-entry into atmosphere and activate rescue transponder._

At once, the ship extended its wings and pylons, stirred to life by the beacon it had been searching for. In seconds, the pylons were energized, and the ship took off at Trans-Warp speeds, streaking through space, and exiting Trans-Warp at the very edges of the blue planet's atmosphere, where it powered down its Trans-Warp Drive, retracting its wings and pylons, and began transmitting its distress signal, which only Kryptonian receivers could detect.

_Action: commence re-animation sequence._

As the ship began to glow red with heat from re-entry, the canine passenger within the vessel began to stir, emerging from the cryogenic suspension that he had slept in for so long...

As the blanket of night fell across the Institute, Clark was getting ready to start his evening patrol. He had already donned his uniform, and was getting ready to head out through the nearby window...

Suddenly, his belt-computer started to beep. Surprised, Superman unclipped the computer and unfolded it, to check the alarm.

_Alert: Trans-Warp event detected. Incoming object detected from Trans-Warp event; object is in re-entry._

_That_ surprised him; as far as he knew, Krypton had been the only civilization to develop Trans-Warp technology. If _another_ space-faring society with Trans-Warp capability was in this system, he _had_ to check it out. Besides, whoever these people were, they needed help; coming out of a Trans-Warp burn so close to atmosphere was _darn_ hard to control, he knew from experience.

Quickly, Superman darted to the nearby window, opened it, and flew off at top speeds, a sonic boom echoing behind him, as he soared towards the falling vessel.

Within minutes, Superman had intercepted the falling ship, high above the Earth; the vessel was quite small, only large enough to hold one person, at _most_...and it looked eerily similar to the ship that had brought him to Earth, the _Krypton_. Whatever it was, it had _definitely_ seen better days. '_It must have been traveling through space for years..._'

Quickly, Superman grabbed hold of the ship, and lifted, alerting its course, as the glowing red heat of re-entry began to dissipate. Superman carried the vessel towards the United States, setting it down in an empty field just outside of New York, far from prying eyes. As he set the tiny vessel down, Superman had time to take a look at the ship's hull...

...and he _froze_.

The characters written on the hull were _unmistakable._ '_My God...this writing is __**Kryptonian!**_' Superman thought. The message was clear: '_Trans-Warp prototype. If found, please return to Jor-El, Area 6487, Arctura Sector._'

'_This was...my father's prototype ship._' Superman thought; the ship was not only _similar_ to the _Krypton_...it was practically _identical_ in shape – the only real difference was that _this_ ship was _smaller_.

Just then, the canopy-panel opened on the front of the ship...and a distinctly canine groan came from inside.

Superman didn't dare move as a fully-grown dog climbed out of the cockpit; the dog had short white fur, slightly floppy ears, honest blue-green eyes, a small black nose, and a white, slightly bushy tail, with a red collar around his neck...

...a collar with the crest of the House of El emblazoned on it.

As Superman looked at the dog in sheer surprise, the dog groggily opened its eyes, and saw him. The dog immediately started to snarl, baring his teeth...but then suddenly stopped, sniffed the air...

"_Arf! Arf!_"

The dog's happy barks confirmed it. "_Krypto?!_" Superman exclaimed.

"_Arf!_" Krypto barked happily, as if he was answering the question.

"I don't _believe_ it!!" Superman exclaimed. "Come here, boy!"

Krypto didn't need any more invitation than that; instantly, he jumped at Superman, knocking him down, and promptly started to lick his face.

Superman laughed at his old family pet's show of affection. "Okay, okay!" he chuckled, as Krypto stopped, letting him stand up, as he sat at his feet, panting happily. "It's _great_ to see you, Krypto!" he added, patting Krypto's head. "Now, let's go home, okay?"

Krypto barked in agreement.

"Now, it's not the home _you_ remember, boy," Superman said, "but I think you'll like it." With that, he picked up Krypto under one arm, and then lifted up the ship with his other hand, and then took to the sky, flying towards the Institute.

Within a few minutes, Superman had touched down on the back yard of the Institute, and set Krypto and the ship down; the very second that his paws touched solid ground, Krypto started to sniff around the yard, his nose working overtime, as he tried to get his bearings from all the new smells that were assaulting his nostrils. Superman chuckled. '_That's right; Krypto's never smelled a __**human**__, before..._'

Just then, the back doors opened, as Logan emerged from the Institute, his claws extended...and then he retracted them as he saw Superman. "_Flyboy??_" he asked. "What're you doing back so early?" He then spotted Krypto and the ship. "What's with the pooch...and what the _hell_ is _that??_"

The unfamiliar scent instantly put Krypto on alert; the dog started snarling, baring his teeth, hunching down, ready to spring. "Krypto, _heel!_" Superman said firmly. At once, Krypto obeyed, ceasing his growling, and sitting at Superman's feet, though he was still fixing Logan with a wary gaze.

Logan arched an eyebrow. "If you wanted a pet for your birthday, Flyboy, you just needed to _ask_."

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Yeah...I guess I have some explaining to do." he admitted. "Let's just head inside." To Krypto, he added, "Here, boy!" With that, Superman and Logan headed back into the Institute, with Krypto following.

From what Superman could gather, his early return had awoken the others, as the entire Institute family had gathered in the living room, curious as to his early return. '_Well, I guess that's good; I can tell everyone all at the same time._' he thought.

"Well, Clark," Professor Xavier said, an eyebrow arched quizzically, "this is certainly a surprise."

Superman chuckled, nervously scratching the back of his head. "You're telling _me!_"

"You got a _dog?_" Jamie exclaimed, nudging his way through the older New Mutants, to look at Krypto. "That's so _cool!_" He moved closer to Krypto, extending his hand. "Hi, boy!"

At once, Krypto backed up warily, unsure what to make of all these strange-smelling creatures. Superman chuckled. "It's okay, Krypto." he assured the bewildered dog. "They're friends." To the others, he added, "Don't worry; he's just never smelled humans, before."

Ororo's eyes widened in surprise. "He _hasn't??_" she repeated.

"Start talkin', Flyboy." Logan said. "That ain't yer run-of-the-mill pooch, isn't it?"

Superman sighed, and shook his head. "No, Krypto _isn't_ like any dog you'd find at a pet store." he said. With that, he began to tell the others the story of how Krypto had been lost in space before Krypton was destroyed.

When he finished, no-one spoke for a few minutes...and then Alison smiled. "Clark, that's _great!!_" she exclaimed. To the others, she explained, "Clark was only just telling me about how Krypto was lost, this evening, and now Krypto is _here!_"

Scott smiled. "Looks like you weren't the _only_ survivor of Krypton, after all." he quipped.

Superman grinned. "Hey, I'm not complaining."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Kitty exclaimed, kneeling to Krypto's level. "You were lost in space, all alone..." Her expression brightened. "But don't worry, Krypto; we're _all_ going to take good care of you!"

Lance chuckled. "As long as he doesn't eat any of Kit's muffins, he'll be fine." he joked, which earned him a half-hearted elbow-jab from Kitty.

Jubilee turned an imploring gaze on the Professor. "Can we keep him, Professor?" she pleaded.

Jamie picked up where Jubilee had left off. "Oh, _please, please, __**please **_can we keep him?"

The Professor chuckled. "I see no reason why not..."

The New Mutants promptly cheered.

"Hold on." Logan interjected. He turned to Clark. "He's _your_ responsibility, Flyboy. That means that _you_ feed him, _you_ walk him, and so help me, if he _ever_ leaves a mess on the floor, _you're_ cleaning it up!"

Superman chuckled. "Sounds fair." he replied. To Krypto, he added, "Krypto, meet your new family!"

At that, Krypto slowly moved closer to the others, and began to carefully sniff each of them, one-by-one. As he sniffed Rahne, he took an extra sniff, as if he was making sure he was smelling correctly. As he sniffed Logan, he let out a soft grunt, as if to say, '_Watch it, buster._'

Logan snorted. "Same to you, Pooch."

Then, Krypto came to Alison. He sniffed her, and then paused, as if confused. He then sniffed again...

...and he started to pant happily. "_Arf! Arf!_" he barked, before he jumped at Alison, and started licking her rapidly.

"_Eeeewww!!_" Alison laughed under Krypto's barrage. "You goofy mutt! Quit it!" Promptly, Krypto stopped, letting Alison sit up. Smiling, Alison scratched Krypto's head, behind his ears. "Well, he's certainly a friendly fella!" she said. Chuckling, she added, "If just a little sloppy!"

Superman grinned. "What can I say? I guess he just has good taste!"

Alison lightly blushed at that.

Slowly, the other students moved closer to Krypto, and started to pat him on the head. At first, Krypto was a bit anxious, but he slowly started to pant happily, his tail wagging.

"Alright, alright, break it up." Logan muttered. "It's late enough, already; everyone get back to bed. Just make sure you get that ship out of sight, Flyboy; we don't need people seein' a spaceship on our lawn."

Superman chuckled. "On it." he replied. With that, he headed back outside, and Krypto followed him, while everyone else headed back to bed. Outside, Superman simply picked up the ship, and carried it down to the cliff-side entrance to the hangar bay, where he tapped his belt-computer, opened the hangar doors, and deposited the ship in the hangar, before flying out, shutting the hangar behind him. He then flew back to the back yard, and touched down next to Krypto, who had been waiting for him.

Superman knelt by his dog. "Listen, boy," he said, "I just need to go do my patrol, so I want you to stay here and be good, okay?"

Krypto let out a little whine.

"I know, I know, but I'll be back soon, Krypto. I _promise._" Superman said. "Just wait here, okay?"

Krypto barked in agreement.

Smiling, Superman gave his pet a scratch behind the ears, before he took to the sky, flying off at top speed, starting his patrol.

After a few hours of patrolling, Superman hadn't picked up any emergencies; it was a quiet night. After finishing up his patrol over Australia, Superman turned and flew back to the Institute. Within minutes, he was over his home; looking down, he smiled as he saw Krypto sitting on the back porch, waiting patiently for him. As he descended, Krypto perked up, and started barking happily as Superman dropped altitude, before he touched down.

"Hey, boy!" Superman said, smiling as Krypto darted to his side. "It's been a busy day for the _both_ of us, so let's go inside, okay?" Krypto barked in agreement, and Superman headed inside, with Krypto following him. After changing out of his uniform and into his black boxers and white t-shirt, Clark promptly brushed his teeth, headed to his room, got into bed, and switched off the lights. Seconds later, Krypto zipped into his room, hopped onto the bed, and curled up at Clark's feet, before closing his eyes. Clark could only smile, before he, too, fell asleep.

Today, he'd gotten back a little piece of Krypton.

He couldn't have been happier.

As the dead of night fell over Bayville, two shadows darted across the streets in front of the Xavier Institute. They stopped just in front of the gates. "Is he in there?" one figure – clearly a female – asked, as the moonlight glinted off of her one good eye.

"Yes..." the second figure – a male – replied, his voice soft, as the moon made his bald head shine, only making his deathly pallor seem paler, "...but hard to see which one is him..."

"Why, Caliban?" the female shadow asked.

The other shadow winced in concentration. "There is one in there...he is different from the others." he said. "Too powerful...he blinds my sight, Callisto."

Callisto frowned. "Then we can't risk going in." she replied. "Unless we know _exactly_ where Ray is, we can't risk setting off the alarms...and if this 'one' is as powerful as you say, then we mustn't risk encountering him. We'll have to wait until tomorrow." With that, the two silently moved away from the Institute gates, and darted back into the streets, heading for a nearby manhole. Callisto lifted up the cover, and she and Caliban slipped into the manhole, replacing the cover behind them.

As her alarm clock rang, a very groggy Alison sat up in bed, groaning to herself as she shut off her alarm.

She hadn't slept a _wink_, last night. After the revelation of Krypto, she hadn't been able to get back to sleep; she'd been tossing and turning with a mild fever all _night_, which, coupled with a sudden headache-attack, making every noise _deafening_, made sleep _impossible_. Even now, the fever was lingering a bit, though it felt like it was fading. Putting on her blue bathrobe, Alison made her way downstairs, to get breakfast.

As she reached the kitchen, Alison found that, with the exception of Clark, everyone was at the table, having breakfast. "Hey, Ali..._whoa!_ You look like _hell!_" Kitty exclaimed, and then quickly covered her mouth. "O-Oh my _gosh_, I-I'm so _sorry!!_" she said. "I didn't mean..!"

"It's okay, Kitty." Alison replied, half-smiling weakly as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. "I _feel_ like hell."

Jean looked concerned. "Do you want to stay home, today?" she inquired. "We could just tell the Professor that you're sick..."

"No, I'm okay." Alison said. "I think this bug should be out of my system shortly; no problem."

"Hey, guys," Ray spoke up, "me, Bobby, Roberto and Jubes were going to head to the mall, today. Anyone else want to go?"

"Not me." Amara said glumly. "I have an assignment."

"Aye; me, too." Rahne added.

"Hey, vere's Clark?" Kurt asked. "Doesn't he have vork, today?"

"I think he got up early, to take Krypto for a walk." Scott replied.

Remy chuckled. "Remy t'ink dat it be more accurate t' say dat Krypto took _Clark_ f'r a walk."

Logan looked up from his paper, an eyebrow arched. "Why do ya say _that_, Gumbo?"

"Remy jus' gon' say dis: from what Remy seen, it be safe t' say dat Krypto got a lot more in common wit' Boy Scout den jus' a home planet."

No-one spoke for a minute. "Wait..." Roberto said, "...are you saying that _Krypto_ has super-powers, _too??_"

"Apparently."

Everyone turned to see Clark walk in, with Krypto promptly following him. "Remy's right." Clark said, chuckling. He reached down to scratch Krypto's ears. "Krypto seems to have some of the same powers _I_ do; super-speed, at _least_, and I wouldn't be surprised if he already has super-hearing and vision!"

"_Cool!!_" Jamie exclaimed.

Evan chuckled. "Krypto the Superdog."

"Now we've seen _everything._" Rogue quipped.

Clark smiled. "I guess we shouldn't be surprised." he said. "Legends were told of ancient Krypton, during the Age of Wars, before the sun went red, that spoke of mighty war-hounds that followed their masters into battle. These war-hounds were said to have many of the same gifts as Kryptonian warriors, and it was said that it took many strikes to bring even _one_ such war-hound down." He patted Krypto's head. "Apparently, Kryptonian canines evolved the same kind of energy-transfer system that my people had, though not _quite_ identical, since they lacked the kind of invulnerability that we had. Eventually, these war-hounds became the domesticated dog that lived on Krypton at the time of its destruction, much like the domesticated dogs of Earth."

Jean smiled. "It's nice to know that Kryptonians and humans had the same taste in pets."

By then, Krypto's nose had picked up the unmistakable scent of food coming from the kitchen table, and scampered over to the table-side, softly whimpering. "Krypto." Clark said firmly. "You were fed just an hour ago; you shouldn't be hungry. You can have a treat _later_." At that, Krypto grunted obediently, and walked back to Clark's side.

Lance chuckled. "No matter _what_ planet they're from, dogs will be dogs."

Alison giggled. "Looks like it." she agreed, as she finished the last drop of her juice.

Clark turned to Alison, his eyes widening in concern. "Ali, are you okay?"

Alison nodded, lightly smiling. "Just a little bug." she replied. "Anyway, guys, I'm not all that hungry." With that, she left the kitchen, heading back upstairs.

As Alison walked into her room to get her toothbrush, Clark followed her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "_Taushi_...what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Alison said, turning to meet her boyfriend's sky-blue gaze. "It's just a little fever. I'll be over it in an hour or two; no big deal!"

Clark wasn't buying it. "Ali...you had another headache-attack, didn't you?"

Alison sighed; she never _could_ fool him. She nodded.

Clark's eyes filled with loving concern. "_Taushi_, you _need_ to get those checked on..."

"I _tried!_" Alison cried, utterly frustrated. "I've _been_ to the doctor, Clark! They tell me that nothing's wrong! They don't see _anything_ wrong with my sinuses or _anything!_" She suppressed a sob, burying her face in her beau's chest. "Oh, _God_, Clarkie...what's _wrong_ with me?"

Clark gently held her, comforting her _immensely_. "We'll figure it out, _taushi_." he promised. "We'll find a solution."

Alison smiled. "Thanks, _tausha_." she cooed, and she punctuated the sentence by standing up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.

Clark grinned, and slowly released her from his embrace. "I'm really glad that you and Krypto get along so well, Ali." he whispered.

Alison giggled. "What can I say? I guess I just get along really well with aliens!" she cooed. Her smile became flirtatious. "You can just call me a Xenophile." she teased.

Clark smiled lovingly. "And, _boy_, am I glad that you are." he joked. "Anyway, I'd better get ready for work." His expression became worried. "I hope Krypto will be okay until I get back..."

"Oh, don't worry, Clarkie!" Alison assured him. "The Professor, Mr. McCoy and Miss Munroe will be here, and so will Logan..." She paused. "On second thought, maybe you _should_ worry!" she laughed.

Clark chuckled. "I'll see you tonight, Ali." he said. "I hope you feel better." With that, he gave her a quick kiss, and headed to his room. Smiling to herself, Alison headed for the bathroom.

She felt better already.

Shortly after the Young Master said goodbye and left, Krypto watched as the other strange-smelling creatures – including Young Master's Mate, Sun-Hair – left, in several metal vehicles.

As much as he liked this new place, Krypto found it confusing. It didn't smell like home at _all_. Not only that, there were so many here; before, it had only been the Master, Master's Mate, and Young Master.

It had taken Krypto a while to notice, but this place was really a Pack-Home, though it was home to two separate Packs, who were really all _one_ Pack. The first Pack consisted of the older creatures, including Young Master and his Mate; this Pack was apparently led by Strange-Eyes, with Fire-Hair as his alpha female. The second Pack consisted of the younger creatures, with Young Master as the Pack Leader, judging from the respect they gave him. There were also four older creatures: Big Blue Fur, Metal-Claw, Wind-Walker, and Man With Wheels, who was evidently the Pack Elder.

Left to his own devices, Krypto decided to look around his new home. As he came into the room with the big viewing-screen, he found Big Blue Fur sitting in one of the chairs, watching the screen; it was showing something about jungle-plants that Big Blue Fur was interested in.

Heading upstairs, Krypto found all the chambers that were used for sleeping. The only ones he recognized were those of Young Master and Sun-Hair. Krypto knew Young Master's scent from home, and his Mate had smelled very much like Young Master, so it was easy to recognize which chamber was hers.

After coming back downstairs, Krypto returned to the room with food, and found Metal-Claw leaning by the big white thing that housed food, sipping from some kind of a metal canister. Metal-Claw stopped in mid-sip to look at him. "Trust me, Pooch; you wouldn't like this stuff."

After taking a sniff, Krypto grunted. Metal-Claw was right; the stuff he was drinking smelled _awful._ After heading out of the food-room, Krypto decided to go outside; he simply pushed his paw against the door, and pushed it open, heading outside. As he came outside, Krypto found a large flower-garden, where Wind-Walker was tending to the plants. As he walked over, Wind-Walker turned to him, and smiled. "Why, hello, Krypto! Did you come to keep me company?" she said. She turned back to her garden, and then frowned to herself. "Hmm...I seem to have misplaced my spade." she said to herself. She looked around...and then saw it on the ground next to a potted plant. "Oh, there it is!"

Krypto spotted it, as well. Eager to help his new family, Krypto zipped over and picked up the gardening tool with his teeth; he didn't know what, but there was something about this new world that was making him faster, and stronger.

Wind-Walker smiled. "My, aren't you a clever fellow!" she said. She held out her hand. "Bring it over!"

Promptly, Krypto zipped towards Wind-Walker, to give her the spade; unfortunately, he still wasn't quite used to his new speed. Krypto yelped in alarm as he tried to stop, only to slide _past_ Wind-Walker, to crash into the nearby steps.

Wind-Walker chuckled as Krypto recovered, shaking himself off. "Are you okay, Krypto?" she asked. Krypto grunted, and walked over to her at his regular pace, placing the spade in her hands. Wind-Walker smiled. "Thank you!" she said, before she got back to her gardening.

Krypto decided to look around a little more, leaving Wind-Walker to her work. In another section of the garden, Krypto found Man With Wheels sitting on the patio, reading a book. As Krypto walked closer to him, Man With Wheels smiled. "Hello, Krypto." he said. His smile grew, as he reached under his wheeled-chair, and took out a small, green rubber ball.

Krypto barked happily; he knew what that meant.

"Oh, so you _do_ want to play!" Man With Wheels said. With that, he tossed the ball...

Krypto didn't wait for it to hit the ground; he leapt into the air – leaping over ten feet – to catch the ball in his teeth...and then he just _floated_ there.

Krypto looked down at what he was doing, and let out a confused, "_Arf??_"

Man With Wheels chuckled. "Well, Clark was certainly right; you _do_ have the same powers as he does, Krypto."

Slowly, Krypto managed to return to the ground, and dropped the ball back at Man With Wheels' feet. Just then, Man With Wheels headed back into the Pack-Home, and Krypto was about to follow him...

...when he smelled it.

Krypto froze in place as the delicious aroma filled his nostrils; it was a fair distance away...but there was no mistaking the mouth-watering scent of meat...

Instantly, Krypto darted off at top speed, becoming a white blur as he raced across the garden, leapt over the fence, and ran down the road, following the scent. In seconds, he had caught up with it: a metal vehicle, with the picture of a large, circular disc of bread, coated with red paste, yellow cheese, and topped with all kinds of delicious meats.

In seconds, Krypto caught up with the vehicle, and grabbed its rear bumper in his teeth, holding on tight; if he held on long enough, maybe it would stop and let him have some. The vehicle's wheels spun rapidly, kicking up smoke...until the rear bumper popped off, and the vehicle sped away.

All Krypto was left with was the metal bumper in his mouth. Softly whining, Krypto walked to the sidewalk, and put the bumper down. Just then, a familiar scent caught his nose, coming from the large building to the left, where many strange-smelling creatures were gathered.

It was Sun-Hair's scent!

Quickly, Krypto darted towards the building, keeping in the bushes so no-one would see him. The scent led into the main doors, but Krypto didn't think that being seen was a good idea. As he crept along, his nose picked up a few more familiar smells: Small Blue Fur, Wall-Walker, and Ground-Shaker! They were in the room just above, on the second floor!

Panting happily, Krypto hopped up, leaping up to the level of the second-story window, and looked in at his family members, before he dropped back to earth, where he hopped right up again, glad to have found the rest of his family.

_Bayville High_

It was the last class before lunch, and Kitty was bored to _tears_. '_God, does Trig __**always**__ have to be so dull?_'

In front of her, Lance looked ready to fall asleep. To her left, Kurt, with his inducer active, was trying desperately to keep himself awake. On her right side, Amanda looked _just_ as drowsy as Kurt.

Looking up, Kitty saw that there were only a few minutes left in class. '_Finally._' She lowered her gaze, looking briefly to the window...

..._and seeing Krypto's head pop up from the ground below!!_

_That_ woke Kitty up. She looked again, making sure she was seeing correctly; sure enough, Krypto's head was popping into view every few seconds.

"_Lance!!_" Kitty whispered, jostling her boyfriend awake. "_Look!!_"

As Lance sleepily looked to the window, his eyes widened as he saw Krypto. So far, no-one else had seen the Kryptonian canine, but if _anyone_ happened to look over...

Focusing, Lance generated a micro-quake, so faint that no-one could feel it...but enough to cause the shutters on the windows to drop, concealing Krypto. Before anyone could wonder what had happened, the lunch bell rang, and everyone left the classroom.

"_That_ was _too_ close." Kitty murmured, as she, Lance, Kurt, and Amanda headed for lunch.

"_I'll_ say." Lance agreed. "It'd be tough to explain how a dog can jump over twenty feet straight up."

"Vait...zat vas _Krypto_ at zhe vindow??" Kurt exclaimed. "_Mein Gott_, you got zhe shutters closed just in time!!"

"Huh??" Amanda piped up. "What are you guys talking about? Who's Krypto?"

"Oh, sorry, _liebe._" Kurt said, smiling sheepishly. "Krypto is Kal's dog from...back home."

Amanda's eyes widened in amazement. "You mean...he's from..?"

"Yep." Lance said.

"Wow."

"Yeah." Kitty agreed. "We'd better get to lunch; Scott and Jean will want to know about this." With that, the four of them headed to the outdoor cafeteria.

After her Chemistry class let out, Alison headed to her locker to stow her books before going to lunch.

She was feeling much better, now; like she'd told Clark, she'd just had a little bug.

Just then, as she put her Chem text in her locker, her cell phone rang. She promptly answered it. "Hello?"

"_Hi, sweetheart._"

Alison automatically smiled. "Hi, Dad!" she replied. "How are things at the office?"

"_Busy; we're still working on the Fisk case – we're still trying to find evidence to put that bastard away for __**good.**_"

Alison nodded. Her father had recently told her that his firm was prosecuting Wilson Fisk – the Kingpin – for an illegal arms shipment that had been seized a while ago...thanks to Clark's listening to Fisk's phone calls and reporting anonymously to the police. "You'll get him, Dad; I _know_ it!"

"_Thanks, honey._" Carter replied. "_And how are you? How are things going at your...special school?_"

Alison smiled; recently, she'd confided in her father that she was a mutant – she'd told him during their last dinner, and she was _immensely_ relieved at how well he'd taken it. "Things are going great!" she said.

"_That's good, Alison. Anyway, I can't wait to meet this 'Kal' who's made my little girl so happy!_"

Alison's smile grew. "Actually, Dad...you kinda know him already."

"_I'm not following you, sweetheart._"

Alison looked around, making sure that no-one else was listening. "Dad," she whispered, "'Kal' is _Clark!_ You know, Mr. and Mrs. Kent's son?"

There was a pause. "_Really?_" Carter asked. "_He's back?_"

Alison nodded. "The reason he left was to find his birth-family, Dad; 'Kal' is his birth-name. He just uses it so that none of those crazy paparazzi figure out who he really is and harass poor Mrs. Kent to death!" That _was_ true, though it wasn't the _only_ reason Clark used his birth name.

"_Oh, I see._" her father replied. She could hear the smile in his voice. "_Well, that __**does**__ sound like him, all right._"

Alison smiled. "He's still the same, absolutely _wonderful_ guy I had a crush on as a little girl, Daddy." she said. "I _love_ him, and he loves _me!_"

"_I'm so happy for you, sweetheart. I'm __**definitely**__ looking forward to seeing you two in a few weeks._"

Alison sighed piteously. "_Please_ tell me that Aunt Embeth isn't coming."

Her father sighed. "_I'm sorry, Alison, but you know that sister of mine; once she's made up her mind, it's __**impossible**__ to change it._"

Alison groaned. "Terrific."

"_I'm sorry, honey, but I've got to go; lunch is over._"

"Okay." Alison said, smiling. "I love you, Daddy!"

"_I love you, too, sweetheart. I'll see you soon! 'Bye!_"

"'Bye!" Alison replied, and she hung up, before heading to meet her friends for lunch outside.

Alison was just about to walk into the outdoor cafeteria...when she felt her fever start to come back. It came on so suddenly, Alison had to lean against the wall for support. Her vision started to blur for a moment...and then she regained focus, though she still felt feverish.

"What's the matter, Blaire? Under the weather?"

'_Oh, I do __**not**__ need this._' Alison thought, as she looked up to see Anita standing a few feet from her; no-one else was nearby, so the little witch had decided to take advantage of her rival's illness. "Go _away_, LeRoux." Alison muttered.

Anita smirked. "Had one too many recordings?" she snapped. "One too many late nights?"

Alison rolled her eyes. "Doesn't your old man have some masses for you to oppress? Or has he already cornered the psycho-dictator market?"

Anita's eyes narrowed in sheer _fury_. "You _little_..!" she hissed, and she stormed towards Alison, her fist clenched. Alison braced herself for a fight...

Suddenly, a white blur tackled into Anita, knocking her down. "Who _dares?!_" Anita shrieked, but her shout trailed off, as her eyes widened in sheer _horror_.

Krypto was now standing between Alison and Anita, facing Anita and _growling_, ready to attack at the _slightest_ provocation.

Alison couldn't help but smile at how the tables had turned. "Anita, this is Krypto, Kal's dog from back home." she said. "Krypto, Anita."

Anita gulped, her face pale as she got back up. "H-He should get t-that mangy mutt tested f-for r-rabies." she said, trying to sound confident.

'_Looks like someone has an Achilles' heel when it comes to dogs._' Alison thought. Smiling, she reached down to scratch Krypto's ears; at her touch, Krypto started panting happily, and then resumed growling at Anita as Alison withdrew her hand. "He doesn't seem rabid to _me_." Alison said. "I think it's time for you to go."

Krypto barked in agreement.

Anita's eyes narrowed angrily. "This is _not_ over, Blaire."

"Krypto thinks it is." Alison retorted. Krypto barked again, as if to emphasize the point, and at that, Anita walked off, a bit quicker than she normally did whenever they traded barbs.

Smiling, Alison knelt down and gave Krypto a little hug. "_Good boy!_" she exclaimed. Krypto barked happily, and gave Alison a tiny lick on the cheek. Alison stood back up. "I know we're not supposed to have pets _inside_ the school...but they didn't say anything about having pets _outside_ the school." she added. "I guess you can stick around for a little while." With that, she headed to lunch, and Krypto followed.

When lunch came around, Scott and Jean headed out of their Biology class and went outside with the rest of the student body; now that spring was here, they were allowed to eat outside, for a change. Before too long, the others met them at their usual table, along with Amanda, Paul, and Taryn, who had become part of their little band since they'd learned their secret.

"So Krypto followed us to school?" Tabitha asked.

"Looks like it." Lance replied.

Taryn chuckled. "Well, you have to admit, that's kinda cute." she said.

Scott frowned. "Not when he's got the same abilities that Kal does; he could have been _seen_."

"Yeah; good luck tryin' to cover _that_ up!" Rogue agreed. "What could we have said? That Krypto was a runaway circus-dog?"

Jean nodded. "Still, it's not like we can just put him on a leash."

Evan chuckled. "Yeah; if he's as strong as Kal, he'd just rip the whole thing right up out of the ground."

Paul chuckled. "Good luck paper-training him." he joked.

Remy glanced to their side. "Speak o' de devil."

Scott turned, and saw Alison walk up to them, followed by Krypto. "Talking about Krypto?" Alison asked.

"He was jumping up to our Trig class window." Kitty said. "He could've been _seen_, Ali!"

"Well, don't get _too_ mad at him." Alison replied. "We just had a little run-in with LeRoux, and I learned something interesting: apparently, Anita _hates_ dogs."

Rogue chuckled. "That's a surprise. Ah figured she'd _relate_ to her own kind."

That quip made _everyone_ laugh. "I _know!_" Taryn agreed. "She is an absolute _witch!_"

"And she's _still_ trying to get between you and Kal, Ali?" Amanda asked. "_God_, can't she take a _hint?_"

Alison smiled wryly. "Doesn't look like it." she said. Then, she put her hand to her head.

Kitty looked worried. "Is it your fever again, Ali?"

Alison nodded. "_And_ one of my headaches." she murmured, scrunching her eyes.

Amanda looked stricken. "_Another_ one?" she asked. "Ali, you need to see a _doctor_..."

"She _did_, Mandy." Kurt said. "Even Herr McCoy at zhe Institute couldn't find zhe problem."

Alison slowly opened her eyes. "Okay...it's gone, now." she said. "But these attacks are getting old _fast._"

"I can imagine." Jean said.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. As they all got up to go back to class, Alison knelt by Krypto. "Okay, Krypto, you need to go home, now. We'll see you soon, okay?" Krypto barked in agreement, and scampered off, heading for home, as Alison followed the others, heading for class.

As Krypto left the building, he paused, sniffing the air. Home was _that_ way...but there were so many interesting smells coming from the _other_ direction, towards the tall buildings.

One little look-around couldn't be bad.

Turning, Krypto scampered off at high speeds, towards the city, to see what he could find.

After school let out, Ray, Roberto, Bobby, and Jubilee promptly caught the bus going into New York City, to head to the mall, as planned. Before long, the bus pulled into the New York Mall, and the four of them got out. "So, what're we gonna do?" Roberto asked.

"Well, first I was going to go to the music store, to pick up a copy of Ali's new CD." Jubilee said. She shyly glanced to Bobby. "But, after that...I don't have any plans..."

Bobby smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Jubes...after you get that CD...do you wanna...maybe...catch a movie?"

"I'd...like that." Jubilee replied.

Ray chuckled. "Well, I'm heading to the arcade; I've got a wallet full of quarters and nothing better to do with them!"

"I just need to pick up a new pair of soccer cleats; my old ones have holes in them." Roberto said. "But, after that, I'll drop by the arcade." He grinned. "Up for some table-hockey, Crisp?"

Ray grinned back. "Anytime, anywhere, DeCosta!"

"We'll meet back here in three hours, to get the bus home." Bobby said. "See you then." With that, they headed off, towards the mall, going their separate ways as they stepped inside.

As he walked towards the arcade, Ray passed by an old fire exit...and stopped; he thought he'd heard something...

"_Psst!_"

Turning, Ray thought he saw the old exit cracked open a bit. Slowly, he walked towards it, to get a better look...

The second he got close enough, the door opened, and a pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him through. Ray stumbled a bit, but quickly recovered, and turned to face his assailants.

His eyes widened in surprise as he saw who it was...

_Undisclosed location_

Steam erupted from rusted pipes as Graydon Creed walked down the darkened hallway, before he came into the observation room that overlooked the laboratory. "What's the project status, Doctor?" he demanded.

The main researcher on the project turned to him nervously. "W-Well, sir," he stammered, "as I previously told you, as this is our first time doing this kind of experiment, we could expect to see quite a few losses from the volunteers."

Graydon frowned. "How many?"

The scientist gulped. "N-Next time, we'll have a better idea of how to refine the infusion process..."

Graydon leaned in closer, his eyes narrowed. "_How...many?_" he asked, with slowly growing fury.

"S-Sixteen, sir."

"_Sixteen?!_" Graydon snarled. "We lost _sixteen out of twenty?!_"

The scientist stepped back. "S-Sir, this element is extremely carcinogenic – _especially_ in the refined form that our benefactor told us about." he said. "Not only that, its infusion into our subjects caused severe degeneration of brain tissue at an even _faster_ rate than it increased muscle mass! We lost half of our initial subjects to sudden onsets of cancer, and of the ten that survived, six of _those_ underwent massive psychotic breakdowns after the third infusion process; they suffered hallucinations, paranoia, violent outbursts..._everything_ associated with severe psychotic disorders! It took an entire platoon of soldiers to pacify even _one!_ We were _lucky_ that our losses weren't _worse!_"

Graydon calmed down. "And what of the four that survived?"

The scientist smiled, eager to present good news. "The survivors all show exceptional tolerance to the infusions, sir! Their muscle mass is over 200 percent above normal human levels, indicative of superhuman strength and stamina! MRI scans show no indication of infusion-related brain degeneration! Basically, sir, they're all ready to go!"

Graydon smiled. "Good, Doctor. Excellent work." he said. "Where are they, now?"

The scientist smiled, and gestured to one screen; the screen showed a recreation chamber...where four tall, immensely muscled men were relaxing. They were all wearing black pants, with no shirts; there were no clothes large enough to fit their increases in size. Their veins were visible under their skin...and were a toxic _green_, which matched the color of their eyes.

These were all that remained of the twenty brave soldiers who had volunteered for this program, Graydon thought grimly. These men were what Project: Weapon X _should_ have been: an attempt to fight the mutant menace on their _own_ terms. Instead of using mutants to hunt mutants, these men – these true soldiers of humanity – had volunteered to undergo an untested procedure that infused their bodies, their very DNA, with a previously unknown mutagenic element.

Graydon smiled. "And the test subjects?"

The doctor gestured to another screen, showing four people – four _mutants_, Graydon thought with disgust – in a fairly large holding cell...which would double as a testing chamber.

"They're ready, too, sir: four Gamma-Class mutants." the scientist reported. The S.H.I.E.L.D. data-files they had acquired classified mutants in four classifications: Gamma, the lowest, Beta, Alpha, and the highest, Omega.

Thankfully, Omega-Class mutants were few and far between.

"We still need to wait a few more hours; our subjects have only recently come out of the _fourth_ infusion process – we're still waiting to see if there are any negative side-effects. If there are, they should present within that time period."

Graydon nodded. "How are they, so far?"

The scientist gulped. "So far, sir, they're fine...for now."

Graydon's eyes narrowed. "'For now'?" he repeated.

"W-Well, sir, no matter the reason, the human body wasn't built to endure what we subjected them to." the doctor stammered. "Recent full-body scans show the earliest signs of multiple organ failure; it's still a long way off, though – the men still have ten months to a year, and hopefully by then..."

"A _year?!_"

The scientist gulped. "As I said, sir, this is our first try at this! Based on the data we gathered, we should be able to correct this problem..."

"Correct it _soon_." Graydon said coldly. He turned around, and looked upon the slim, glowing, toxic-green crystal housed within the protective glass shield. "This is it, isn't it."

The scientist nodded. "It's a trans-uranium element, sir...one that we haven't discovered yet."

Graydon arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"It doesn't exist on Earth, sir. The only known source of this element is from the meteors that landed in Smallville, 21 years ago." the scientist explained. "This, sir, is an _extraterrestrial_ element!"

Graydon automatically scowled at the word. '_Mutants are bad enough..._' he thought, '_...I will not let our planet be polluted by any __**alien**__ threat!_'

Most scoffed at the existence of extraterrestrial life...but Graydon knew that such a threat could not be ignored.

'_This is __**our**__ world._' Graydon thought. Out loud, he asked, "When can we begin the test?"

"Five hours, sir; the subjects should be ready by then."

"Excellent." Graydon said. Once this test was done, they could begin proper training of their new super-slayers.

And then, between their slayers and the new weapons that were nearing completion, the mutant menace's days were _numbered._

_Author's Note: Hi, it's me. Sorry for the delay. I honestly didn't think that this chapter would take so long, but I kept getting new ideas, which kept lengthening the chapter, until it got too big for just one chapter. Like before, I had to divide it in half; I tried to divide it up as evenly as possible. I hope you enjoyed Krypto's introduction! Hopefully, I'll have Part Two up in the next few days; thank you all for your patience! You guys are great!_

_Coming Soon:_

_A missing teammate…_

_A curious canine…_

_A fanatical militia ready to carry out their insidious schemes…_

_Can the Man of Steel find his AWOL pet?_

_Will the X-Men rescue their lost comrade?_

_What exactly is happening to Alison? _

_Find out in the conclusion to "A Boy and his Dog," coming to your computer soon…_


	23. A Boy and his Dog, Part Two

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: A BOY AND HIS DOG, PART TWO

_Daily Bugle, New York City_

It was mid-afternoon when Peter finished up work at the Bugle, before he headed out of the main office. It had been a quiet afternoon, which had prompted Robbie to talk JJ into letting him and Clark go home early. Clark had needed to head off, too; something had just come up with his other job.

'_Poor guy's gonna work himself into an early grave._' Peter thought. He grimaced to himself. '_And with all the schoolwork I've got, I'll likely be right behind him..._'

"Hey, Tiger!"

Peter automatically smiled as he saw Mary-Jane walk up to him as he walked onto the sidewalk. "Hey, MJ." he said, embracing her.

Mary-Jane returned his smile. "So, how are the salt mines?"

"Not as bad as they usually are." Peter replied. "So, what's new at school?"

Mary-Jane looked stricken. "There's _another_ Bio quiz, this Friday." she said.

Peter groaned. "They must be trying to make us burn out before finals."

Mary-Jane laughed. "Oh, yeah, like _you_ need to worry, Mr. Super-Genius!"

"Yeah, Parker. An uber-geek like you has _nothing_ to worry about."

Peter groaned to himself, as he turned to see the smirking face of 17-year-old Flash Thompson, Midtown High school quarterback, undisputed Big Man on Campus...and Peter's long-time tormentor. Flash was tall, and strongly built, with short, red-blond hair, and green eyes, clad in his red-and-white letterman jacket over his white t-shirt, as well as his blue jeans. Behind him were a couple of his pals on the football team.

"Thompson, doesn't your meter stop running when school lets out?" Peter muttered.

Flash's smirk grew. "For _you_, Parker, the beatings are on the _house_."

Mary-Jane frowned. "_God_, Flash, would it _kill_ you to stop being a total _jerk_ for just one _day?!_"

Flash frowned. "What _I_ don't get, MJ, is why you hang around with this _loser_, all the time." he said. He glared at Peter. "You think you're so _smart_, don't you, Parker?"

Peter smiled wryly; he was going to have to let Flash beat him up, anyway...so it was just as well to get just _one_ barb in. "Well, when there are guys like _you_, Thompson, I guess it all balances out."

"Oh, that's _it!!_" Flash roared, stomping towards Peter. "You're dead meat, Parker!!" Peter sighed, and braced himself...

A feral snarl cut the air, stopping Flash in his tracks. Flash slowly turned, and _froze._ Looking behind him, Peter saw why: there was a lean, short-white-furred dog there, growling at Flash.

"W-What the..?!" Flash yelped, as he and his buddies backed up. "C-Call your dog off, Parker! _Call him off!!_"

Peter chuckled. "I'd run if I were you, Flash." Flash and his cronies didn't need any more coaxing; they took off as fast as they could go.

As soon as Flash was gone, the dog stopped snarling, and started panting happily. Peter smiled. "Hey, thanks, fella!"

Mary-Jane smiled. "Oh, Peter, _look_ at him! He's so _cute!_"

Peter chuckled. "Yeah, and he _belongs_ to someone, MJ." he said, gesturing to the dog's collar. "Well, Pooch, let's see who you belong to..." With that, he knelt down to look at the dog's collar...

...and his eyes nearly bugged out of his _head_.

Noticing Peter's expression, Mary-Jane knelt down. "What's wrong, Peter...oh, my _God_..." she murmured.

Emblazoned on the dog's collar was a single stylized 'S' inside a five-sided diamond.

"_Whoa_..." Peter said, "...this guy belongs to...Big Blue..."

"_Wow_..." Mary-Jane murmured. She lightly smiled. "So, when do I get to _meet_ your teammate?"

Peter chuckled. "Probably when he decides to drop the 'stealthy' gimmick." he said. "Anyway, I'd better get the big guy's attention, and let him know that his dog is here. After that, I'll probably go on patrol for a while."

Mary-Jane nodded. "Be careful, Tiger." she said, before she kissed him on the cheek, and headed home. Smiling to himself, Peter darted into a nearby alley, to change, and Superman's dog promptly followed.

In minutes, Peter had donned his uniform, stashing his street clothes in a pouch of webbing up in a dark corner. Spider-Man then dropped down, where the dog was waiting. "Okay, Pooch, hop on." he said, extending his arms. "I'll swing us both up to the rooftops, where your master can come get you."

The dog just looked at him quizzically, before he seemed to concentrate...and slowly floated up, hovering at Spider-Man's face-level.

Behind his mask, Spider-Man's eyes widened. "That works, too." he said. "Well, follow me!" With that, Spider-Man shot out a web-line, and pulled himself straight up, and the flying dog promptly followed.

Spider-Man swung up to one of the highest rooftops, far from prying eyes, landing soundlessly, and the dog soon touched down next to him. Spider-Man looked around, making sure that they were alone, before he cupped his hands in front of his mouth.

"_Hey, Big Blue! There's something here that you should see!_"

After about a minute, a familiar sonic boom echoed on the horizon, seconds before Superman silently touched down on the rooftop. "You didn't have to _shout_, Little Red..._Krypto?!_" Superman exclaimed. "What are you doing here, boy?"

At once, the dog – Krypto – ran to his master, barking happily. Spider-Man chuckled. "Looks like your pet had a little outing, big guy."

Superman looked at Krypto sternly. "Krypto," he said, "I told you to stay at the Institute. Bad dog!" At that, Krypto lowered his gaze, whimpering, ashamed.

"Hey...don't be _too_ hard on him, Big Blue." Spider-Man said. "He _did_ help me out of a tight spot."

Superman nodded, and then knelt to look at his dog. "Krypto, the reason I told you to stay at the Institute is because it isn't safe for you, out here. If anyone learned where you're from, they might try to hurt you, or take you away. _That's_ why you need to stay home, okay, boy?"

Krypto barked happily, before he licked his master's face.

Smiling, Superman stood back up. "Thanks, Spidey." he said.

"No problem, chief." Spider-Man quipped. "Us freaks have to stick together!"

Just then, Superman's belt-buckle started to beep. At once, Superman unclipped it, and extended it into a communicator. "Superman here."

"_Superman, it's Cyclops. We have an emergency, here; Ray's gone missing._"

Superman's eyes widened. "When did this happen?"

"_A little while ago. Ray, Roberto, Bobby, and Jubilee were at the New York Mall; when they were supposed to meet to get the bus home, Ray never showed up. We were going to look for him._"

Superman nodded. "Take the X-Van to the back-alley a few blocks from the Mall; I'll meet you there – I have an idea. Just be sure to bring an article of Ray's clothing."

"_Affirmative. Cyclops out._"

With that, Superman shut off his communicator. "Need any help?" Spider-Man asked.

Superman smiled. "Sure!" he replied. "Just head to the empty back-alley near the mall; I need to make a stop, first."

"Got it." Spider-Man said. With that, he shot out a web-line, and swung off, as Superman and Krypto took to the skies, flying off.

After making a brief stop at the Fortress, Superman and Krypto landed silently in the empty back-alley where Spider-Man and the X-Men had gathered; by then, night had fallen. "Sorry we're late." Superman said.

"Better late den nev'r, _mon ami._" Gambit said.

"What was the holdup?" Spider-Man asked.

Superman smiled. "We're going to _sniff_ our kidnappers out." he said. He lightly scratched Krypto behind the ears. "I had to stop by the Fortress to install a homing transponder in Krypto's collar, so we can follow him."

Spider-Man blinked. "'The Fortress'??"

"His old hangout." Rogue explained.

"Oh."

"Did you bring the clothing?" Superman asked.

Cyclops held out a flannel t-shirt. "Will this do?"

Superman nodded, taking the shirt, and then knelt, presenting it to Krypto, letting him sniff it. "Okay, boy, this is what Ray smells like." he said, giving Krypto time to get a good smell. "Now, _find Ray!_"

At once, Krypto started to sniff the ground, trying to find Ray's scent-trail. After a few minutes, Krypto stopped in one spot, took a few more sniffs...and then barked, before running off down the road.

"He's got Ray's trail!" Superman exclaimed. "Spidey and I will follow him from the air; you guys follow us in the X-Van!" At that, the X-Men darted into the X-Van as Superman took to the air, tracking Krypto via his belt-computer. Spider-Man promptly followed, shooting out a web-line and swinging after him.

Krypto came to a stop at an empty street, with not a soul in sight; it was safe to land. Superman touched down as Krypto circled the street, sniffing the ground. Spider-Man touched down a few seconds later. "_Man_, Big Blue, your pooch can _run!_" he quipped.

Superman chuckled, and then walked over to Krypto. "What's wrong, boy?" he asked. "What are you smelling?"

Krypto let out a little whine, as if to say that he'd lost the trail...and then started sniffing again, poring his nose over the concrete, as if he were taking a second "look" of the trail. He walked to a manhole in the street...

He stopped at the manhole, and barked.

"You're kidding me." Spider-Man said. "Is he saying what I _think_ he's saying?"

Superman chuckled. "I'm afraid so."

Spider-Man sighed. "I figured that this would be a dirty job," he joked, "but I didn't mean that _literally_..."

By then, the X-Van had pulled up, and the X-Men all got out. "So, where to, now, big guy?" Spyke inquired.

Superman simply gestured to the manhole.

Shadowcat's eyes widened. "_Please_ tell me you're joking."

"Afraid not." Spider-Man said.

Dazzler looked at the manhole. "Why would anyone take Ray down _there?_" she wondered.

"I don't know." Cyclops said. "But we're going to have to go in after them."

Shadowcat groaned. "I was afraid you were going to say that." With that, Superman lifted up the manhole cover, and Krypto promptly hopped down into the sewer. Superman followed him, then Spider-Man, and then the X-Men headed in, one-by-one.

In the sewers, Krypto sniffed the trickle of murky water that ran under their feet, and then barked. "He's got the trail." Superman said.

Rogue whistled. "That's some nose he's got."

Shadowcat grimaced. "Yeah." she agreed, waving her hand in front of her nose. "Poor Krypto."

"Dazzler; we're going to need some light." Cyclops instructed.

At once, Dazzler generated an orb of white light on her palm, illuminating the immediate area; they were in a large pipe-tunnel, extending behind them and ahead of them. "Superman, do you see anything?" Dazzler asked.

Superman's eyes flashed electric-blue as he scanned ahead of them. "There's no-one ahead of us," he said, as his eyes scanned the entire electromagnetic spectrum, stopping after scanning on infrared, "but someone's been through here, fairly recently."

There were fading yellow footprints heading in the direction ahead of them, the direction that Krypto was leading them in.

"As long as we don't run into any alligators, I'm good." Spider-Man said. Krypto barked again, and started to walk down the tunnel, sniffing as he went, and everyone followed him.

Krypto eventually led them out of the tunnel, and into a much larger chamber, filled with stone columns that supported the ceiling, with railroad tracks lain across the floor. "Gambit guessin' dat dis was a subway station." Gambit hazarded.

Spider-Man nodded. "These abandoned stations are all over the place, down here."

"Apparently, it's not _totally_ abandoned." Nightcrawler said.

Suddenly, Krypto stopped, and started growling. "What is it?" Dazzler asked.

Superman frowned, as his thermal-vision revealed _another_ set of footprints...except _these_ were _orange_.

They were _recent_.

"Someone _else_ is here." Superman said. Just then, his hearing picked up the sound of footsteps, as he caught movement in the corner of his _eye_. "_There!_"

Krypto had seen it, too. Snarling, he ran after the shadow...

"_Wait!!_" Jean cried. "It's just a little girl!!"

"Krypto, _heel!_" Superman shouted; instantly, Krypto stopped his pursuit.

"She might know where Ray is!" Cyclops declared. "Nightcrawler, intercept!"

"_Jawohl!_" Nightcrawler exclaimed, and he 'ported away, into the path of the little shadow. "Easy, little _fraulein_," he said, "ve aren't going to..."

The little shadow gasped in alarm as she saw Nightcrawler, before she reached out and touched his face.

Nightcrawler instantly froze in place.

As the shadow ran away, Avalanche generated a mini-quake, causing her to trip. "Look, kid," he said gently, walking over, "we're not looking for trouble..."

"Watch her hands, Avalanche," Cyclops warned, "that's how she got Nightcrawler."

"Got it." Avalanche said.

Superman's eyes widened. "Avalanche, watch out!!"

Just then, a taller shadow darted towards Avalanche, grabbing him from behind and holding a knife to his throat. "_Torpid, __**run!**_" the taller shadow – a female – ordered. At once, the smaller shadow ran for another pipe-tunnel.

"Spider-Man, block that tunnel!" Cyclops declared. Instantly, Spider-Man fired a glob of webbing at the tunnel opening, blocking it with a web.

The taller shadow snarled, and held the knife closer to Lance's throat. "You listen here, top-worlders," she growled, "you let her go, right now, or I'll..._ARRGGHH!!_"

The shadow cried out in pain as her blade began to glow red with heat from Superman's invisible eye-rays, giving Avalanche time to break free of her grip. As Avalanche darted away, Cyclops fired an optic-blast, sending her flying. At once, Dazzler turned her palm-flare up to full intensity, shedding light on the situation.

They now could get a good look at their assailants. The taller shadow was a young woman, in her late teens, tall and lean, with fairly dark skin, and fairly long ebony hair, and one brown eye, the other eye covered by a black eyepatch, clad in tattered black pants and an olive tank-top. The other shadow was a young girl, around 8 or 9, with long brown hair, frightened green eyes, and light skin, with fairly large hands – _much_ too large for a child her age. She was wearing a simple pink t-shirt and a pair of dirty blue jean-overalls.

Cyclops frowned at the young woman. "Okay, lady," he said, "you'd better tell us what you did with Ray, or else we'll..!"

"_Guys, CHILL!!_"

Just then, Ray ran in between all of them, looking none the worse for wear. "Everyone, relax!" he exclaimed.

"You okay, Ray?" Superman asked.

"Yeah, Big Blue; I'm fine."

"Ray," the young woman asked, glaring at Superman and the X-Men, "who _are_ these people?"

Ray half-glared at her. "They're my _friends_, Callisto." he replied. "They came looking for me, like I _told_ you they would if you didn't let me contact them and tell them I was okay!"

"Ray...do you _know_ her??" Jean asked, perplexed.

Ray nodded. "Guys, this is Callisto, the leader of the Morlocks."

Shadowcat blinked. "The _who??_"

"The Morlocks." Callisto snapped. "We're the outcasts from your society; we live down here because it's the only place that we're _safe_ from your persecution." Her glare hardened. "And now, even down _here_ isn't safe from you!"

"Callisto, my friends are _not_ the ones who took the others." Ray said firmly. "The Morlocks are mutants whose mutations are a bit more...obvious than most." he explained.

"Hold on." Superman said. "You said that we weren't the ones who took the others; what do you mean?"

Callisto scowled, as she looked him over. "So _you're_ this 'Superman' that everyone keeps talking about; the one playing hero." she snapped. She looked him in the eyes. "We don't _need_ your 'help,' top-worlder, and that goes for the _rest_ of you!"

"In case you've forgotten, Callisto," Ray said softly, "_I'm_ a 'top-worlder,' too. You wanted _my_ help, didn't you?"

Callisto paused. "_You're_ the only one we trust, Ray." she said.

"And _I_ trust _them_." Ray replied. "Let them help."

Callisto frowned...and then nodded. "Not here; we have to get back home." she said.

At that, the smaller girl shook her head rapidly. Callisto sighed, and knelt to the younger girl. "Torpid," she said softly, "we've looked all over for your dollie; it'll take us hours to search this place, and we can't risk being out here..."

"Torpid lost her favorite doll, out here." Ray explained. "She was looking for it, just now."

Slowly, Superman knelt to the little girl's – Torpid's – height. "You lost your dollie, out here?" he asked gently. Torpid hesitated for a moment, and then slowly nodded. Superman stood up. "Krypto?" he said.

Krypto instantly understood; he walked over to Torpid and started to sniff her – at first, Torpid cringed in fright, but calmed, as she realized that the dog wasn't going to hurt her. Once he'd gotten her scent, Krypto started to sniff around the room...and stopped by the west-side wall, next to a crack in the floor, and barked. Superman promptly walked over, knelt down, and reached into the hole in the floor.

Sure enough, there was a small, hand-stitched, well-loved child's doll at the bottom.

After retrieving the toy, Superman walked over to Torpid, followed by Krypto. "Is this it, honey?"

Torpid's eyes went wide, and reached out her hands for the toy. Superman smiled, and handed it to her. Torpid promptly took it, and hugged it to her, smiling to herself.

Callisto frowned. "If you're expecting a 'thank you,' you're wasting your time." she said grudgingly. "Torpid doesn't talk." Her expression became terribly sad. "Not even to _us_." She turned to go. "If you want to help, follow me." she finished. With that, she walked into a nearby tunnel.

"_Sheesh!_" Spider-Man said. "What flew up _her_ butt?"

"Being forced to live down here for so long can make _anyone_ sour, Little Red." Superman said.

Ray nodded. "Before the Professor found me, I used to hang out with the Morlocks." he said. "They're good people; it's just that, after being driven away, they're a little...mistrustful of anyone from topside."

"And I guess whatever this problem is, it's got Callisto wound _extra_ tight." Shadowcat observed.

"Hopefully, we can help with this problem." Cyclops said. "Let's go." With that, they all started to follow Callisto, including Nightcrawler, who had recovered from Torpid's paralysis.

Dazzler and Superman were the last to go. Dazzler smiled at Superman. "That was a really sweet thing to do, _tausha_." she cooed.

Superman smiled back. "No job is too small." he replied. "How are you feeling, _taushi?_"

"Better." Dazzler said. "Hopefully, these attacks will just lay off until we're done here..."

"_Th-Thank you..._"

Superman and Dazzler both stopped at that tiny whisper. Superman turned around, and saw Torpid there, holding her doll, looking up at him. "What?" Superman asked.

Torpid looked nervous, as if she thought she'd done something wrong...before she very softly whispered, "_Thank you..._"

Superman smiled warmly. "Oh, you're very welcome, sweetheart." he replied. At that, Torpid lightly smiled, before she hurried ahead of them, following Callisto.

Before long, Callisto had led them into a large chamber, spherical in shape, with two levels, with several smaller openings – _dwellings_ – on each level. "This is our home." Callisto said.

Gambit whistled. "Ain' too shabby."

Callisto frowned. "It may not be what you top-worlders would call home, but it's all we have."

"Must you be so cynical, Callisto?"

Callisto's eyes widened momentarily as a tall, lean man, in his mid fifties, walked into view. His hair was fairly long, and grey, with a short white goatee beard. His eyes were a bright green, and he wore a slightly tattered, black, long-sleeved priestly robe, with a white collar, and a simple wooden cross about his neck. Next to him stood a 16-year-old young man, of average height, though somewhat frail, with pale skin, dark eyes, and a bald head, clad in tattered brown pants and a brown t-shirt.

"Healer...I wasn't expecting you back so soon." Callisto said.

The older man – Healer – smiled gently. "My excursion topside did not take as long as I expected." he said. His expression turned grave. "Caliban has just informed me that Lucid, too, has been taken."

Callisto nodded. "That's _four_ missing, now." she said. "We got Ray to help us...but his friends came looking for him."

Healer nodded. "Perhaps their coming is a blessing." he said. "Surely they can help us rescue our friends."

Callisto slowly nodded. "I suppose."

"What exactly has happened?" Cyclops asked.

"In these past few weeks, several of our fellow Morlocks have been taken away." Healer explained. "Only a few days ago, our friend Lucid was taken."

Callisto nodded. "By top-worlders." she said bitterly.

Healer gave her a disapproving glance. "We have searched high and low for them, but to no avail." he continued. "Undoubtedly, whoever it was who took them will try to do them harm..."

"We'll help you." Superman said.

Cyclops nodded in agreement. "Superman, do you think Krypto's nose is up to the task?"

Superman smiled, and looked to Krypto. "What do you say, boy?"

Krypto barked.

"You said that your friend Lucid was most recently taken, right?" Spider-Man said. "Got anything belonging to him?"

"I think so." Callisto said. "But I'm coming with you; it's _our_ people who are missing." With that, she headed off.

Healer looked apologetic. "I hope you aren't too offended by Callisto; you must understand – her story of how she came to live here is likely the saddest of all."

Just then, Torpid walked up to Healer, smiling, as she held out her doll. Healer smiled. "Why, Torpid, you found your dollie!" he exclaimed. "Now, what did I tell you? Didn't I say that St. Anthony would help you find it?"

Torpid shook her head, and then pointed to Superman. Healer looked to him, and smiled. "Thank you for helping Torpid." he said. "Heaven knows, there's little enough joy down here without Torpid losing what little she has."

Superman smiled. "It's what we do."

"But, how did you all come to live down here?" Spyke asked.

Healer sighed. "I'm afraid it's all just a variation of the same story; young mutants whose gifts are more pronounced than others were cast out by their families. Eventually, we find them, and they come to live with us. We haven't much, but all those who are cast out from society are welcome here."

The young man – Caliban – looked uncomfortable. "You...not like us..." he whispered, pointing to Superman.

Superman lightly smiled. "I'm afraid not."

"So, how _did_ Callisto come to live down here?" Shadowcat asked.

Healer sighed. "As I said, that is a very sad story." he said. "From what she's told me, her mother perished when she was only a little girl, leaving only her father, who could _hardly_ be considered 'Father of the Year.' A few years ago, her powers manifested when she was in her early teens; Callisto had an exceptional ability to see in the dark, as well as a limited healing ability."

"Callisto discovered the latter during one of her father's more vicious...outbursts."

Healer lowered his gaze. "At that time, I was a humble minister, whose parish had been shut down." he continued. "I found her in an alley...with her eye cut out."

No-one dared speak at that.

"Callisto had run away from home after that...incident." Healer finished. "Her healing powers weren't enough to heal her eye; between the blood loss and infection setting in, I feared she would not last long, so I stayed with her, and simply held her hands, and told her that she was going to Someone who loved her more than _anything_." He lightly smiled. "Suddenly, her wound began to heal; the bleeding stopped, and the infection vanished. At the time, I thought it was a miracle...though I later learned that I, too, was a mutant, with the ability to mend almost any illness or injury – _almost_, since I could not repair Callisto's eye. Since then, we have taken in those young mutants cast out from their homes, with Callisto as their leader, and I as a teacher, and a spiritual advisor, though I do occasionally venture topside to work the odd job, here and there; it is difficult, but if it means that my 'parish' can eat without rifling through dumpsters, then I am for it."

No-one spoke for what felt like a long time. "No _wonder_ Callisto doesn't trust people from the surface." Dazzler said softly.

"_God,_" Spider-Man murmured, "you think you've seen the _worst_ that humanity can come up with...and _then_ you hear something like _this_..."

Ray nodded. "It took her _ages_ just to let me hang out with the others." he said. "My parents were divorcing, and I was hanging out with a gang...until Healer found me and talked some sense into me. A little later, my powers manifested, which is how Professor X found me."

Just then, Callisto came back, carrying a tattered green t-shirt. "This is one of Lucid's shirts." she said, handing it to Superman. "I hope your dog's nose is as good as you think it is."

Superman smiled. "We'll know soon, won't we?" he replied. Taking the shirt, he knelt down by Krypto, holding it out to him. "Okay, boy," he said, "this is what Lucid smells like."

Krypto took a few good sniffs...and then barked, scampering off. "Wow, that _is_ a good nose!" Rogue exclaimed.

"I'll stay here, and wait for you guys." Ray said. "Good luck!" With that, Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men and Callisto all ran after Krypto, following him to the missing Morlocks.

Within minutes, Superman had taken to the sky, following Krypto from the air, with Spider-Man web-swinging after him, followed by the X-Men and Callisto in the X-Van. After a few minutes, Krypto stopped a few meters away from an old, abandoned factory building in the industrial sector of New York...with two armed guards outside the door.

Two guards with black arm-bands bearing the white letters 'F.O.H.'

After spotting the factory, Krypto moved away, out of sight, before flying up to the rooftop where Superman and the others were watching the factory, safely out of sight. "So, those F.O.H. guys are behind this." Spyke muttered.

"_Merde._" Gambit said. "Gambit don' like dis one _bit_."

"Can you see anything, Superman?" Cyclops asked.

Superman's eyes flashed electric blue as he scanned the building. "I see the four missing Morlocks." he reported. "They're okay; they're in a room in the back of the building. There's a back-entrance to the building...but it's protected by an alarm. The control-box is on top of the building..." he glanced down, and saw that the guards were watching the sky as well as the ground, "...but there's no way to fly over without them seeing any of us. The only way to fly up to it is to do so from the side."

"I could put them to sleep." Jean suggested.

Gambit shook his head. "Sorry, chere; dem guards likely got t' report in ev'ry few minutes – if dey miss reportin', den de higher-ups get suspicious."

"We need a distraction." Cyclops said.

At that, Superman smiled. "I think I have an idea..."

Outside the doors to the F.O.H.'s research facility, the two night guards were getting bored. "_God_, how long until this shift is over?" one whined.

"Stop whining, Frankie." the other muttered. "You're just making it seem _longer._"

"Hey, Mike, why do we have to watch the _sky?_" Frankie asked.

"Because there's a bunch of muties that are teamed with that _flying_ freak."

"_Whoa!_ You mean...the guy's _real??_"

"Yeah." Mike muttered. "So _shut_ it and _watch_. We don't want him or _any_ muties showing up..."

Suddenly, a crash echoed in the distance, causing both men to draw their weapons. "Command, we have a situation here!" Frankie cried into his walkie-talkie.

"_What's going on, down there?!_" came the reply.

Just then, a white dog walked into view.

Groaning, Mike took out his walkie-talkie. "False alarm, Command." he said. "It was just some dumb dog; Frankie's just overreacting, again."

"_Scan it and be sure._" came the reply. "_Some mutant scum can shape-shift; see if it has the mutant gene._"

Sighing, Mike took out his hand-scanner; it was a new invention, capable of detecting the mutant X-Gene – it was a smaller version of the device that the prototype weapons being developed would use, when they were completed. "The pooch checks out, Command. No X-Gene, here."

"_Good. Command out._"

Muttering to himself, Mike shouted, "Go on, pooch! Beat it!" With that, the dog ran away, off to the side of the building, leaving the two of them to their watch.

Krypto quickly made his way to the back of the building, where the others were waiting, after having crossed to the roof and deactivated the alarm while the guards were looking at Krypto. "God work, boy!" Superman said, scratching his dog's ears.

"Let's go." Cyclops said. "We have to make this quick, before anyone notices that we're here." With that, they all headed through the open door, into the building.

In the observation room, Graydon Creed stood watching the screens that showed the four test-subjects, as well as the screens showing the four 'enhanced' soldiers. "Will they be ready for the tests soon, doctor?"

The scientist smiled. "They're just about ready _now_, sir!" he reported happily.

Graydon smiled. "_Good._" he said. "Once this test is complete, we should be able to..." His voice trailed off as he saw one screen, showing a feed from a video camera.

The screen showed several people entering the building...including one in a _red-and-blue uniform, with a long red cape..!!_

Graydon's face twisted in fury. "Sound the alarm!!" he ordered. "Those freaks are here!!"

"Wait, sir!!" the scientist exclaimed. "This is an _opportunity!_ We have a chance to test the men against one of the most powerful mutants that we know about! We _mustn't_ pass this chance up!"

Graydon calmed at that. The scientist was right; they knew next to _nothing_ about that mutant's _full_ capabilities. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files didn't carry _any_ reference to it.

They couldn't pass this up.

"They're likely here to rescue the others." Graydon said. "Wait until they're in the room, and _then_ let the men loose."

Graydon smiled coldly as he watched those muties. '_This will be __**amusing**_'

Once they were inside the building, the little band made their way down a rusted metal walkway, over numerous boilers and turbines...which were _active_. "Well, _somebody's_ up to something." Spider-Man said.

"See anything, Big Blue?" Nightcrawler asked.

"They're just down this corridor." Superman said.

"Dis ain' right." Gambit muttered. "Dere outta be more guards, but dis place be quieter den a _graveyard._"

"He's right." Callisto said. "Something's wrong."

"Everyone stay alert." Cyclops said. "Whatever these guys are up to, it _can't_ be anything good." With that, they cautiously made their way down the corridor.

Eventually, the corridor led them to a large, steel door. Shadowcat simply phased her hand through the electronic lock, which shorted it out, causing the door to open. They all stepped through, and came into a large, open chamber, with the four missing Morlocks in the middle, none the worse for wear. One was a dark-skinned young woman, in her mid teens, with mid-length, tattered brown hair and brown eyes, clad in a beige sweater and tattered blue jeans. One was a young man, with spiky brown hair and a spiky beard, with dark blue eyes, clad in a blue t-shirt and tattered brown slacks. The third was a young woman, in her early teens, with mid-length dirty-blond hair, and amber eyes, wearing a white t-shirt and dirty blue jeans. And the fourth was a young man, almost frog-like in appearance, with brown hair, clad in blue jeans and a tattered white t-shirt.

Callisto instantly ran to them. "Cybelle, Facade, Scaleface, Lucid, are you all okay?"

"_Callisto??_" the first young woman – Cybelle – exclaimed. "What are you _doing_ here??"

"Who are _they?_" Facade – the pointy-bearded youth – asked.

"We're here to help." Superman said.

"Did they hurt you?" Jean asked.

The second girl – Scaleface – shook her head. "No; they just tossed us in here."

"Why?" Dazzler asked.

"I think I might know." Lucid said softly. "I heard them mention it before I blacked out; they said they needed us for some 'test'."

"A test?" Spider-Man repeated. "What kind of test would _these_ sickos need to do?"

Suddenly, Krypto started to growl, as Superman's hearing started to pick something up. "Guys?" he said. "We've got trouble."

Just then, four large panels opened up in the walls...as four _enormously_ muscular men walked out. Their veins were glowing a sickly green, just like their eyes.

Spider-Man groaned. "I _had_ to ask, didn't I?"

"_Holy..!_" Spyke yelled. "What have those guys been _eating?!_"

The giants snarled at them...before roaring in sheer fury, and charging at them.

At once, Jean raise a TK-shield, to hold the giants back, as Dazzler reinforced her shield with a hard-light barrier. "Callisto, get your friends _out_ of here!!" Cyclops shouted.

"I told you that this was _our_ problem!" Callisto shouted back. "Lucid, Facade, you two clear out of here; you can't help us! Scaleface, Cybelle, you two stay and help!" As Lucid and Facade moved clear, Scaleface suddenly _changed_, becoming a massive six-foot-tall alligator-like humanoid. Scaleface ran at the first giant just as he broke through Jean and Dazzler's barrier, meeting his charge head-on; the giant snarled in hate, and slowly started to push Scaleface back...

Superman darted towards the giant, slamming him with a haymaker, knocking him back. Before he could press the attack, a second giant tackled him and held on, crashing through several walls. As the first giant started to get up, Nightcrawler 'ported onto his shoulder; the giant roared in fury, and tried to grab him, but Nightcrawler 'ported away, and then executed a mid-air kick to the giant's head, enraging him...and distracting him long enough for Spider-Man to fire a web-line around his ankles, wrapping up his feet. As the giant stumbled back, Spider-Man executed a somersault-kick to the giant's face, stunning him, before Scaleface _slammed_ him with her reptilian tail. "_Boy_, am I glad to know that there _are_ alligators in the sewers!" Spider-Man joked, causing Scaleface to chuckle.

The second giant knocked Superman through several walls before Superman leaned backwards and _threw_ the giant off of him, promptly doing a handspring, getting back on his feet. Roaring, the giant came at him with a punch, but Superman ducked under it, and slammed his fist into the giant's abdomen, causing the giant to cringe, stopping in his tracks, before Superman _slammed_ his face with the follow-up punch, sending him flying a good fifty feet, crashing into rusted machinery. The giant recovered quickly, and charged at him again, but Superman unleashed his gale-breath, pushing the giant back. The giant snarled in hate, and rushed at him once more, but Superman caught his punch, and then rolled the motion into a throw, tossing him back towards the way they came.

As the infuriated giant got up, Krypto pounced on him from behind, and bit into his shoulder; the giant roared in agony as Krypto's teeth tore into his flesh, causing glowing green blood to spill from the wound.

_Kryptonite!_

The presence of the deadly element caused Superman and Krypto to leap back. '_So, these guys are experimenting with Kryptonite._' Superman thought. Luckily, the Kryptonite-irradiated blood didn't contain enough Kryptonite to be harmful to him; most of its radiation had been absorbed by this unfortunate soul – its presence was simply giving him a headache.

But it was still an unnerving thought.

As the giant roared in fury, Superman looked to Krypto, meeting his gaze.

They both had the same idea.

Krypto flew at the giant, before tucking his head, rolling himself into a ball, slamming into the giant's torso, knocking him off-balance, before Superman flew at him with an uppercut, knocking him out. With the giant subdued, Superman and Krypto headed back, to rejoin the others.

As the third giant charged at Avalanche, Cybelle moved behind him, and placed her hands on the floor; almost instantly, the ground under the giant's feet started to melt, and become soft, corroding with Cybelle's touch. Avalanche grinned, and took advantage of Cybelle's tactic, generating a mild-strength earthquake...which tore open the softened ground, trapping the giant in a fissure. Avalanche gave a thumbs-up to Cybelle...

...and then grimaced as the giant climbed out of the fissure, madder than _ever_. As the man-monster stomped towards Avalanche, Spyke generated a bone-spear, and threw it at the giant, who simply swatted it aside. As the giant grew closer, Callisto grabbed the discarded bone-spear, and leapt onto the monster's back, using the spear to start choking him. The giant roared in fury, and tried to throw Callisto off, but Callisto held on tight. After about a minute, the giant finally managed to toss Callisto off. The monster roared in anger...which turned to a grunt of confusion, as he suddenly sank into the floor up to his shoulders.

Shadowcat phased back up through the floor. "All yours, Gambit!"

In seconds, Gambit had closed on the giant, just as he was starting to break free. Gambit grinned as he drew five cards from his deck, charged them, and stuck them to the giant's chest. The giant could only grunt in bewilderment...seconds before the cards detonated, sending him flying across the room, out cold. "Guess dat wasn' a good 'and." Gambit said. "Bad luck, _mon ami._"

Cyclops opened his visor and blasted the fourth man-monster as Jean levitated the giant off of the floor, immobilizing him and amplifying the impact of Cyclops' blast...but the giant didn't seem to even _feel_ it. "I...can't hold him..." Jean said, "...he's too heavy..."

"Try to shut his mind down!" Cyclops exclaimed, as he fired another blast, trying to stun him.

Jean concentrated...and shook her head. "His rage is too strong; I can't get through!" she cried. "I'm losing him..!"

The giant broke free of Jean's telekinetic grip, and stomped towards her and Cyclops...but was knocked back by an off-white energy beam.

Dazzler's eyes narrowed as she glared at the giant. "This is the _first_ time I've fought you 'F.O.H.' guys," she said, "and I can't stand you _already._" With that, she fired a pair of constant energy beams from her hands, pushing the giant back. The giant roared, and slowly started to walk towards Dazzler, resisting her beams.

Dazzler focused _more_ energy into her beams, but the giant kept coming. She was giving it all that she had, but it wasn't enough...

Suddenly, something just _clicked_ in her body, and her beams shut off, as the energy was automatically redirected through the new pathway that had just opened up...

Dazzler's eyes glowed a brilliant gold, before she unleashed a pair of deadly golden rays from her eyes, striking the giant with ten _times_ as much force as her previous beams. The attack sent the now-singed giant flying across the room, crashing into the wall. As the giant tried to stumble to his feet, Rogue simply removed her glove, and tapped her hand to the giant's face, knocking him out.

Jean looked to Dazzler, her eyes wide. "I...didn't know you could channel energy through your eyes..."

Dazzler's eyes were even _wider_. "Neither did I..."

Once the last man-monster was down, the weary band started to regroup. "Let's get out of here," Cyclops said, "before these guys get their second wind." With that, they all turned to go...

...and stopped as dozens of black-clad soldiers, all wearing F.O.H. armbands, poured into the room. "You muties aren't going _anywhere!!_" one soldier yelled. "We're going to..!"

"_RRRRRRAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRR!!!_"

The deafening roar cut the soldier off as the second giant – the one that Superman and Krypto had dispatched – lumbered into view. The giant roared again, and leapt at the soldiers, blindly slamming them with his fists, sending them flying. "He's gone berserk!!" one soldier cried. "Someone get the tranquilizers before he – "

The soldier was cut off as the giant slammed him with his fist, knocking him into a nearby turbine, which set off a cascade of sparks...igniting an electrical fire, which caused the soldiers to scatter, running screaming for the exits.

"We'll handle the big guy!" Cyclops exclaimed. "Superman, you put that fire out!"

"On it!" Superman replied. To Spider-Man, he added, "You up for it, Little Red?"

"You know it, Big Blue!" Spider-Man replied. With that, the two of them moved to the fire, followed by Krypto.

The X-Men surrounded the man-monster, ready for anything he might try...but they needn't have bothered; the giant moaned in agony, dropping to his knees, clutching his head...as glowing green blood leaked out of his ears, from a _massive_ cerebral hemorrhage. Then, he collapsed.

He was gone.

After quickly surveying the fire, Superman inhaled, and then unleashed his frost-breath on the fire, coating the turbines with frost. As he did so, Spider-Man fired globs of webbing onto the flames, smothering them. Within minutes, the flames had been suppressed enough for Krypto to safely pull the injured soldier to safety. The soldier recovered quickly, having suffered only minor burns – fortunately – and ran off.

Suddenly, Superman's eyes widened in horror. "Spider-Man, watch out..!"

Spider-Man's spider-sense went _nuts_...seconds before part of the turbine exploded towards him. Spider-Man managed to duck away from the flaming metal...but part of his mask had caught fire! Quickly, Superman exhaled a burst of frost-breath, extinguishing his comrade's mask, before putting out the rest of the fire. "You okay, Spider-Man?" he asked.

"Ugh...yeah, I'm fine." Spider-Man replied, dazed. Slowly, he turned towards Superman...who got the shock of his _life_.

Half of Spider-Man's mask had been burned off, revealing the slightly sooty face of Peter Parker. '_Well...this explains a few things..._'

Slowly, Spider-Man's – Peter's – eyes widened in horror, as he realized what had happened. "_Holy..!!_" he cried, covering the exposed part of his face.

"It's okay." Superman assured him. "You can trust me." At that, Spider-Man calmed. "Let's get out of here." Superman added.

"Hey, you don't need to tell _me_ twice!" Spider-Man quipped. With that, the entire group headed out of the building.

It didn't take long for the entire band to regroup on top of the adjacent building. "Thank you for helping us." Callisto said.

Spider-Man shrugged. "Hey, it's what we do!"

"Just wait for us in the X-Van." Cyclops instructed. "We'll be with you, shortly; we'll drop you off and pick Ray up." Callisto nodded at that, and she and the other Morlocks headed off, towards the X-Van on the ground below.

Once the Morlocks had left, Spider-Man took a deep breath. "So...can I trust you guys to keep quiet about me?"

Superman just smiled. "That's a _given_, Pete."

Peter's exposed eye widened. "H-How did you know my name?" he stammered.

"_That's_ part of why you can trust us." Superman said, his smile growing. "To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out, before." With that, he simply reached to the back of his belt, took out his glasses – he was _glad_ that he always kept them with him when he changed clothes, for once – and put them on.

Peter's eyes widened in utter shock. "_You're...you're..._"

"I know who I am." Superman said, taking off his glasses. To the X-Men, he added, "I believe you've heard me mention my coworker at the newspaper."

Without saying a thing, he'd said everything; the X-Men nodded in understanding.

Slowly, Peter smiled. "Aw, man...all _along!_" he laughed. "You'd think those specs wouldn't be that great of a disguise, but they _work!_"

Superman shrugged. "What can I say?" he asked. He smiled. "You can trust me – _all_ of us." He chuckled. "Like you said, we have to stick together!"

Spider-Man laughed. "True enough!" he said. "You can trust me, too, bro; I will not tell a _soul!_" He chuckled. "No matter _how_ much MJ tries to pry it out of me!"

Cyclops smiled. "Why not join the Institute?" he suggested. "We'd love to have you!"

Spider-Man smiled, but shook his head. "Thanks, but...no, thanks." he replied. "You guys are awesome, but I'm okay right where I am." He chuckled. "Besides, _technically_, I'm not a mutant; my powers came from an irradiated spider who thought my wrist looked like lunch. I'm not sure if I fit the criteria!"

Superman chuckled. "Hey, technically, neither do _I!_"

Spider-Man arched an eyebrow. "No kidding?" he asked. "What's your story, Big Blue?"

Superman's smile became a bit forced. "Well...I'm the sole survivor of the planet Krypton."

Spider-Man's smile evaporated. "Oh my God...I-I'm so sorry...I didn't know..."

"It's okay." Superman said. "I've more or less come to terms with it."

Dazzler smiled at Superman, before turning to Spider-Man. "Thanks for the assist, Spidey!" she said.

"Hey, no problem!" Spider-Man replied. "Catch you guys on the flip side!" To Superman, he added, "See you at work, tomorrow!" With that, he shot out a web-line, and swung off.

"Well, this has been an interestin' evening." Rogue said.

Gambit chuckled. "Amen t' _dat_, _cherie._"

Dazzler smiled. "And we owe it all to Krypto." she said, before reaching down to scratch behind Krypto's ears. "Good boy!" Krypto panted happily at that.

Spyke smiled. "All's well that ends well."

Cyclops nodded. "Let's get out of here, guys..."

"_EEEEEEEEEYYYYYAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!_"

Dazzler's blood-curdling scream cut the air, as the others turned to Alison, who was curled up in a fetal position, with Krypto whimpering softly by her side, gently licking her face, trying to comfort her. Alison's eyes were scrunched in agony, her hands to the side of her head, tears flowing down her face.

"_Ali!!_" Superman cried, rushing to her side, and gently lifting her into his arms. "_Taushi_, what's wrong?"

"_Make them stop..._" Dazzler whimpered tearfully, "_...all the noises...__**please**__, Clarkie, make them stop..._"

Her words were terribly familiar, sending haunting echoes through Superman's mind...

_"Make them stop, Pa!!" an 8-year-old Clark Kent had cried, as his Pa held him. "Please, make the noises __**stop**__!!"_

"I will, Ali." Superman promised. "I will."

Shadowcat looked stricken. "Oh my _God_, poor Ali." she said. "I wish we knew what was wrong..."

"I think I do." Superman said, standing up, with his crying _taushi_ in his arms. "I'm taking Ali back to the Institute. You guys follow when you can." With that, he took to the sky, heading for the Institute, followed by Krypto, while the X-Men headed for the X-Van, to bring the Morlocks home.

It was several hours after Superman, Spider-Man, and the X-Men had left when Callisto and the missing Morlocks returned home.

"Guys!" Ray called, rushing over to greet his old friends. "Are you okay?"

Lucid smiled. "We're fine, Ray." he said. "Thanks to your pals."

Ray smiled. "Yeah, they're pretty awesome."

"They're waiting for you topside." Callisto said. She half-smiled. "They're alright, I suppose."

Ray smiled. "Hey, when one of 'em can get Torpid to say thanks, you _know_ they're a good bunch."

Callisto's eyes went wide. "_What??_" she cried. "Torpid..._spoke??_"

"Like she'd been doing it all her life." Ray said. He smiled. "Take care, guys. I'll try to stay in touch." With that, he headed off.

Quickly, Callisto hurried off, looking for Torpid. After a few minutes' search, she found Torpid in her own chamber, lying on the floor, coloring on a sheet of paper with a set of crayons that Healer had found for her on one of his excursions topside.

Callisto knelt by Torpid, smiling gently. "Torpid?" she asked softly. "Today, when that...when Superman found your dolly...did you...say something to him?"

Torpid looked up from her coloring...and just smiled.

Callisto smiled back. "Okay, sweetie." she cooed. "Whenever you're ready." With that, she stood up to go.

"Raymond told me." Healer said from the doorway, smiling.

Callisto turned to look at him. "I...I never thought that she would _ever_ speak..." she whispered.

Healer smiled. "Hope has a way of making the impossible possible, again." he said. Then, he glanced to Torpid, and his smile grew. "Oh, Torpid, that's _lovely!_"

Turning, Callisto couldn't help but smile. Torpid had finished her coloring, and had stood up, holding her picture for all to see, with a big smile. Her picture consisted of simple stick-people...but Callisto could recognize all the other Morlocks; they were all drawn on one side of the sheet, and on the other side were all the X-Men, and in the middle of the picture was a little stick-girl – Torpid – holding the stick-Callisto's hand in one hand, and the stick-Superman's hand in the other. The picture's title was simple: on the top was scribbled the words, "My Family."

Callisto fought back tears as she hugged Torpid. "You're absolutely _right_, sweetie." she said. "And don't ever forget it." Torpid smiled, and she returned the hug. Callisto's smile could only _grow_ as Torpid hugged her.

'_Superman...thank you..._'

_Undisclosed location_

It hadn't taken long for the Friends of Humanity to relocate to their emergency base.

Graydon Creed scowled as the lead scientist entered the observation chamber. "What is the status on the four soldiers, doctor?"

The scientist lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry, sir...but one of them is dead; cerebral hemorrhage from a brain tumor – it must have formed after the fourth infusion. As for the other three...they have tumors forming all over, sir; they won't last long."

Graydon put his hand to his forehead. "Is there _any_ good news?!" he yelled.

The scientist weakly smiled. "Well...we _did_ manage to observe the flying mutant's powers."

Graydon calmed. "And?"

The scientist looked stricken. "Well, sir...based on everything we've seen – between our initial encounter with him and today's incident – I can safely say that...well...he's an Omega-Class, sir; no doubt about it." he said. "We've seen strength _well_ in excess of the four soldiers, as well as supersonic speed – on land _and_ in the air – invulnerability, gale-force and freezing exhalations...and who knows _what_ else?! He could likely overpower the _Juggernaut!!_"

_That_ caught Graydon's attention. He knew of the mutant Cain Marko – "Juggernaut" – the only other Omega-Class mutant that S.H.I.E.L.D. knew of; he'd been planning to let Marko loose in the future, to get rid of Charles Xavier _and_ show _just_ how dangerous mutants were.

If this freak could take _him_ on...

"But there's _another_ interesting tidbit, sir." the scientist continued. He tapped a few keys, bringing up a video file...

...showing the freak and his dog leaping away from the irradiated blood of the soldier he'd been fighting...the blood _laced with the alien element._

Graydon smiled coldly. "_He doesn't like that stuff..._" he said. "Well _done_, Doctor!" Graydon turned to the glass case holding the green crystal – the only sample they had left. It wasn't enough to continue with this program...but with this new knowledge...

"Sir?" the doctor reported. "We've just gotten a file from our benefactor; I think you may want to look at this, sir!"

Intrigued, Graydon walked to the computer, and glanced over the file...and smiled; this file detailed how to make a _weapon_ with the purified element.

"Get this to Dr. Trask _immediately._" Graydon ordered. He smiled to himself. It was too late for Trask to incorporate such a weapon in his most recent line, and there was only enough element to outfit _one_ of the weapons...but with what they'd just learned...

..._one_ was all they _needed._

Shortly after Superman had brought Dazzler to the Institute's infirmary, she had passed out. If the problem was what he thought it was, then he couldn't blame her.

Superman had left Alison in Hank's care momentarily, while he'd dropped by the Fortress; he needed a few things to test his theory.

He was ashamed of himself for not suspecting it, sooner; the hearing and the eye-rays had started to clue him in, but he _had_ to be sure.

After he'd gotten back and given Hank the data he needed to run the test, he'd sat by Alison on her infirmary cot, holding her hand. By then, the X-Men had gotten back, and were waiting with him, as well as Ororo, Logan, and Professor Xavier.

After several hours, Alison woke up. "Ugh..." she moaned. "My head is _killing_ me..."

Superman smiled. "I can imagine, baby."

Alison smiled weakly. "Hi, baby." she whispered. "What's going on?"

"You gave us a scare, Ali." Cyclops said.

"Clark thinks he knows what's wrong." Shadowcat said.

Dazzler looked to Superman. "Clarkie?"

Just then, Hank walked in. "Clark...you were _right_."

Kurt looked confused. "Right about _vat??_"

Superman took a deep breath; he _had_ to be sure... "Ali..." he said gently, as he took out a crystal-processor from the Fortress, "...will you please touch this?"

Alison blinked, confused. "Okay..." Slowly, she took off one of her gloves, and then reached out, and touched the crystal with her fingertip.

Instantly, the crystal's holographic interface flared to life, circling the crystal.

All the X-Men gasped.

Alison's eyes went wide. "C-Clark?" she stammered. "I...I thought humans _couldn't_ use your technology..."

Superman smiled gently. "They _can't_."

"W...Wha..?" Alison whimpered.

"Let me tell you about your attacks, Ali." Superman said softly. "Sometimes, it's as if you're hearing _everything_; your ears are picking up _every single sound_ around you, and it feels like your brain is going to explode from all that sound. Other times, it's as if your eyes are seeing a lot more than what they're supposed to...and it scares the _hell_ out of you."

"How...how can you know that, Clark?!" Alison cried.

Superman held her hands. "Because, _taushi_...that's what it was like for _me._"

Gambit's eyes went wide. "_Merde..._"

"Clark..." Jean murmured, "...are you saying what I _think_ you're saying?"

"The data Clark gave me was a map of the Kryptonian genome." Hank said. "It let me run a genetic comparison of the human genome and Alison's DNA." He took a deep breath. "The overall human genome is 0.0000005 percent similar to Kryptonian DNA."

"_Alison's_ DNA, however, is _8_ percent similar – _far_ too much to be caused by random convergence."

Alison couldn't speak.

Superman smiled lovingly. "Baby," he whispered, "you're _part Kryptonian_; you're a descendant of Kon-Lir."

Hank nodded, smiling. "It explains _everything_." he said. "Your Kryptonian DNA wasn't strong enough on its own for you to have the same powers as Clark; based on a body-scan I did earlier, you have the same kind of energy-transfer system, but you're missing the genes that let you absorb solar energy from the sun." His smile grew. "And then your X-Gene became active, Alison. Once your body started transmuting sound energy to light energy, your energy-transfer system started to wake up! Based on the gene-map provided, you'll be capable of incredible strength and speed, though not _quite_ on par with Clark, since you're part human. Also, you'll have incredible durability, though, as I said, not as much as a full Kryptonian. You should be capable of gale-force breath, but not freezing breath; your hearing and vision will be the same as a full Kryptonian's; you will be capable of flight, and, as we've seen, you're capable of eye-rays, though, as before, not _quite_ as powerful as Clark's." He grinned. "_However_, Alison, you _should_ be _immune_ to the effects of Kryptonite; since you lack the ability to directly absorb solar power, your body will not absorb Kryptonite radiation properly, either, rendering you immune..."

This was all just too much for Alison; suppressing a sob, she got up from the cot, and ran out of the infirmary.

Hank grimaced. "Oh, dear. I was babbling, wasn't I?"

"Ya _think?_" Logan said.

Superman got up. "I'll go talk to her." he said. With that, he ran after her, heading out of the infirmary.

Alison's head was _spinning_; this didn't make _sense_. '_I'm...part __**alien...**_' she thought. '_Oh my God...did my father know? Did my mother know? What __**am**__ I?!_'

Alison suppressed another sob, as tears started to leak from her eyes. She was so _confused_...

"_Taushi?_"

Alison stopped as Superman hurried up to her. "Ali, I _know_ this can be hard to take in." he said softly. "It was hard for me, too..."

That made Alison's self-pitying thoughts stop _dead_ in their tracks. Clark was a Kryptonian, _too_. And she'd just started freaking out about being part of _his race..._

"Oh, _God_, Clark, I'm so _sorry!!_" Alison wailed, burying her head in his chest. "I was j-just so freaked _out_...and I panicked...but it wasn't anything _against_ _you_...I just..._oh, God!!_"

"Oh, _taushi_, don't apologize." Superman whispered, holding her close. "You have _nothing_ to apologize _for_." He gently kissed her forehead. "You were _confused_. I was, too."

Just then, a tiny whine filled the air, as Krypto gently nuzzled his nose against Alison's leg, trying to comfort her. Alison smiled weakly. "No wonder Krypto liked me; I smelled familiar – _he_ knew before anyone else."

Superman smiled. "There was another reason why I brought this crystal here, Ali." he said. "Ever since I first entered the Fortress, there was _always_ one file that I could never open; I later learned that it was encoded to only activate to the touch of a Kryptonian _female._" He held the crystal out to her. "Whatever this is, it was meant for _you_."

Slowly, Alison touched the crystal, bringing up the interface. "Oh, _God_..." Alison murmured, "...I have no _idea_ how to use this..."

Superman smiled, and gently guided her hand to one glowing symbol. Alison smiled back, and touched it. Instantly, the crystal began to glow brighter, and started to float, before it generated the image of a tall, elegantly built woman, with long, ebony hair, clad in a long, slim black gown. Alison had a sneaking suspicion of who it was...

"_I do not know if this message will ever be heard._" the woman said. "_I do not know if any female descendants of Kon-Lir exist. I do not even know if the ship carrying my child will reach Earth._" The woman suppressed a sob as an earthquake echoed in the background. "_But now, as our world is dying...hope is all that I have..._"

Superman froze. "_M-Mama?_" he whispered.

"_If you are hearing this message, then you have met my son._" the woman continued. "_I am Lara, wife to Jor-El, and mother of Kal-El, the young man you have met. We are of the planet Krypton...a world that, by the time you hear this message, has been destroyed. You can hear this message, dear child, because you, too, carry the blood of the Kryptonian people in your veins._"

"_Many years ago, a Kryptonian named Kon-Lir was stranded on your Earth._" Lara continued. "_You are his descendant, dear one. Do not fear your heritage...for it is what links you to my son, the Last Son of Krypton._"

"_My husband and I have sent Kal-El to your world, to escape Krypton's nearing demise. We chose Earth because your people are as we once were, because of Earth's yellow sun...and because, in a parent's desperate hope, we prayed that you existed, and that you would find each other._"

"_I do not know if you exist, child,_" Lara pleaded, her eyes starting to fill with tears, "_but if you do, look after each other. You are surely the Last __**Daughter**__ of Krypton, dear one; you and my son carry its legacy. Please, look after each other...and...tell my son...that his mother loves him..._" Lara suppressed a sob, "_...tell him that his mother loves him __**without end...**_"

"_Lara!_" a man's voice shouted, as another quake shook. "_There is __**no time**__! Kal has to go, __**now!!**_"

Tearfully, Lara cried, "_Please! Look after each other, I __**beg**__ you!!_" Then, with that, the message ended.

Krypto softly whimpered, as both Alison and Superman fought back tears. Superman managed a smile. "My parents...were _hoping_ for you, Ali." he whispered.

Alison lightly smiled. "I...I guess I know whether or not they would approve of me..."

Superman nodded. "_Taushi_, you are descended from one of the most honored Houses on Krypton: the House of Lir...who were famous for their achievements in science...but _more_ for their passion for and achievements in the _arts_." he said, and then he chuckled. "The only House _more_ honored was the House of El."

Alison giggled. "Though you try not to brag." she teased. "It sounds like I'm a chip off the old space-block!"

Superman smiled, and then tapped the crystal. "Ali...this is _your_ family crest." he said, as the crystal projected an image of a stylized letter 'P,' slanting to the right, with the loop of the 'P' angular, like a sideways square diamond, with two lines extending back from the loop.

Alison smiled. "It's pretty cool." she cooed. Chuckling, she added, "But I like my Earth name, too."

Superman smiled. "Hey, I have an Earth name _and_ a Kryptonian one."

Alison leaned her head on his chest. "Then _you_ give me a name, _tausha_." she cooed.

Superman thought for a moment...and then smiled warmly. "'_Alia Ka-Lir_'." he said. "'_Alia_' means 'blessing,' and '_Ka-Lir_' means 'upon Lir.'" He held her close. "You are a blessing to the House of Lir...and everyone _else_ who knows you, for that matter."

Alison smiled radiantly. "I _love_ it." she cooed. She leaned up on the tips of her toes. "And I love _you_...Kal-El."

"And I love _you_...Alia Ka-Lir." Superman replied, and then he leaned down, sealing her lips with his. After a few minutes of kissing, Superman ended the kiss, touching noses with her. "I'll be there for you, _taushi_, I promise; I'll help you through your powers."

Alison smiled. "I know you will." she cooed. Then, her eyes started to droop. "But...I'm a little tired, now..." Then, she fell asleep, leaning against him. Smiling, Superman gently lifted her into his arms, and carried her upstairs, to tuck her in.

It had been a long day for them _both_.

_Atlantic Ocean_

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, out in international waters, a massive, green-and-grey metal aircraft hovered above the water's surface, its size rivaling that of the Helicarrier, the mighty Mobile Supreme Headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. Upon the side of its hull was the crest of a grim steel mask.

On the bridge of his master-work of Latverian military technology – his answer to General Fury's Helicarrier – Victor von Doom sat in the command chair, overlooking this reconnaissance mission, as his loyal Doom-bots operated the controls. To his left, in a smaller chair, sat Anita, in her uniform, observing; it was good for his daughter to watch how a warship such as this was commanded – when her time to rule came, she would have to command from a warship as much as from a throne.

She would not be ruling _alone_, if Doom had his way.

"_Report._" Doom ordered.

"_We have lost contact with Reconnaissance Unit 01._" a Doom-bot reported. "_Last known contact was 45 miles from North Pole._"

"_I see._" Doom mused.

"Father?" Anita inquired. "This is the third time you have sent a drone to investigate the Pole. What are you looking for?"

"_In the past, my dear – including a few hours ago – I have tracked Kal-El's flight to the Pole._" Doom answered. "_It was most difficult, but I managed to configure my satellites to track his flight, even at his highest known speeds. Furthermore, during the time that Kal-El made contact with Namor and his family, I detected him coming from the Pole, with a __**massive**__ power-source – greater than ten __**thousand**__ nuclear reactors. Shortly after, I detected Richards' team-vehicle leave the water...followed by an unidentified craft; both vehicles headed to the Pole._"

Anita's eyes widened. "He must have a stronghold, there!"

"_Undoubtedly._" Doom said. "_And if it is capable of remaining undetected to my satellites – as well as Fury's – then it must utilize the advanced technology of Kal-El's homeworld._"

"_Lord Doom: Recon Unit 01 is returning._"

"_Just like the other drones I sent to investigate..._" Doom mused. "_It will likely not have any useful data; whatever defenses his stronghold uses, it disables the drones' recording equipment._"

"Did you plan on going there?" Anita inquired.

"_Hmm...presently, no._" Doom said. "_If this stronghold's passive defenses are so formidable, then it would not be wise._"

Anita nodded. "Have you discerned anything else, Father?"

"_Kal-El makes occasional trips to Kansas._" Doom said. "_So far, my satellites have not located a specific location – he is gone before I can track him – but had I to venture a guess..._"

Anita smiled. "_Smallville!_"

"_Precisely._" Doom said. "_This means, my child, that he once __**lived**__ there...which means that, before he learned to fly...he walked the earth as any other man._"

"A secret identity." Anita said. "Some name he uses to walk the streets unnoticed."

Doom nodded. "_Find the name he uses as a mask, and we have him._" he said. "_Once Lensherr's plan for Kal-El and Genosha is complete, my dear, that will be your priority. Irene Adler's prophecy will go the way __**we**__ wish it to go._"

"Father?" Anita asked. "Perhaps she is wrong..."

"_Her prophecy is already beginning._" Doom said. "_She told of seven others who would join with him; he has met __**two**__ of them. One of them is surely Namor's cousin, Arthur. And several weeks previous, Kal-El visited...__**Gotham.**_"

Anita looked stricken. Several years before Kal-El had appeared, her father had visited Gotham...and had encountered its shadowy defender, the Batman.

Her Papa did _not_ like to talk about that incident.

Anita quickly changed the subject. "Papa," she said, "once this plan is done...must we continue our alliance with Lensherr?"

"_No._" Doom said. "_Once Lensherr achieves his goal of mutant domination, he will surely turn against me; remember, my child, by definition, I am not a mutant. Fanaticism as his can be an effective weapon, but a dangerous one, since it can easily turn on the wielder._"

Anita smiled. "I will _never_ turn on you, Papa," she said, "but I am glad to hear you say that...because I have an idea." With that, she leaned closer to her Papa, and whispered it in his ear.

Doom lightly laughed. "_My sweet child, sometimes your cunning astounds even __**me**__; I would not want to be __**your**__ enemy. And you are right; having such a 'loose cannon' in play will prove useful, later. I approve._"

Anita smiled, and sweetly kissed her father on his metal cheek. "Thank you, Papa." she said. Her smile turned sly. "I promise; I will make you proud."

It was late at night, and everyone had turned in at the Institute, except Clark.

In Alison's room, Superman – still in uniform – lay with Alison, who hadn't changed out of her uniform, either; after he'd placed her on her bed, she'd sleepily pleaded with him to just stay with her for a while.

And so, here he was, with Alison – his Alia – curled up on his chest, looking so perfectly peaceful. Superman suppressed a smile; at the foot of the bed, curled up happily, was Krypto, who had chosen to keep them both company.

Suddenly, Superman froze, as his hearing picked up a distress call; Krypto also perked up – he'd heard it, too. Very gently, Superman slipped free from Alison's embrace, before lovingly covering her with the blankets. Smiling, he glanced to Krypto. "You up for this, boy?"

Krypto nodded his head.

Superman knelt to Krypto, to check some of the buttons on his collar; he hadn't had time to show Krypto _all_ the extras he'd built into his collar. "Okay, boy; when we're about to go to work, flick _this_ button," he tapped one button on the collar, "with your paw." At once, Krypto sat back, and moved his back hind leg as if to scratch his ears, but instead pressed the button with his rear paw.

Instantly, countless nano-fibers extended back from the collar, interweaving to worm a dog-sized red cape, identical to his own.

Superman smiled. "Well, Krypto," he said, "if you're going to be a Superdog, you should _look_ the part!" Then, he headed out of Alison's room, and Krypto followed. Superman headed to the nearest window, and flew out; seconds later, Krypto flew out after him. Superman just smiled, as he and Krypto flew off, heading east, towards the emergency.

Someone needed their help.

_Author's Note: In case you were curious about Healer's reference, St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things; if you pray to him when you lose something, he's supposed to help you find it. Just a little bit of trivia for you._

_Also, that tidbit about Doom visiting Gotham is a future reference to my upcoming story, "Crusade."_

_Coming Soon:_

_Clark's going to meet Alison's family…_

_Kurt is going to meet someone from __**his**__ family…_

_But all of that is __**cake**__ compared to someone from __**Magneto's**__ family…_

_Wanda Maximoff._

_She's got rage to spare, and power to back it up._

_And she's not going to let __**anything**__ stop her…_

_Can our heroes stand up to this Scarlet-clad spell-caster?_

_Or will victory fly upon bird's wings?_

_Find out in "Hexed," coming to your computer soon… _


	24. Hexed

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: HEXED

_New York Mental Institution, April 6, 2008_

The waning red light of the sun cast eerie shadows over the New York Mental Institution, only adding to the oppressive feeling that pervaded the building. Within its walls, four orderlies headed down a hallway, each carrying a pole with a loop at its tip; the kind of pole used to restrain very difficult patients.

"Aw, jeez," one orderly muttered, "we have to move her out _again?_ Man, I ain't gettin' _paid_ enough for this!"

"Hey, don't be talkin', pal!" a second said. "This is _nothin'!_ I used to work at _Arkham Asylum!_"

"_Holy..!_" a third exclaimed. "_The_ Arkham?! The one in Gotham City?!"

"The very same." the second replied. "This kid is _cake_ compared to some of the nuts over there. There's that guy in the question-mark getup, Riddler, and then there's Arnold Wesker, who calls himself "The Ventriloquist," on account of how he's got this dummy on his arm – Scarface – that's always bossin' him around...but the creme-de-la-creme has _got_ to be that 'Joker' nutbag; before, the guy was probably some kinda _demon_ that got kicked out of _hell_ for bein' too friggin' _twisted_. Even _worse_, he's _always_ bustin' out; compared to guys like _him_, this little kid is _nothing_. I'm _glad_ I transferred here; better to get blasted by some kid than to get gassed by the Crackpot Clown Prince of Crime!"

"Amen to _that_, bro." the fourth agreed. "Bein' in the asylum business is gettin' too dangerous, these days, with all these crazies that are poppin' up."

"We _gotta_ get a new line of work." the first said. By then, they had reached the patient's cell. "Okay, fellas; it's go-time. Remember; do _not_ let her move her hands!" The other orderlies nodded, and readied their poles. "Okay: on _three._" the first said, reaching for the door. "One...two..."

Suddenly, the door _exploded_ away from its frame, sending all four orderlies flying, as a lean, slender young woman of 17, clad in a loosened straitjacket and white pants, ran out.

"_She's gotten free of her jacket!!_" one orderly cried, and he promptly hit the hospital alarm.

The alarm klaxon made the fleeing girl freeze in her tracks, her bright blue eyes darting around, peering out from under her mid-length, midnight-black hair, which was now unkempt, partially covering her eyes. She saw several orderlies rushing towards her, and her eyes narrowed in utter _fury_, as she simply _pointed_ at them.

Instantly, the walls caved in on the orderlies, pinning them, before the wall-tiles fused to the floor, making sure that they didn't get up. The young woman then ran down the hallway, opened a door...

...and came face-to-face with the person who had come to see her.

Charles Xavier's expression was sad as he looked at her. "Wanda..._again?_" he asked mournfully. "Trying to escape won't solve anything..."

Wanda Maximoff's eyes narrowed in rage. "The sooner I get out of here..." she hissed, "...the sooner I can _find him!!!_"

"And kill him?" Xavier asked gently. Wanda's hateful expression said it all. "Wanda...that is not the answer..."

Wanda let out a scream of pure rage, as blue-black energy condensed around her hands; the entire room started to shake, threatening to collapse around them...

Xavier didn't so much as bat an eye. "Do you hate _me_, as well?" he asked gently.

At that, Wanda stopped, her rage dissipating; she had _every_ right to hate the man who had put her here, but _no_ right to take that hatred out on Professor Xavier, the man who, for the past year, had been trying to help her.

Xavier's expression grew sadder. "I just wish that I had found you _sooner_, Wanda." he said. "I want to help you, but I _can't_ when you do things like this. I've been trying to get the hospital to release you to the Institute's custody, but your outbursts just make it _harder_."

Wanda didn't speak, at that. The only thing she wanted more than to be free of here...was to get revenge on the one who had locked her here, in the first place.

Xavier smiled gently. "Tomorrow, I have a session with another patient, and then I plan to speak with the Dean, Wanda. With any luck, I might convince him to let you attend the Institute on a limited basis; it's not ideal, but it's a start."

Wanda nodded. "Okay." she said softly. With that, she turned to go, followed by Xavier.

The instant Wanda stepped out, the orderlies swarmed towards her. "It's alright." Xavier assured them. "She's going back to her room, now." At that, the orderlies calmed, and let her pass. As Wanda headed back into her room, she heard the Professor's powerful-yet-gentle telepathic voice echo in her mind: '_I'll see you tomorrow, and I hope to show you the Institute._' Wanda simply nodded, and headed inside, closing the door behind her.

One more day, and she could leave.

_Outer Space_

Deep in the blackness of space, a single, curve-winged craft darted past the planet Saturn, heading further into the system, towards the third planet from its sun.

Inside the small ship, the pilot read the scans that her ship was taking, and nodded to herself.

'_A Kryptonian power-signature._' she thought. '_And from a Trans-Warp event._' Her own people's most gifted scientists had been theorizing about Trans-Warp, but they were nowhere _near_ being even _close_ to creating a Trans-Warp engine.

But that was wide of the point. Now she was _sure_ that there was a survivor from Krypton in this system, as her people had suspected.

Quickly, the pilot tapped a few keys on her control console, prompting her ship to release a cloud of Xerodyne gas, which bound to the exhaust-molecules of the recent Trans-Warp event, eliminating them. She knew that Krypton had enemies – most notably the Kree – that would surely try to destroy this sole survivor of that great people, should they learn of this.

Her work done, the pilot continued on her way, towards the planet called Earth. There, she would carry out her objective...

_Xavier Institute_

Evening had blanketed the Institute by the time Kurt had finished his homework. With the rest of his evening free, he'd decided that a little chat with his _liebe_ was in order.

"So, 'Mandy, how did you find classes, today?" Kurt asked over the phone.

"_Ugh! I __**swear**__, Kurt, my Physics teacher has it in for me!_" Amanda lamented. "_But, other than that, classes went okay, today._" She giggled. "_What about you?_"

"Oh, I'm okay." Kurt said. "And you're right; zat teacher in Physics is _nuts!_"

Amanda giggled. "_Do you think you can convince Kal to give us a tutorial? This stuff __**has**__ to be easy to a member of a people that's licked quantum theory!_"

Kurt laughed. "Vell, 'Mandy, I'll ask him, but some of zhe stuff he teaches might make our heads explode!"

Amanda laughed, as well. "_Yeah, you're probably right!_" she agreed. "So, how's Ali holding up? Is she okay with...her 'discovery'?"

"_Ja, liebe_; Alison's doing okay." Kurt replied. After the revelation of Alison's Kryptonian heritage, Dazzler had been mildly stressed – both from the sheer surprise and from the symptoms of her more advanced Kryptonian powers starting to wake up – but his teammate was starting to come to terms with it. "Kal's helping her deal vith her new abilities, as they show up."

"_Yeah; I mean, since he's been through this kind of thing, he's the best one to help her deal._" Amanda said. Then, shyly, she added, "_Um...Kurt? That's...that's like the second or third time you've called me 'liebe'..._"

"Oh." Kurt said, his face flushing darker under his blue fur. "Uh...y-yeah, I guess it _is_..."

"_I...I looked that up on the Internet._" Amanda said. "_I...think that it means...'love,' if...if I'm reading it right..._"

"You're...you're reading zat right, 'Mandy."

"_Then...then you...feel that way about me?_" Amanda whispered, hopeful.

Kurt froze, his emotions all jumbled up inside him, as he tried to answer. "'Mandy..."

Suddenly, there was another voice in the background; Amanda's mother, Kurt guessed. "_Kurt, I'm so sorry; I have to go! We'll talk tomorrow, okay?_"

"Okay." Kurt replied. "Bye!"

"_Bye!_" Amanda replied, before she hung up.

As Kurt put the phone down, he let out a tiny sigh of relief. It wasn't that he was afraid of saying the 'L-Word,' he just didn't want to say it until he was _sure_ he meant it. '_**Do**__ I love her?_' he thought.

Kurt had never really _been_ in love, before; he honestly didn't know what it felt like to want to be with someone forever. '_If I loved Amanda, I'd notice the little things about her, like how she twirls a lock of her hair when she's nervous, or like how her laugh sounds like bells chiming..._' He paused. '_Not only that, I'd go to any lengths to keep her safe, even if it meant...facing a pack of demon-lizards...like the ones at the Sadie Hawkins Dance..._' Kurt stopped in mid-thought again. '_Still, even then, I'd probably have thoughts about a future life with her, like how perfect a family we'd have, even if our kids ended up fuzzy..._' Kurt froze once more. '_And...and I'd probably think of how wonderful my life is since I've met her, and how bleak it would be without her..._'

It hit him harder than a brick wall.

'_**Dumkopf!!**_' Kurt berated himself. '_I __**do**__ love her! How could I __**not**_' Now, all he had to do was tell her; he would tell her, tomorrow...

Just then, his phone rang. '_Maybe that's her, now!_' Kurt thought. He quickly picked up the phone. "Amanda?"

No answer. "Hello??" Kurt asked.

"_Kurt?_"

Kurt's eyes widened in sheer shock; the tone of the voice was softer, gentler...but there was no mistaking its owner.

"Mystique?" Kurt whispered.

There was a pause. "_I...I should go..._" Mystique whispered.

"_No!_" Kurt exclaimed, both nervous at who he was speaking to...and anxious to hear why his birth-mother had called. "It's just...vhy did you call?"

"_To be honest...I don't know._"

"Oh." Kurt said, disappointed; she hadn't called to tell him anything. "I...guess I'll let you go; you must have more important things to do..."

"_No!!_" Mystique cried. "_I-I didn't mean it that way, Kurt. It's just...I've been thinking about...about speaking with you for a while; I've been fairly busy, and I only just worked up the nerve to talk to you, just now._"

That made Kurt feel a little better. "So...how are you?"

"_I'm...okay._" Mystique replied. "_And you?_"

"I'm okay, too." Kurt said. "Zhe Institute is a great place."

"_I'm glad for you, Kurt._"

Kurt lightly smiled. "And...I met a girl, fairly recently."

Mystique lightly chuckled. "_So I gathered._" she said. Taking a deep breath, she added, "_Kurt, I know this sounds strange, but...can we meet? I just...want to see you._"

The request threw him. "Uh...I don't know if zat's a good idea."

"_I see._" Mystique said softly. "_That's okay, Kurt; I understand why you don't want to see me..._"

"It's not zat." Kurt said. "It's just...how do I know zat zhis isn't a trap?"

Mystique chuckled sadly. "_I thought you might say that._" she said. "_I'm not working with Magneto, anymore, Kurt. If you don't want to meet me, that's fine; it's just that...there are some things that you should know – that you __**deserve**__ to know._"

Kurt was silent for a few moments. "Okay." he whispered. "Vhere vill ve meet?"

"_Tomorrow, at the old playground in Bayville Park, just after sunset._" Mystique replied. Then, Kurt could _hear_ the tearful smile in her voice, and knew that he'd made the right choice. "_Kurt...thank you..._"

Kurt nodded. "I'll...see you, tomorrow...Mother..." he whispered. At that, Mystique let out a soft sob, before she hung up.

Sighing to himself, Kurt flopped down on his bed, blankly staring up at the ceiling. '_Why does my life have to be so complicated?_' he thought. Staring beyond the ceiling, towards the heavens, he said, "_Mein Gott_, if zhis is Your idea of a practical joke, it isn't very funny."

Morning took a long time to come for Wanda.

After eight years – or possibly nine, Wanda couldn't always remember – inside a cell completely without windows, she had learned to tell time completely on her own, without needing so much as a watch. Still, after learning of a chance for freedom, Wanda found that the minutes took _agonizingly_ long to pass.

Just then, the door opened, and light flooded into the room, momentarily blinding Wanda. Then, an orderly walked in; Wanda's eyes narrowed in fury as she recognized him: the head orderly, one of her longtime tormentors. The orderly simply walked over to her...

...and undid the straps of her straitjacket.

Instantly, Wanda got to her feet, blue-black energy coalescing around her fists; she'd long since learned that, when she was _angry_ enough, her powers just...made things go her way. And she really, _really_ wanted this bastard to just keel over from a heart attack on the spot...

...but then her rage quelled, as she got a better look at the orderly. His eyes were wide, and seemingly glazed over, like he was drugged, and his expression was completely _blank_. Wanda's previous anger was quickly replaced by confusion. What was going _on?_

"Well? Aren't you coming?"

Wanda's eyes narrowed in distrust as another young woman, around her own age, walked into the cell. She had long, chestnut hair, dark, emerald-green eyes, perfect skin, and ample curves, clad in skintight green pants and a revealing green top, which trailed partially behind her arms. She was one of the kind of picture-perfect girls that had _tortured_ Wanda through grade-school, before she'd been thrown in here. "Who are you?!" Wanda snapped.

The girl smiled. "Your new best friend." she purred. "Now, don't you want to leave this _wretched_ place?"

"What, are you _crazy?!_" Wanda said – a statement that, in this place, sounded _really_ stupid, she admitted. "Those orderlies will pump _both_ of us full of tranquilizers before we even get _near_ the exit!!"

The girl just smiled. "Oh, don't worry about _that_." she said. "I'm _very_ persuasive." To the orderly, she added, "Leave us, and make sure that none of the other orderlies are anywhere _near_ the west exit."

At that, the orderly simply turned, and walked out of the cell. Wanda's eyes went wide. "You're...you're like _me_, aren't you?" she murmured.

The girl smiled. "My name, Wanda Maximoff, is Anita LeRoux." she said. "If you wish, you may call me Siryn."

Wanda slowly relaxed, her blue-black energy bolts dissipating. "Okay, 'Siryn,'" she said, "what now?"

Siryn chuckled. "_First_, my dear girl, we _must_ get you some proper clothes and get you cleaned up, and you're likely _starving_, aren't you?"

"That can _wait_." Wanda hissed. "_First_ I need to find my 'dear' father."

"Patience, Wanda; patience." Siryn said. "There are a few things that we must take care of, first. Your vengeance will come, soon enough. Now, just follow me." With that, she vanished into a cloud of green haze; the cloud then engulfed Wanda, as well, taking them both away.

'_Okay,_' Dazzler thought to herself, '_I can do this._'

It was fairly early in the morning, which, of course, meant early-morning training. For Alison, however, it meant it was time to work on her developing Kryptonian powers – this time, she would be working on her thermal and X-Ray vision, as well as her eye-rays.

Sitting at her feet next to her was Krypto, panting happily, wearing his little cape – which he looked just _adorable_ in, Dazzler thought with a smile. Up in the control room was Clark, along with the rest of the X-Men, as well as Storm, Wolverine, and the Professor. "_Okay, Diva,_" came Logan's gruff voice, "_you know the drill: we cut the lights, and you use those new super-peepers of yours to blast the targets, but first you gotta pick out the right targets for Pooch to go after._"

"Got it." Dazzler said. Basically, this session was target-practice; the lights would be turned off, meaning that she would have to use her thermal vision to hit the targets. In addition to _that_, however, several targets were "tagged" with _very_ trace amounts of radium – totally harmless, but enough for her X-Ray vision to tell the difference. _Those_ targets were meant for Krypto to attack, but Clark had instructed Krypto not to go after the targets until _Alison_ said so.

"_Just take your time, Ali._" Superman said over the speaker. "_Just remember what I taught you and you'll do great!_"

Alison smiled. "Thanks." she cooed. These past couple of weeks, Clark had been helping her learn about her new powers. A few days ago, she'd had the absolute _worst_ fever she'd ever had; Clark had stayed with her until it had broken – he'd told her that her immune system was just kicking it up a notch, clearing all the pathogens out of her system, like _his_ system had done when he was younger. When her hearing had been going crazy, he'd just held her close, and told her to focus on her own heartbeat and nothing else – he was teaching her to concentrate on only _one_ sound. It worked, though, on occasion, her hearing got close to overwhelming her...but her _tausha_ was always there to help her.

"_Okay, Dazzler, get ready._" Cyclops said over the speaker. "_Good luck!_"

"Thanks, Scott." Dazzler said. To Krypto, she added, "Ready, boy?"

Krypto barked, panting happily. With that, the lights dimmed, as the simulation started.

Dazzler's eyes narrowed, as she heard Krypto let out a low growl of alertness. '_Okay...I just have to focus...concentrate on seeing __**beyond.**_' Her eyes flashed electric-blue...and then went back to normal...and then started to glow steadily.

Her normal vision instantly went from seeing nothing but darkness to seeing the entire Danger Room in hues of blue, silver and black. She could now see clearly: ten metal poles had jutted up from the floor...and _four_ of them were glowing brightly.

"Krypto!" Dazzler called. She pointed to one of the glowing targets. "Second from the left!"

Krypto instantly went from good-natured pet to fearsome war-hound; he snarled in sheer feral fury, and pounced at the target, biting it in half with one bite. "First from the right!" Dazzler called, and Krypto leapt at the target with inhuman speed, biting it and ripping it to shreds with his razor-sharp teeth. "Middle target, and then farthest from the right!" Krypto pounced, bit, and then leapt off, shredding the final two targets in mere seconds.

"_Good boy!_" Dazzler exclaimed, as Krypto scampered back to sit next to her, panting happily, his feral rage gone. '_Okay...now it's __**my**__ turn..._' Alison thought. '_Have to focus...see the __**warmth.**_'

Her X-Ray vision instantly gave way to a world of red, yellow, orange, blue and violet hues, as her vision now perceived the infrared end of the spectrum. The six remaining targets were glowing bright orange – easy targets. Dazzler's eyes narrowed as she focused, her eyes starting to glow a brilliant gold...

The high-powered beam lanced from her eyes, utterly incinerating the first two targets in one inadvertent sweep, as the recoil from said beam knocked Alison flat on her rear. '_Okay...used too much power...Clark said that might happen..._' She concentrated, took aim, and fired again, getting _three_ targets in one sweep, as the recoil pushed her back a few feet. '_Better...only one more to go..._' She aimed, focused, and fired at the final target.

The beam sliced through the target _seconds_ after the ending timer sounded, as the lights switched on. "_Time's up, Diva._" Wolverine said. "_Five out of six, this time; not too bad._"

Dazzler groaned. '_I __**had**__ that target, and he knows it...stupid timer._' she mentally muttered, hoping that the Professor didn't overhear her thoughts. The _first_ time she'd tried simulations with her new eye-beams, she'd almost fried the entire Danger Room...except for the targets.

Well, at least she was making progress.

As she and Krypto walked towards the elevator, Jubilee headed out of it; it was her turn, now. "Ali, you were _awesome!_" the younger girl exclaimed. "I think it's so _cool_ that you're part Kryptonian!"

Dazzler lightly smiled. "Thanks, Jubilee." she replied. "Good luck!" With that, she and Krypto took the elevator up to the control room, leaving Jubilee to her session.

As she entered the control room, Superman turned to her, smiling. "You did good, Ali." he said. "Your control on your eye-rays is coming along nicely."

"Thanks." Alison cooed. Then, she frowned. "But I'm still not any faster or stronger than I was before..."

"Your powers are just developing on a different schedule." Superman assured her. "The first power I started to show was my strength, and I didn't get my eye-rays until _years_ later. You're doing _fine_, Ali; don't worry."

"I hope so." Dazzler replied. Smiling, she added, "But I can't _wait_ for flying lessons!"

"Terrific." Wolverine muttered. "Now we've got _two_ flyers to worry about. As if havin' _one_ didn't attract _enough_ attention; you're gettin' _careless_, Flyboy."

"Logan, that isn't fair!" Storm half-scolded. "People are simply more curious about Clark's existence, so they're trying harder to learn the truth..."

"No, it's okay." Superman said. "Wolverine is right; I need to be _extra_ careful."

"We _all_ should exercise greater caution." the Professor said. "Human curiosity _is_ nearly boundless; we must take care not to expose mutants' existence until humanity is ready for us."

"We'll be careful, Professor." Cyclops agreed. With that, Wolverine started Jubilee's simulation.

Before too long, morning training was over, and they all headed back to their rooms, to change out of their uniforms. Since there had been relatively few simulations, there wasn't a line-up to the shower; Alison quickly changed into her bathrobe and made a beeline for the bathroom, before she darted in. Once inside the bathroom, Alison slipped out of her robe, turned on the shower, and got in, simply letting herself relax as the water glided over her skin. Training in the use of her Kryptonian powers was tiring.

Alison smiled to herself. Her _Kryptonian_ powers. She'd been somewhat freaked-out on initially learning that her ancient ancestor had been Kon-Lir – who _wouldn't_ have been freaked to find out they were part alien? But, after she'd calmed, she couldn't help but feel just a tiny bit giddy, knowing that she was sharing the world of the man she loved more than _anything_; like it was _their_ secret, and no-one else's. Not only that, she felt _proud_ of her heritage; she wasn't knocking humanity or anything, but if her Clarkie was any indication of his people – _their_ people, she corrected herself with a smile – then she had _plenty_ to be proud of.

Alison's smile only grew as she thought of Clark. The revelation of her origins had also resolved another problem they'd been worried about. After further tests on her physiology, Mr. McCoy had discerned that her immune system wasn't the _only_ thing kicking into overdrive; her metabolism was adjusting to match that of a Kryptonian's. Now that her mutant powers were constantly transmuting sound energy into light energy, her metabolism was "waking up," making use of all the energy, just as a normal Kryptonian's would. Also, from what Hank had observed, her life-span would be the same as any other Kryptonian female's would be under a yellow sun; as long as she had sound energy, she'd be just fine.

And _that_ was the issue that they – though mostly Clark – had been worried about. Alison would have been happy to spend all of her mortal life with him, even if Clark would live forever. _Now_, they had an _eternity_ to look forward to.

That thought was somewhat sobering. While their friends and families withered away, she and Clark would go on, unchanged by time. '_Whoa...that's kind of scary..._' she thought to herself. Clark had been dealing with this issue for longer than she had, and he'd been training with his powers for _much_ longer than her.

It gave her a whole new respect for him.

Then, Alison frowned sadly to herself. '_Did Dad know? Did Mom?_' The fact that her parents might have known about this – and not told her – was unsettling. Her Mom had been MIA for years, and she'd been trying to contact her father for the past two weeks, with zero luck; Alison wasn't too surprised – he'd told her about the _huge_ case his firm was working on, and he'd said that he'd be unavailable for weeks on end. She just hoped that she could talk to him before the dinner-plans she and Clark had tonight with her father and Aunt Embeth.

Alison looked stricken at the thought of Embeth Blaire; she still harbored the fear that, after five minutes in her Aunt's "glorious" company, Clark would be so offended, he'd dump her right on the _spot_.

'_You're being silly._' she told herself. '_Clark and I __**love**__ each other; we can take __**whatever**__ Evil Embeth throws at us. Not only that, Dad and Mr. Kent were old friends; Dad __**knows**__ Clark! Once he sees what a fine young man Clark is, Dad'll just __**love**__ him, and then Embeth will just have to __**lump**__ it!_' With those thoughts, Alison finished her shower, and got out, before toweling off, donning her robe, and leaving the bathroom, to prepare for school.

_Bayville High_

After getting a ride to school with Remy, Rogue headed to her locker, to gather her textbooks before classes started. She had plenty of time to get everything together...

"Hey, girl."

Looking up, Rogue smiled as she saw Risty walk up to her. "Hey, Ris'." she greeted. "What've ya been up to?"

"Oh, just the usual; visiting the family back in England." Risty replied. "So, has that Cajun of yours been behaving himself?" she asked with a smile.

Rogue chuckled. "Remy's been great; now that we're together, he ain't _quite_ so annoying." she joked.

Risty's smile became a tiny bit shy. "We haven't just hung out in a while, have we?" she asked.

Rogue nodded, her expression guilty. "Ah know; Ah've been kinda busy..."

"So have I." Risty said. "Hey...do you want to just go do something, tonight? I hear there's going to be a poetry reading in the Bayville Park, tonight!"

"Sounds cool." Rogue said. "Count meh in!"

"Great!" Risty exclaimed. "Meet me tonight at the old playground, just after sunset. See you later!" With that, Risty hurried off.

"Dere be somet'ing funny 'bout dat girl."

Rogue turned to see Remy leaning absently against the wall, his black glasses hiding his eyes. "What?"

"_Chere_, don' y' find it jus' a _li'l_ bit funny dat y' friend Risty be gone t' see 'er folks fo' weeks on end?" Remy asked. "An' don' forget de Dance; didn' she seem t' be jus' a _li'l_ too cool about 'elpin' us wit' dem lizards? All de other students was runnin' fo' dey're _lives_, but Risty jus' whacks one lizard like nobody's business, like not'ing was wrong? Remy got t' say, _chere_, but somet'ing smells fishy."

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Risty is mah _friend_, Remy!" she snapped. "So she goes to see her family often! So she was cool about the whole 'Dance' incident! That doesn't make her one of Magneto's goons!"

"Easy, _chere_, easy." Remy defended. "Remy didn' mean t' get y' all riled up. All Remy was sayin' was dat, jus' maybe, Risty knows more den she's lettin' on. Remy didn' mean t' imply dat she was one o' de bad guys."

"Well, that's what it sounded lahke." Rogue said.

Remy smiled apologetically. "Remy be 'appy fo' y', _chere_." he said. "Remy jus' don' want y' t' get hurt, is all." He looked worried. "Lately, Remy been 'avin' a feelin' in 'is bones dat somet'ing bad's gon' 'appen. Remy's Tante Mattie used t' get feelin's like dat back when Remy was wit' de Guild, an' she was _always_ right on de money!"

"Ah'll be _fahne_, Remy." Rogue said.

"Okay, _chere_." Remy said, lovingly taking her hand in his. "Remy jus' don' want anyt'ing bad t' 'appen t' y'; y' be de mos' import'nt _fille_ in Remy's life."

At that, Rogue couldn't help but smile. "Damn Cajun...ya just _had_ to say that, didn't ya?" she teased. "Ya make it _impossible_ ta be mad at ya!"

"Guess dat's jus' part o' de LeBeau Charm." Remy said, grinning. Chuckling, Rogue gave her boyfriend a quick kiss on the lips, before heading to class.

Morning classes passed fairly quickly for Kurt, and soon, lunch time had come around.

Sighing to himself, Kurt headed to his locker, to pick up his lunch, while still thinking about the phone call he'd gotten. '_What am I supposed to do?_' he thought. '_I can't tell the others; they'll never understand...and if I don't go, I may never know why Mystique wanted to see me..._'

Suddenly, a pair of silk-soft, chocolate-hued hands clapped over his eyes. "Guess who?"

Kurt automatically smiled as he turned to hug his girlfriend. "Hey, 'Mandy."

"Hey, Kurt." Amanda cooed, smiling. "I'm so sorry I had to cut things short, last night." She frowned. "My parents are _so_ strict, sometimes; my Mom thinks I'm still too young to date – it took me _ages_ just to convince her to let me go to the Sadie Hawkins Dance."

Kurt smiled. "I'm glad you did."

Amanda went a tiny bit rosy. "So...about last night..."

Kurt sighed. "Amanda, I'm so sorry; I just have a _lot_ on my mind, right now." he said. "After you hung up, last night, I got a call from my mother."

"Oh, that's nice." Amanda said absently. "So, what's she doing over in Germany?"

"Zat vasn't vat I meant, 'Mandy. I meant my _birth_ mother."

Amanda blinked. "_Oh!!_" she exclaimed. "W-Wow, that _is_ something! So...what's she like?"

Kurt gulped. "As far as skin tone and eye color go, she's like _me_."

Amanda lightly smiled. "You must take after _her_ side of the family."

Kurt grimaced. "Zat's vat I'm _afraid_ of, 'Mandy." he said. "She used to vork for Magneto."

Amanda looked stricken. "Hey...I'm sure she's not _all_ bad." she said quickly. She smiled. "After all, she gave birth to _you_."

Kurt smiled warmly, his worries momentarily dispelled. "Zat's vat _I_ always thought!" he agreed. "She vants to meet me, tonight; she said she needed to talk to me."

"And you're worried that your friends might not approve?" Amanda hazarded. Kurt nodded. Amanda smiled worriedly, and put her hand to the side of his face. "Only _you_ can decide what to do, baby; just promise me that you'll be careful, okay?"

Kurt smiled, and nodded. "Okay." he said softly. His smile grew. "I am one lucky elf, to have such a smart girlfriend!" With that, Kurt leaned in and kissed his giggling girlfriend, savoring her soft, happy sighs. After a few blissful seconds, their kiss ended, as they headed to lunch, holding hands.

_Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House_

Shortly after school had let out, Pietro and his pals returned to their run-down home. The second they had stepped in, Fred headed to the couch, sat down, and switched on the T.V., while Todd had remained outside, to catch flies, to Pietro's growing nausea. '_How Tolansky can stomach munching on __**bugs**__ is beyond me..._'

"Lollygagging around, as usual, I see."

Turning, Pietro saw Anita walk in the door, in uniform. "Oh, hey, Boss-Lady." Fred said. "What's up?"

Anita frowned at being addressed so familiarly, but she ignored it. "I just wanted to be here for Pietro's 'family reunion'." she said. Smiling slyly, she simply stepped aside, as a young woman, around Pietro's own age, clad in black leather pants and a scarlet sleeveless vest, walked in. She was around his height, and slender, with light skin, mid-length ebony hair, a bit messy...and the same shade of cerulean eyes that _he_ had...

Pietro recognized her in an _instant_...and froze in utter _horror_. "_W-Wanda?!!_" he cried.

Wanda's eyes widened in recognition. "_Pietro?!!_" she cried. Unlike him, however, Wanda's eyes narrowed in sheer _rage_. "_AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!_"

Wanda's scream seemed to shake the house, as blue-black energy formed around her hands. "I'm _outta_ here!!" Pietro cried, as he darted off as fast as his legs would take him.

"Oh, _no_ you don't, you little _puke!!_ Not _this_ time!!" Wanda hissed, as she gestured; instantly, the nearby closet door opened _just_ as Pietro passed it, knocking him flat on his rear.

"_Hey!!_" Fred bellowed. "Leave my pal alone!" He started to stomp towards Wanda, but Wanda just snarled, and gestured again; Fred's shoelaces spontaneously came undone, causing him to trip and fall flat on his face. With another screech of rage, Wanda sent a blast of blue-black energy at the two of them, knocking them against the wall.

"Ex-girlfriend?" Fred asked Pietro.

Pietro looked positively _terrified_. "_Worse! Sister!!_"

Just then, Todd walked in. "Hey, what's all the hubbub, yo..." he began, but he stopped dead at the sight of Wanda, who turned to glare at him. Instead of cringing in fear, like Pietro would have done if he'd been on the receiving end of that glare, Todd just blinked...and then his face turned up in a positively _goofy_ – almost _love-struck_ – _smile_. Wanda just hissed in fury, and sent a blast of blue-black energy at him, slamming him against the wall.

Siryn laughed at the sight. "_Splendid!_" she exclaimed. "Your raw talent is _amazing_, Wanda!"

Wanda slowly calmed. "When I get my hands on 'Daddy dearest,' _then_ you'll see 'raw talent'."

"Remember, my dear; _patience._" Siryn said. "Our first strike against Magneto will happen tonight; you'll get your chance. For now, I believe that there's another room upstairs; do make yourself at home!" At that, Wanda nodded, and headed upstairs.

When Wanda was safely out of earshot, Pietro whirled on Siryn. "_Are you CRAZY?!!_" he exploded. "You let _Wanda_ out of the asylum?! Did Doom drop you on your _head?!!_ Wanda is a complete _PSYCHO!!_ She has _no_ control over her powers!! _Why_ do you think my father tossed her in there in the _first_ place?!!"

Siryn shook her head in exasperation. "_That_, Pietro, makes her a perfect _berzerker._" she said. "Wanda's presence will disrupt our enemies' focus, diverting their attention from our _real_ plans..." her eyes narrowed, as her voice turned commanding, "...so _don't_ mess this up; I've managed to convince her that the X-Men and my dear future husband are working for Magneto. You three will prepare yourselves; tonight, we're going to have a little _party_." With that, she vanished in a cloud of green haze.

Pietro grimaced to himself; as appealing as the thought of Super-Dork dealing with his twisted twin was, the thought of dealing with Wanda's anger was _horrifying_. He could remember Wanda's temper all too well from childhood; only his speed had enabled him to evade her hex-blasts..._most_ of the time.

All the while, Todd had been gazing dreamily up where Wanda had gone. "I never knew angels flew so low..." he murmured.

Pietro's eyes nearly bugged out of his _head_. "'_Angels??_'" he repeated in utter incredulity. "That's no angel, Tolansky! That was my psychotic twin _sister!_"

Now _Todd's_ eyes went wide. "Your _sister??_" he exclaimed. "_Dude!_ Why didn't you _tell_ me you had a _Goth __**goddess**_ for a sister?! I _thought_ we were _friends!_"

Pietro rolled his eyes. "_Whatever_, Tolansky. _Whatever_."

"Hey, you guys wanna order a pizza for tonight?" Fred suggested.

"Sure, Fred; knock yourself out." Pietro muttered, as he plopped down on the couch, to watch TV.

'_Between the Last Dork of Crap-Tun and my own sister, I don't know what'll kill me first._' he thought. '_It's official: my life __**sucks.**_'

Upon returning to the Institute after school had let out, Alison headed up to her room, and picked up her phone to call Clark at the Bugle, to let him know of what she was doing. She promptly dialed Clark's desk number, and seconds later, someone answered. "Hi, Clark!" she greeted.

"_Uh...sorry, Ali; Clark's not here._"

Alison blinked in momentary confusion before she recognized the voice. "Oh, hey, Pete!" she said. "Sorry about that; I was expecting Clark."

"_Hey, no problem._" Peter replied. "_Your boyfriend just had to step out for a little while; business, you know._"

"Right." Alison agreed, understanding completely. "Well, when you see him, could you give him a message for me?"

"_Sure._"

"Thanks!" Alison said. "Tell him that I'm going to be dropping by the New York Mall to pock up my dress and his tuxedo from Febrise, so he doesn't have to worry about picking them up for tonight; Scott and Jean are going to be going into the city, and they said they'd give me a lift."

"_Got it._" Peter replied. "_So, what's the occasion?_"

"Clark and I are going to dinner with my Dad and my Aunt." Alison replied.

"_Uh, boy._" Peter groaned. "_Meeting the family; an occasion that's struck fear in the hearts of many a man._"

"I know." Alison chuckled. "But my Dad's great; I _know_ he'll love Clark. It's my Aunt Embeth that'll be the problem."

"_Why?_"

Alison sighed. "Picture a female, condescending, older-than-middle-aged, post-menopausal version of Mr. Jameson, and you have Aunt Embeth in a pleasant mood."

Peter was silent for a few moments. "_Oh my God..._"

"Yeah."

"_Holy...Clark's a braver man than __**I**__ am._" Peter murmured. "_Well, I'll be sure to give him your message...and to wish him luck; he'll __**need**__ it._"

Alison smiled. "Thanks."

"_No problem, Dazzle; see you later._" Peter answered, before he hung up.

Alison sighed as she put down her phone, her previous worries momentarily flaring up. She was _sure_ that Aunt Embeth was going to say _something_ to insult Clark, there was no questioning it. One way or another, she'd find _something_ 'wrong' with him and just harp on it and harp on it...just like she had when her mother and father had first met.

Thoughts of her parents made Alison remember her 'family secret'; had her parents _known_ of their relation to Kon-Lir? She looked to her phone, debating whether or not to try her father one last time...and then she picked up the phone, dialing his cell-phone number.

"_Hello? Carter Blaire speaking._"

Alison lightly smiled. "Hi, Dad."

"_Oh, hello, sweetheart! This is a nice surprise! I was just thinking of calling to see if everything is okay for this evening!_"

Alison's smile grew. "Everything's fine, Dad." she said. "I just...needed to ask you something."

"_Of course, honey._" her father said.

Alison took a deep breath. "Dad...does the word 'Kryptonian' mean anything to you?"

Carter was silent for a few seconds. "_Alison..._" he whispered, "_...where did you hear that word?_"

Alison's eyes narrowed. "Then you _knew!!_" she accused. "_God_, Dad, how _could_ you? How could you have known about this and not _told_ me?!"

"_Please, sweetheart, calm down._" her father soothed. "_Alison, I only __**suspected**__. Yes, I'd heard some ancient family legend about how an ancestor of ours had fallen from the skies, but that's __**all**__ I thought it was! I thought it was just some nonsense...but, apparently, it's true._"

"It _is._" Alison said, calming. "I had a DNA test done, Dad." That was _basically_ the truth, though Clark and Hank had run the test. "Our ancestors...aren't from around here, Dad."

"_I know, Alison, and I'm __**sorry**_" Carter said. "_It was just so...so fantastic and outlandish a notion, I just __**couldn't**__ believe it._"

"I almost didn't, either."

"_But, Alison...how did you find out about this?_" Carter asked.

Alison looked stricken. "I'll...I'll tell you tonight, okay?"

"_Okay, sweetheart; I'll get the four of us a private booth, where we can talk without anyone listening in._"

"Thanks." Alison said. Then, a sudden fear overtook her. "Dad, could we also not use Clark's real name, tonight, in front of Aunt Embeth? Can we just call him 'Kal'?"

"_Sure, honey; knowing that sister of mine, telling her his real name might not be a good idea._" her father said. "_I'll see you, tonight._"

"Okay, Daddy." Alison said. "I love you."

"_I love you, too, sweetheart. I'll see you soon._" With that, he hung up.

'_X-men: report to my office immediately._'

No sooner had Alison put the phone than she heard the telepathic summons of Professor Xavier, and she promptly headed to their mentor's office, meeting up with the rest of the X-Men as she went.

The Professor was waiting for them, as well as Logan and Ororo, and he looked grave. "Everyone, I have disturbing news." the Professor said. "Earlier this morning, I was supposed to have a meeting with a young mutant at the local mental institution; her name is Wanda Maximoff."

"_Maximoff?_" Evan repeated. "Is she..?"

"She's Speedy's twin sister." Logan said. "And _brother_, is she a handful, if Chuck's experiences with her are any indication."

"Wanda's mutant ability enables her to modulate probability as she sees fit." the Professor said. "She can make absolutely _anything_ happen; I believe that her powers are actually a combination of sorcery and the X-Gene, making her _very_ powerful."

Remy whistled. "She don' sound like anybody dat Remy would care t' meet in a dark alley."

"So, what's the problem, Professor?" Scott asked.

"As I said, after my weekly session with Dr. Banner in helping him reconcile with his Hulk-consciousness, I was supposed to meet with Wanda," the Professor continued, "but Wanda had _escaped._"

"Uh-oh." Kitty murmured.

"Anybody _else_ think that this smells bad?" Rogue muttered.

"_Magneto._" Jean agreed.

"I somehow doubt that." the Professor said.

"Why?" Kurt asked. "Vouldn't he _vant_ to free his daughter?"

"Not when he was the one who _committed_ her." Ororo said.

No-one spoke at that. "You're _kidding_." Lance said. "He locked up his own _kid??_"

"Yes." Professor Xavier said softly. "Even _I_ hadn't thought that Erik had fallen so far. Regardless, Wanda now harbors a _deep_ grudge against Magneto, and now that she is free, I fear she will do whatever it takes to take revenge against him, even if it puts mutants at risk of exposure. That is why we must try to locate Wanda, and try to convince her to stop."

"Why not use Cerebro?" Alison suggested.

"I tried that." the Professor admitted. "Something is blocking Wanda from my scans."

"Terrific." Rogue said.

"We'll have an eye out for her, Professor." Scott said.

"If you encounter her, exercise _caution._" the Professor urged. "Wanda's powers are _very_ dangerous, enough that the hospital placed her in the wing reserved for _violent_ patients; with her strength and her anger, she is incredibly dangerous."

"We'll definitely be careful." Jean said.

"Good." the Professor said. "Dismissed." With that, everyone left the Professor's office.

It hadn't taken Wanda too long to settle into her new room; she wasn't planning on staying long, and she didn't really have anything to unpack.

After settling in, the _first_ thing she'd done was take a pair of scissors and head into the bathroom. There, she'd proceeded to cut off most of her hair, shortening it considerably, almost to a cru-cut style. Once she was done, Wanda looked her reflection over. '_I didn't know my hair had natural red highlights..._' she mused to herself. It was true: there was a natural reddish tinge to her ebony locks – it was very slight, but it was there. Wanda lightly smiled: her mother had had red hair, she thought.

"Wanda?"

Wanda's smile instantly turned to a scowl as she turned to see Pietro. "What do you want, Pietro?" she snapped.

"Just to talk." Pietro said.

"I have _nothing_ to say to you." Wanda hissed. "You're _just_ as guilty as _him_. You're just lucky you left him when you did." '_You could have stopped him. You could have gotten me away from those orderlies...if you weren't so damn obsessed with being his little yes-man._'

"Wanda..." Pietro said, "...don't you think that maybe he _regrets_ it? That he feels bad about..."

"Monsters like him don't _have_ feelings." Wanda snapped. "And neither do _you_." With that, she turned to go, heading downstairs.

As she came downstairs, Wanda spotted the bigger guy – Fred – just watching TV. She hadn't even stepped off the stairs when the other guy – Todd – zipped over to her at a speed that would've made _Pietro_ envious. "H-Hey, Wanda. Did you...did you want me to get you anything?" he stammered. Then, he paused. "Oh...you cut your hair."

Wanda's eyes narrowed. "Why?" she asked archly.

She'd been half-expecting Todd to say that she shouldn't have...but Todd just smiled stupidly. "You're even _prettier_ than before..."

Wanda rolled her eyes. '_Oh, God..._' she thought. "I'm going out." she said.

Pietro instantly zipped down. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"_Out._" Wanda said, her eyes narrowed, her fists glowing. With that, she walked towards the door...and groaned to herself as Todd zipped ahead of her and opened the door for her. Shaking her head in exasperation, Wanda walked outside.

"Leaving so soon?"

Wanda turned to see Siryn standing to the side of the door. "You know, tonight's going to be a busy night." she commented.

Wanda arched an eyebrow. "And?"

"Your powers are impressive, Wanda, but without control, they're _useless_." Siryn continued. She smiled. "Up for a bit of training?"

Wanda frowned to herself. There it was; her father's "reason" for locking her away.

"_This is for the best, Wanda; your lack of control makes you as much of a danger to yourself as to others._"

Wanda's eyes narrowed in fury. '_You thought I was dangerous __**without**__ control, Magneto? You haven't seen __**anything**__, yet._'

She turned to meet Siryn's gaze. "Sign me up."

"_Excellent._" Siryn said, smiling slyly. "Well, we'd best get started, shouldn't we?" With that, she conjured a cloud of green mist, teleporting them both away.

It was getting close to sunset when Clark returned to the Institute; after taking care of a fire at a hydroelectric plant in Portugal, he'd flown back to the Bugle to complete his last bit of paperwork, where Peter had delivered Alison's message. As he walked into the main hall, he passed by Logan, who was leaning against the wall, sipping a beer. "Just made it, Flyboy." Logan said. "Diva's up gettin' ready for yer little date."

Clark smiled. "Got it. Thanks."

Logan chuckled. "From what Diva's been sayin', yer in for it, tonight."

Clark's smile turned sheepish. "Hope I can make a good impression." he replied. With that, he darted upstairs, to his room.

As he walked into his room, he saw his tuxedo lain out on his bed, by Alison, no doubt. Quickly, Clark changed out of his work clothes and into the tux, opting to leave his glasses and image-inducer behind. Once he had donned the tux, while keeping his uniform on underneath, he decided to leave the tie behind, as well as leaving the top-collar button open. '_Not bad._' Clark thought; he _really_ wanted to make a good impression on Ali's father...as well as Ali's Aunt Embeth, though he had a sneaking suspicion that the latter goal had a _slightly_ higher probability of not happening.

His change of attire complete, Clark stepped out of his room...and was greeted by the vision that was Alison.

His _taushi_ was now clad in a long, slim, shimmery violet evening gown, which hugged her curves with perfect elegance, slightly pooling around her feet. The gown's single strap looped around her throat spaghetti-strap style, leaving her shoulders and much of her slender back exposed, a look that she had complemented perfectly with a simple blue shawl. Her strawberry blonde tresses had been woven into a perfect French-twist, with several golden tendrils framing her face, her flawless pink lips curved up in a sweet smile. She wore simple, single-pearl earrings in her ears, with the pendant he'd given her at Christmas laced around her throat.

"_Wow..._" Clark whispered.

Alison's smile grew. "Febrise has done it again!" she laughed. "Although I would just _love_ to be able to get dressed as fast as _you_ can, Clark!"

Clark chuckled. "Hey, you just _might_, one day!" he joked. "But _gosh_, compared to _you_, I look _plain!_"

Alison's smile became a bit shy. "Hey, if you're going to face Evil Embeth, you deserve a little eye-candy."

Clark instantly picked up on her unspoken insecurity. "_Taushi_," he soothed, gently taking her in his arms, "your Aunt is _not_ going to make me head for the hills."

Alison's expression became terribly sad. "You say that _now..._" she whispered.

"...because it's _true._" Clark said.

"You _don't_ know how _horrible_ Aunt Embeth is!"

"But I know how wonderful _you_ are." Clark parried. "I am _not_ leaving you, Alia Ka-Lir."

The use of her Kryptonian name brought a weak smile to Alison's face. "Really?" she whispered.

Clark smiled. "_Taushi_, I _never_ lie."

Alison's smile grew, and then her expression became sad, again. "_God_, Clark, I wish you didn't _have_ to meet her." she muttered. "I absolutely _hated_ it when my parents made me visit her; thankfully, they only made me go _once_." Her eyes became misty. "That mean old _witch_ belittled me at every _turn!_ The day I got home, I just went to my room, and I just cried and _cried!_"

Clark blinked. "Ali...when did this happen?"

"When I was eleven." Alison whimpered. "It was the start of summer, just before we went to visit you and your family." She buried her head in his chest. "The only time I cried _more_...was the year that you left, Clark."

Quickly, Clark took out a handkerchief and lovingly dried her tears. "_God_, Ali..." he whispered, "...why didn't you _tell_ me?"

"Because I was _ashamed!_" Alison sniffed. "I actually _believed_ what Embeth said to me! My self-esteem _plummeted_ during that visit!" She lowered her eyes. "That was why I always hung around you, Clarkie; _you_ were always so nice to me..." She looked up at him, smiling weakly. "I'm just sorry that all your friends made fun of you about it..."

Clark chuckled. "Ali, don't worry about it." he said. "Lex, Arty, Wally, Vic and Ollie would've ribbed me about something _else_ if you hadn't been there. Besides, it was just good-natured ribbing; nothing major."

Alison's smile grew. "I'm glad." she cooed.

Clark smiled back. "Now, let's get going, shall we?"

"Okay." Alison replied, happily lacing her arm around his elbow, before they headed downstairs, to call a taxi, to take them into the city.

Within the hour, the taxi had arrived at the Institute, and taken them into New York City. After arriving at the restaurant – a fairly ritzy-looking place – Clark and Alison quickly headed inside before anyone could recognize Alison. That was part of why they had opted for a taxi: no-one would have expected pop-sensation Alison Blaire to take a cab. Once inside, they both walked up to the maitre'd. "Table for four, under the name 'Blaire'." Clark said.

"Hmm...ah, yes." the maitre'd said. "Please, follow me." With that, he headed further into the restaurant, and Clark and Alison followed.

The maitre'd led them to a fairly secluded booth for two, next to a window, where Mr. Blaire, in a tuxedo, and an older lady of around 60, with mid-length greying hair, cold amber eyes, and wrinkling skin, clad in a conservative blue skirt and blouse, were waiting. Alison smiled. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, rushing over to hug her father.

"Sweetheart! You made it!" Carter exclaimed, returning his daughter's hug. Then, his gaze met Clark's. "Why...you're that young man who talked some sense into me on Christmas Eve!"

Clark smiled. "Kalvin Elward." he said, extending his hand. "I'm glad you took my advice, Mr. Blaire."

Carter smiled, and shook his hand. "A firm handshake...I like that, son!" he said.

Then, Clark _swore_ he felt the temperature drop as Embeth Blaire's gaze fell on him. "And _who_ are you, exactly?" she asked.

Clark remained calm. "I'm Alison's boyfriend, Mrs. Blaire." he said. He politely extended a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Embeth didn't take his hand. "Really."

"Now, Embeth, Alison had told us that she was bringing her boyfriend." Carter said.

Embeth arched a snowy eyebrow. "She did?"

Alison frowned. "_Yes_, Aunt Embeth," she said, "I _did_."

"I see." Embeth replied. "Well."

Alison frowned, and then whispered so only Clark could hear her, "_She __**always**__ does this..._"

"Well, let's all sit down, shall we?" Carter suggested, defusing a potential disaster. At that, everyone sat down; Alison sat next to Clark, while Carter sat next to his sister. "So, Kalvin..." Carter began.

Clark smiled. "Call me Kal."

Carter smiled, and nodded. "Okay, then, Kal...what do you do for a living?"

"Well, right now, I'm in university, studying Journalism." Clark said. "I'm in my second year, with an internship at the Daily Bugle, though I'll be finished that in the next few weeks."

"Ah." Carter said. "Now _there's_ a noble profession."

Alison smiled, and nodded. "Kal practically _lives_ for Truth." she cooed.

Clark smiled back at Alison. "And where Truth goes, Justice isn't far behind."

"An idealist." Embeth said flatly. "How charming. I trust that sort of work pays well?"

"_Aunt Embeth..._" Alison said, frowning.

"It's a fair question." Embeth replied.

Clark stayed calm. "It would pay well enough, I guess." he answered.

"And I'm given to understand that you do...'charity work'." Embeth continued. "So, essentially, you're unemployed."

"_Embeth!_" Carter said. "That was _not_ called for."

"I'm still in _school_, Mrs. Blaire." Clark said. "My career is still 'in development'."

"Kal's _brilliant_, Aunt Embeth." Alison said. "Not only that, but he _worked_ to get as far as he has." She lightly smiled. "You _do_ know about work, don't you?"

Embeth frowned at the shot.

"So, how did you two meet?" Carter inquired.

Clark chuckled. "A friend of mine had won a chance to met Alison backstage, and dragged me along for the ride." he said. He smiled at Alison, and added, "And _boy_, am I glad she did."

Alison smiled back. "Me, too, baby." she cooed, lacing her hand with his under the tablecloth.

"Hmm." Embeth said. "Tell me, Alison...exactly _how_ long have any of your previous 'relationships' lasted?"

Alison frowned. "My past mistakes have _nothing_ to do with my relationship with Kal." she said. She smiled at Clark. "None of those other creeps can hold a _candle_ to him."

"Of course." Embeth said flatly.

By then, their menus had arrived, and the four of them promptly placed their orders. Once their orders were placed, the waiter headed off with the menus. Alison sent a saddened glance to Clark, wordlessly apologizing for her Aunt's behavior, but Clark gave her hand a light, reassuring squeeze, while he braced himself for more of Embeth's condescension.

It looked to be a _long_ evening.

_Bayville Park_

The sunset over Bayville Park was quite breathtaking, but Kurt was too nervous to enjoy it.

After looking around, making sure the Park was empty, Kurt switched off his inducer, before walking into the old playground. "_Hallo?_" he called. "Is anyone here?"

"_Kurt??_"

Turning, Kurt's golden eyes widened in surprise as he saw who it was. "_Rogue??_" he exclaimed. "Vat are you doing here??"

"Ah outta ask _you_ that!" Rogue replied.

"I think _I_ can clear that up."

Kurt and Rogue both turned to see Risty standing beside the merry-go-round. "Risty?" Rogue asked.

"Vat's _she_ doing here??" Kurt exclaimed,

"She asked meh ta meet meh here." Rogue answered.

Risty looked sad. "Rogue...I'm so sorry...but I just can't lie to you, any more..." With that, she lowered her eyes...and started to _change_.

Her hair turned bright red, as her body grew taller, older, her eyes turning an eerie yellow...and her skin turned _blue_.

When her change was complete, Mystique looked at them regretfully. "I should have told you before..."

"_You..._" Rogue murmured. Her eyes narrowed in sheer _fury_. "It was _you?!_ All _along?!_"

"Rogue..." Mystique began.

"You _USED_ meh!!" Rogue yelled, her eyes growing tearful. "You used meh ta get into the mansion a few months ago! _That's_ how ya did it!!"

"Rogue, that's _not_ why I befriended you..."

"_Whah_, then?!" Rogue shouted. "Whah can't ya just _stay outta mah lahfe?!!_"

"_Because you're my daughter!!_" Mystique cried.

Rogue and Kurt both froze, at that. "_Was..?_" Kurt murmured.

Mystique nodded sadly. "It's true." she said. "That's why I asked you _both_ here." Her eyes started to mist over. "_You're my children..._"

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "_That's_ the _best_ ya can come up with?" she snapped. "_Gawd_, lady, if yer gonna lie, make up a _better_ one."

"Think back, Rogue!" Mystique shouted. "Remember when you were a child, when you were with Irene! Don't you remember how one woman always used to visit you every month?"

Rogue blinked. "Well...yeah..." she murmured, "...but...how would _you_..?"

"That was _me_, Rogue." Mystique said. "I adopted you, years ago, but my...'work' would have put you in danger, so I left you in my old friend's care...and I visited you whenever I could."

Rogue was silent at that, prompting Kurt to speak up. "Und me?" he whispered. "Vhy didn't you vant me?"

Mystique's eyes welled with tears at that. "I _did_, Kurt." she murmured. "Oh _God_, giving birth to you was the happiest moment of my _life_." Her tone turned grave. "But I was working with Magneto even then, and he had developed a treatment to enhance a mutant's powers – an early version of his device at Asteroid M. He had assured me that you would be fine..." She lowered her eyes. "Before the treatment, you were blue-furred, but with normal hands, feet, and no tail. But _after_..." She looked away.

Kurt looked at his hands and his feet. "_Zhis_ is vat it did to me." he murmured, in realization.

Tears started to flow down Mystique's eyes. "When I saw what it had done, I took you and _ran_." she said. "Magneto chased us...and I tripped...and you fell into the river..." She suppressed a sob. "I'd thought I'd lost you..."

Kurt didn't speak at that.

"Years later, I had heard of a circus in Germany that featured a blue-furred creature with a tail." Mystique continued. "I had to be certain, so I went to a show."

Kurt smiled. "Before settling in zhe countryside, zhe Vagners vere performers in zhe Munich Circus, und zhey let me perform as zhe Incredible Nightcrawler!"

Mystique smiled. "I...saw you with them." she whispered. "I saw how happy you were...and I knew that you were better off with _them_."

Neither Kurt nor Rogue spoke for a few painfully long moments. "Vhy _now?_" Kurt asked. "Vhy come to us _now?_"

Mystique took a deep breath. "After Asteroid M – and seeing _exactly_ how far Magneto was willing to go – I couldn't be part of his 'vision,' any more; I didn't want that for the two of you." she said. "I turned myself in to S.H.I.E.L.D., with the hope to get immunity for my role in his plans in exchange for what I knew about Magneto." She sighed. "Unfortunately, ever since Superman appeared, Magneto had been confiding in Doom more and more, so what I knew wasn't that much. Instead, General Fury agreed to pardon me if I infiltrated an organization that S.H.I.E.L.D. was watching – one that is up to something _big_." She took another breath. "That was why I broke into the Institute: to get information that the organization wanted."

"But Kal stopped you." Rogue said.

Mystique nodded. "Yes, he did, and he spoke to me about you, Kurt."

Kurt smiled, in dawning understanding. "He _got_ to you, didn't he?"

Mystique sighed, and nodded. "He can certainly make a...powerful impression." she admitted. "Ever since that talk, I thought about contacting you two more and more."

Rogue chuckled. "Flyboy _does_ have that effect."

Mystique looked at them. "I have been the absolute _worst_ mother ever." she murmured. "Rogue, Kurt...I am _so sorry_; I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you were crying; I'm sorry that I missed all the times you were happy and I wasn't there to tell you how proud I was of you...and I know that it's going to take a _lot_ more than just this talk to get you both back...but I want us to...to be a family, again."

Neither moved, at first...and then Kurt walked over, and hugged Mystique. "I forgive you..._Mutter._"

At that, Mystique looked ready to _cry_.

Slowly, Rogue walked over to Mystique, stopping a few feet away. "Ah'm not _quite_ ready ta forgive ya," she said softly, "but...Ah think Ah can."

Mystique smiled. "That's fair enough." she replied. Slowly, she released Kurt from her hug. "I'm so sorry...but I have to go, now; I have to get back..."

"Ve understand." Kurt said.

"I'll...I'll talk to you whenever I can." Mystique said. "Good-bye...I...I love you both..." With that, Mystique shifted her form into that of her namesake, a raven, and flew away.

Kurt and Rogue were left alone. "Wow." Rogue said. "Ah was _not_ expecting _that._"

"_Ja._" Kurt agreed. He smiled slyly. "Zat means you're my _sister!_"

Rogue chuckled. "Just what Ah need: an annoyin' little brother!"

"Hey!" Kurt laughed. "I'm zhe same age as _you!_"

"Coulda fooled _meh_, Fuzzy!" Rogue quipped, prompting Kurt to laugh.

Just then, Kurt's cell-phone started to ring, and Kurt answered it. "Hello?"

"_Kurt, it's Scott. Both you and Rogue need to get back to the Institute; we've got trouble._"

"Got it." Kurt said, before he hung up. "Ve have to get back; something's up." He lightly smiled. "Need a lift, Sis?"

Rogue chuckled. "Whah not?" she replied. At that, Kurt took her hand, and 'ported them both away.

'_Oh, God, this is even __**worse**__ than I imagined._' an absolutely mortified Alison thought grimly to herself.

They were all just about finished with their meals...and all through the meal, Aunt Embeth had done _nothing_ but insult Clark at every turn, despite both hers and her father's attempts to get her to _cut it out_. And Clark had just sat there, refusing to take the bait, prompting Embeth to _escalate_, making each of her insults more condescending and offensive than the last.

Alison's previous insecurities resurfaced with a _vengeance_. '_Dumpsville, here I come..._' she thought miserably, trying _very_ hard to stay composed.

Finally, the meal was done. "Okay." Clark said, putting his cutlery down. "I'll go get the bill. I'll be right back." With that, he got up, and walked to the counter.

As soon as she thought Clark was out of earshot, Embeth said, "Alison, you _cannot_ be serious."

Alison frowned. "Oh, I _am._" she retorted. "I _love_ him, Aunt Embeth."

"Don't be _stupid_, child." Embeth snapped. "That boy is practically _spineless!_"

"_Embeth._" Carter said. "That's _enough_. Kal is a fine young man, and your behavior has been _inexcusable_."

"There's a difference between being spineless and being mature enough not to sink to _some_ people's level, Aunt Embeth." Alison retorted.

"Carter, don't be _absurd!_" Embeth snapped. "It's no _wonder_ that this child hasn't grown out of her frivolity, with your parenting, and with that ridiculous 'institute' she goes to! Frankly, it's high time she stopped all this _nonsense!_"

"I am _not_ a little girl anymore, Embeth." Alison said, her voice rising.

"You certainly fooled _me_." Embeth said. "Good _heavens_, child, it's time you stopped these ridiculous games of yours and looked for a _respectable_ young man, like that nice Shaw boy!"

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" Alison shouted. "Even if I wasn't with Kal, I wouldn't date Shaw if he was the _last_ guy on _Earth!_"

"Well, you'd best buck up, girl, because there aren't many who would want you when they learn what you are." Embeth snapped.

Alison froze. "What?"

"Carter, you _said_ she knew." Embeth said. "She has the same _curse_ that _all_ our family has! And it's _all_ because of that...that _thing_ that came here, 500 years ago!"

Alison instantly understood. "You're talking about Kon-Lir."

Embeth glared at her. "What?"

"That was his _name_, Embeth." Alison said. "He was a man, and his name was Kon-Lir."

"It wasn't _human_, Alison." Embeth hissed. "And because of it, our entire family line has been _polluted_ with its _filth!_"

"Shut _UP!!_" Alison hissed, angrier than she'd ever been. "Just shut _UP!!_ You don't even know what happened, you miserable old hag!! He was _stranded_ here! His ship _crashed!_ He had no control over that! The only crime he committed was that he fell in love, which his people _already_ punished him for!!"

Both Carter and Embeth were silent at that...and Alison clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. _What had she done?_

"How do you know that?" Embeth said slowly. "How do you know that, girl?"

"Alison..?" Carter murmured.

Alison couldn't speak.

Embeth's eyes narrowed. "It's _him_, isn't it?!" she snapped. "He's like _us_, isn't he?"

Just then, Clark walked back over to them. "Did I miss anything?" he asked calmly.

Embeth glared at him. "Don't play dumb." she hissed. "You're like us, aren't you?!"

Clark arched an eyebrow. Alison looked at him, her expression one of saddened horror. '_I'm so sorry..._'

Clark calmly looked to Embeth. "I think, Mrs. Blaire," he said softly, "the right way to look at it is that _you're_ like _me_."

Embeth's eyes widened in shock. "_What??_"

"I'm from the same place that _he_ was from." Clark said. "My name is..."

"_Don't speak._" Embeth hissed. "Not one _word_ out of you, you _filthy_ creature! You had _no right_ to come here, to...to mingle with _our_ kind!! I will _not_ permit our family to be polluted by any more unnatural fil – "

_SMACK!!_

Alison's slap caught Embeth _completely_ by surprise, leaving a red imprint on her face, cutting her tirade off completely. "Don't you _dare._" she hissed. "Don't you _DARE_ say one _thing_ about him!! I don't know what your problem is Embeth Blaire, and frankly, I don't _care_, but I will NOT let you insult the man that I love _or_ my friends! Any single one of my friends are worthy _ten thousand_ of you, except Kal, because _he's_ worth _FIFTY thousand!!_ Frankly, I'm damn _proud_ to be who I am! I'm sorry that you feel the way you feel, but if all you're going to do is snipe at me, my _tausha_, and my family, then, to be perfectly honest, I _NEVER_ want to see your face ever _AGAIN!!_"

Embeth's face was frozen in utter surprise, and then hardened. "I have _never_ been so _insulted_ in my _life_!" she snapped. "Carter, we're _leaving!_"

"You can leave if you like, Embeth." Carter said flatly. At that, Embeth just huffed angrily, and walked out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my aunt the bitch." Alison said. She then looked to Clark. "You're going to dump me, now, aren't you?"

Clark smiled. "Are you _joking?_" he exclaimed. "Ali, that was _awesome!_ You sure showed _her!_"

Alison blinked. "But...but I blabbed your secret..." she murmured. "What if she goes public?"

"No, Ali; all she knows is that I'm an alien." Clark said, whispering. "She doesn't know about my powers, my Kryptonian name, or even that I'm _from_ Krypton. Plus, I don't think she'll go public, because she can't rat _me_ out without ratting _herself_ out, and even if she _does_, she'll be laughed _right_ out of the news building."

"'Krypton'??" Carter repeated softly. "Is...that..?"

Clark nodded. "Yes." he answered quietly. "That's...where Kon-Lir and I are from." He took a deep breath. "Ali's told you that I had found out who I really was, and she was right; my birth-name is Kal-El, and my parents were Jor-El and Lara, who sent me here...to escape Krypton's destruction."

Carter was silent for a few moments. "You mean...they're all..._gone?_"

Clark nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Carter smiled lightly. "What...what were they like?" he asked. "Your...I mean..._our_ people?"

Alison smiled, immensely glad that at least her father was accepting of their heritage...and of Clark. "They were pretty much one of the most advanced races in the _universe_."

Clark chuckled. "Ali..."

"Well, it's _true!_" Alison laughed, keeping her voice down. "Your father _alone_ developed a way to travel faster than _light!_"

Carter smiled. "I wish that Krypton had survived; it sounds like humanity could have learned a lot from them." he said. Sighing, he added, "Kal, I'm so _sorry_ about my sister; I had no _idea_ that she would behave that way."

"It's okay, sir." Clark answered. "I can understand...why some people might not like...what I am."

Alison's heart _ached_ at that statement, as she looped her arm around his, leaning her head on his shoulder. "It's _her_ loss, baby." she cooed.

Carter smiled, and then picked up the bill. "You two kids just let _me_ pay for this." he said. "After what that sister of mine has put you through, it's the _least_ I can do!" With that, he got up, and headed off, to pay the bill.

Alone, Alison, looked to Clark. "Are...we okay?"

Clark smiled. "We always _were_." he assured her, and with that, he started to lean in closer to her. Alison smiled happily, before closing her eyes in blissful anticipation...

Suddenly, a familiar beeping cut the air, shattering the tender moment. Clark froze, before smiling apologetically, and took out his belt-computer, snapping it open. "The Fortress is picking something up on its scanners." he said. "Something's re-entering the atmosphere."

"A meteor?" Alison hazarded.

"No...it was moving too fast through space...and the trajectory is all wrong; whatever this is...it looks like it's _adjusting_ course for a stable landing, a few miles off the East Coast."

Alison's eyes widened. "A _ship!_"

"It looks like fighters are scrambling to intercept it." Clark said. "They might need help..."

"_Kal-El?_"

Alison looked up in sheer surprise as she and Clark saw the glowing blue astral form of Doctor Strange floating before them. "_Do not fear._" the good Doctor assured them. "_None but the two of you can see me._"

"What's wrong, Doctor?" Clark asked.

"_There is a considerable disturbance in the fabric of magic occurring several miles off the East Coast._" the Doctor said. "_I would investigate myself, but this disruption is capable of negating magic itself; my powers could fail me, were I to investigate directly. If need be, I could guide you to the spot, but no more than that._"

"As it happens, Doctor, that won't be necessary. I'll look into it." Clark replied. Nodding, Doctor Strange's astral self vanished. Clark's expression became apologetic. "_Taushi_, I'm so sorry..."

"_Don't_ be. This sounds _serious_." Alison assured him. "There's a back entrance; just hide your tux somewhere in the alley – I'll pick it up before leaving." She chuckled. "Febrise would pitch a _fit_ if something happened to one of his best tuxedos!" At that, Clark smiled, and quickly kissed her, before discreetly getting up and heading towards the back entrance.

By then, her father had returned. "Where's Kal?" he asked.

"He had...an assignment for work." Alison half-lied. "Last minute."

"Oh."

Just then, Alison's cell phone started to ring, and she answered it: it was Scott. "_Dazzler, it's Cyclops. Get back to the Institute as soon as you can; we've got trouble._"

"Got it. I'll be there, soon." Alison said, before hanging up. "I'm sorry, Dad, but I have to go, too; Institute stuff."

"I understand, honey." her father said. "Take care." With that, he kissed her forehead. "I love you, Alison."

"I love you, too, Daddy." Alison replied, smiling. "I'll talk to you soon, okay?" Her father smiled back, and nodded, before Alison promptly headed out the back door. After finding Clark's hidden tux in the empty back-alley, Alison generated a hard-light hover-board, before taking to the air, heading back to the Institute.

Her friends needed her.

In minutes, Superman had taken to the air, flying out to sea, towards the object re-entering Earth's atmosphere. "_Krypto! Here, boy!_" Superman called out, before whistling for his pet; in less than a minute, Krypto was flying beside him, ready to help his master.

The two of them flew across the Atlantic at top speeds, before Superman spotted the falling object: it was a ship, all right, small enough for only a single pilot, with two graceful, forward-curving wings, almost bird-like in design. It appeared to have stabilized its descent, though still glowing red from the heat of re-entry.

Superman's eyes widened as he recognized the design.

Then, Superman also caught sight of the two pursuing F-13 fighters, hot on the craft's tail...with three letters emblazoned in white on the tail-fins of the fighters.

_F.O.H._

Suddenly, the two fighters each fired a single missile at the dying craft. "Krypto! Grab one of those fighters!" Superman instructed, as he zoomed forward, firing an eye-ray in a sweeping motion, detonating both missiles early, though the explosion from the second weapon was too close to the ship, shattering its shields, already taxed by re-entry, and sending it into a death-spiral.

By then, Krypto had caught up to the first fighter, grabbed its tail-fin in his jaws, and held on; it was almost _funny_, the way the jet was trying to fly away from Krypto, who just held on tight...until the fin came away, as the fighter started to spin out of control, before the pilot ejected, his parachute opening safely, as he slowly descended towards the water.

The pilot of the dying craft seemed to have the same idea; the cockpit burst open, and the pilot shot out...before she unfurled her large, feathery birds-wings.

'_A Thanagarian._' Superman thought. Thanagarians, native to the planet Thanagar, were closely related to the Avians, the race that composed the vast majority of the Shi'ar Empire; both peoples had descended from birds...but unlike the Avians, the people of Thanagar had retained the bird-wings of their precursors.

The Thanagarian woman was around the same age as he was, with an elegant-yet-athletic frame, light skin, fierce green eyes, and long red hair under her helmet, which resembled that of a hawk. She wore a yellow tank-top, tight green pants, and black boots – the uniform of the Thanagarian military – and she carried a large, silver-metal mace that crackled with white electricity.

Just then, the remaining fighter came around, and fired its machine-guns at the Thanagarian. Instantly, Superman intercepted the bullets, turning his body into a shield, as the projectiles harmlessly bounced off of him. As the fighter passed, the Thanagarian's eyes narrowed in fury, before she flew at the fighter with a fierce battle-cry, smashing her mace into the fighter's wing, knocking it _clean off_. The fighter spun out of control, before the pilot ejected.

The threat neutralized, Superman hovered in front of the Thanagarian, who was hovering by flapping her wings repeatedly, and hoped his grasp of the Thanagarian language was still as good as it had been after learning it in the Fortress. "_Raekir al enarta?_" he asked pleasantly, which meant, "_Are you well?_" the standard Thanagarian greeting.

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting to be greeted in her native tongue, before she lightly smiled, and nodded. "_Il riku enarta._" she replied. _I am well._ Then, she reached for her belt, and took out a small, almost badge-shaped device, which bore the sword-bearing eagle-crest of Thanagar – it was a Universal Translator. After clipping it to her shirt, the woman said, "Do you understand me?"

Superman smiled, and nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Good." the woman said. With that, she snapped to salute. "Lieutenant Colonel Shayera Hol, Thanagar Special Forces."

"I am Kal-El, of Krypton." Superman replied. Then, he smiled as Krypto came over, sniffing Shayera cautiously. "And this curious fellow is Krypto."

"I know." Shayera said. "I've been tracking a Kryptonian Trans-Warp signature to this planet; we had hoped to evacuate you."

Superman's eyes widened in surprise. "Why?"

"After what your people did to save ours, we had to make sure that, if there was a survivor from Krypton, we had to ensure their safety, lest the Kree or the Skrulls find out."

"Has there been a Kree or Skrull ship through this system?" Superman asked, feeling dread build in the pit of his stomach.

Shayera shook her head. "No; they don't appear to have been through this system for centuries, but we didn't want to risk it. As I passed through, I masked the Trans-Warp signature, so no future ships could detect it." she said. "We assure you, you'll be safe on Thanagar; after your people saved ours, it's the _least_ we can do."

Superman knew what she meant; years ago, the Shi'ar Empire had wanted to use the Kryptonian World-Gate network to expand their empire...starting with the forceful annexation of Thanagar. Krypton had refused, and locked down the Network, starting the Krypton-Shi'ar War. "Well, Colonel, I appreciate your people's generosity, but I must decline." Superman answered. "Earth is my _home_, now; I can't leave."

"Oh." Shayera said, surprised. "Well...if that's what you want..."

"There _is_ one thing I'll need your help to address." Superman continued. "A friend of mine felt a disturbance, here, where you were landing; if you could just come with me, we could get this cleared up."

"Of course." Shayera said.

"Thank you." Superman replied. To Krypto, he added, "Krypto, you can head home, now; I'll take it from here." Krypto barked in agreement, before he flew off, heading for the Institute, as Superman and Shayera flew towards New York.

Before long, they had both reached New York, and were discreetly flying over Greenwich Village. As they passed over the Sanctum Sanctorum, a pillar of light shot up towards them, engulfing them both...and depositing them in Doctor Strange's inner sanctum. The good Doctor looked a bit strained. "Well...that took a bit more effort than usual. Thank you for your assistance, Kal-El."

Shayera bristled, readying her mace. "No, it's okay." Superman assured her. "This is Doctor Strange; he's a friend of mine." To the Doctor, he added, "Doctor, this is Lieutenant Colonel Shayera Hol, of the planet of Thanagar."

The Doctor lightly bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Colonel Hol."

Warily, Shayera returned the gesture. "Likewise."

Superman chuckled. "I trust you and Clea have patched things up, Doctor?"

Doctor Strange smiled. "Yes, we have reconciled, my young friend." he said warmly. "We're sharing our duties over our respective realms; currently, Clea is settling a dispute back at her home – nothing major." The Doctor then turned to Shayera, looking a bit queasy. "I believe the disturbance I felt was your weapon, Colonel; tell me, is it made of Nth Metal?"

"Why...yes." Shayera said. "My people have long mastered crafting weapons of Nth Metal; dark sorcery has long plagued our world – every soldier of Thanagar carried such a weapon."

"I thought so." the Doctor said.

"Nth Metal?" Superman asked.

"A very rare element, Kal-El." Doctor Strange explained. "Arguably the rarest metal in the cosmos; it has the ability to completely negate any magic it comes in contact with – for a magic-user, this element is _Kryptonite_." He looked a bit uneasy. "I hope I do not offend you, Colonel, but simply _looking_ at that weapon of yours makes me somewhat nauseous."

Shayera looked apologetic. "I am sorry." she said, before she twisted the handle of her mace, causing the shaft to retract into itself, as the crackling energy dissipated. "Is that better?"

Doctor Strange started to breathe a little easier. "_Much_ better, thank you." he said. "If you do not mind, Colonel, I would like to examine your mace a bit more closely, as opportunities to analyze Nth Metal are incredibly rare, around here; would you mind remaining here for just a little while?"

"Not at all." Shayera said. "Although I _do_ need to contact my people fairly soon, to update them of the situation; there is a larger ship waiting for my report at the edge of this system."

"I understand; this should not take long." the Doctor said. "I hope to..." He suddenly stopped, putting his hand to his forehead. "Kal-El, your friends are in grave danger." he said. "I am sensing a considerable disturbance in the warehouse district!"

"Where?" Superman asked.

"The disturbance is coming from the south side." the Doctor said. "It would be unwise to go alone, given your vulnerability to the mystic arts and the considerable mystic strength I am sensing; I would assist you, but I cannot leave the Sanctum with Colonel Hol's weapon here – it is taking considerable effort to dampen its effects, even when it is inactive."

"_I'll_ go!" Shayera said.

Superman smiled. "Thank you, Colonel."

Shayera smiled. "Call me Shayera."

"In _that_ case, call me Kal." Superman replied. "I'll go on ahead; you catch up when you can."

"Be careful." the good Doctor cautioned. "May Oshtur watch over you."

"Thank you." Superman said, and with that, Doctor Strange teleported them both out of the Sanctum. At once, Superman took off towards the warehouse district at top speeds, as Shayera followed as fast as she could.

_New York City, Warehouse District_

By the time the X-Men arrived at the old warehouse district, night had blanketed New York. "Everyone, be on guard." Cyclops warned, as everyone got out of the X-Van. "The Brotherhood could be anywhere, around here."

A short while ago, the Professor had detected the Brotherhood in this area of New York, and they had gone to check it out. "I'm getting something..." Jean said, concentrating, "...they're inside _that_ warehouse!" She pointed to one particularly run-down warehouse.

"_Why_ do bad guys _always_ have to hang out in spooky-looking places?" Shadowcat muttered.

Avalanche chuckled. "It's practically in the job description, Pretty Kitty." he joked. With that, everyone headed in.

The entire warehouse was pitch-black, and _coated_ with cobwebs. "Dazzler, we need some light." Cyclops said, and Dazzler promptly made herself start to glow, illuminating the warehouse.

"Gambit don' like dis, _chere_." Gambit muttered. "Dat feelin' in 'is bones jus' got a lot _worse_."

"Ah can't argue with ya, _there_, Cajun." Rogue said. "This _is_ creepy."

Suddenly, a silver streak zipped through the darkness, heading straight towards them...and stopping right next to Dazzler.

"Hi, babe. Miss me?"

Dazzler's eyes narrowed in fury as the smirking Quicksilver put his arm around her shoulders, and zipped off before she could _blast_ him. Just then, Blob rushed at them, roaring in rage, prompting the X-Men to scatter to evade his charge, giving Toad the opportunity to fire slime-globs at them while he hopped around them.

At once, Jean raised a TK-barrier, repelling the slime globs. "Gambit, Spyke, Dazzler, you three take Quicksilver." Cyclops instructed. "Avalanche, you, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat handle Toad; Rogue, Jean and I will take on Blob." At once, the other X-Men nodded, and picked their respective targets.

"What's the matter, babe?" Quicksilver mocked, as he circled around Dazzler. "Too fast for you?" Dazzler just smiled slyly, as she focused, while her two teammates set their trap.

Instantly, an image of Superman appeared a few feet away, out of nowhere. Quicksilver snarled in fury as he saw his hated rival. "You're not messin' up our plans _this_ time, Super-Dork!!" he yelled, as he ran towards Superman, ready to punch him...

...just as Dazzler had expected.

Pietro's punch went right _through_ the holographic Superman, causing him to lose his balance. Instantly, Spyke went into action, firing bone-spikes ahead of Quicksilver, which stuck into the ground; Pietro couldn't slow down in time, as he tripped over the spikes, and landed flat on his back. As he tried to get up, a circle of eight glowing cards surrounded him, flicked by an expert hand. Pietro's eyes widened.

"Oh, _crap_."

The blast from the cards sent Quicksilver flying, to land hard, out cold. Gambit chuckled. "De 'ouse wins." he said, as he glanced to his teammates. "_Tres bien, mes amis._"

As Toad hopped around, firing his sludge-globs, Avalanche concentrated, and caused numerous pillars of pure concrete to shoot up out of the ground around Toad, forcing him to drastically alter the path of his hops. Instantly, Nightcrawler 'ported in, slamming Toad with a mid-air kick, before leaping to a stone pillar, pushing off, and kicking Toad again, to leap to another pillar and repeat the process. Before long, Toad was getting batted around like a badminton shuttle, before Nightcrawler booted him towards a pillar.

As Toad drew near the pillar, Shadowcat reached out from the pillar, and grabbed Toad, before pulling him _through_ the pillar, and then phasing out, leaving his torso stuck in the concrete, as his feet kicked helplessly. "_HEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!!_" Toad wailed. "_Get me outta here!!_"

Cyclops rolled to the side as Blob charged at him, before firing an optic blast as he went by, knocking him off-balance. That was Jean's cue; she instantly levitated Rogue, and sent her flying towards Blob, where Rogue hopped onto Blob's back from behind, pulled off her gloves, and touched Blob's face, stunning him and copying his powers. Blob stumbled back as Rogue hopped off, and then quickly recovered...only to get slammed in the gut by a punch from the powered-up Rogue. As Blob staggered away, Jean sent a telekinetic pulse at him as Cyclops fired another optic blast; their combined force sent Blob flying, to land flat on his back, where Rogue knocked him out with another touch.

With their opponents downed, the X-Men regrouped. "Zat vas easy." Nightcrawler said.

"Yeah." Spyke agreed warily. "_Too_ easy, Fuzzy."

Suddenly, Jean's eyes went wide. "Uh-oh." she said, looking into the shadows. "We've got trouble..." At that, the X-Men all turned, to see their new opponent...

From a shadowed corner, cloaked by Siryn's magic, Wanda watched her teammates fight Magneto's goons, with Siryn next to her. Wanda had exchanged her previous outfit for a deep red vest with matching pants, and a scarlet trenchcoat, with dark red fingerless gloves; her new battle-gear.

"Why don't we help them?" Wanda asked.

"Not yet, dear girl." Siryn said. "We have to wait for Magneto's cronies to become tired, to make our victory all the more _crushing_. Not only that, but you need time to study our foes."

That made sense, Wanda had to admit. She took a closer look at her foes.

They didn't _seem_ to be the kind of people who would work for her father...but Pietro was living proof that appearances lied.

"_Don't worry Wanda; I won't let Daddy hurt you..._"

Wanda's face twisted in fury as she remembered her brother's childhood words, the very _day_ that her father had locked her away...while Pietro did _nothing_. '_Liar!!_' she mentally fumed.

She almost _smiled_ as she watched those three take her brother down.

They worked well together; they knew each other's strengths, as well as their opponent's weaknesses, and formulated strategies in a matter of seconds.

Wanda almost felt _bad_ about having to cream them.

_Almost._

"Now, remember," Siryn said, "simply channel your rage at your opponent; your powers will do the rest. Of course, I will later teach you to have a finer degree of control over your powers, but for now, that will do."

"Don't worry." Wanda said, her eyes narrowing. If there was _one_ thing she had _plenty_ of, it was _anger_.

_"FATHER!!!" an 8-year-old Wanda screamed as the asylum orderlies dragged her away, tears filling her eyes. "FATHER!!!!"_

_Magneto simply stood there, his expression completely neutral, with an 8-year-old Pietro standing fearfully behind him. Wanda erupted in a fresh set of sobs, as the orderlies dragged her inside, the asylum doors closing behind her, shutting the light out forever..._

The memory of that day sent fresh waves of rage through Wanda. '_I hope you're watching, Magneto...because I'm going to do __**worse**__ to __**you.**_'

"Wanda?" Siryn asked. "I just have one _teensie_ favor to ask you." She pointed towards one of Magneto's cronies. "See that blonde one? When the time comes, I want you to _disable_ her; any way you like." Her voice hardened. "After _that_, you just leave her to _me_."

Wanda arched an eyebrow. "Okay." she said. "Wait...isn't there supposed to be one more?"

Siryn smiled to herself. "Oh, don't you worry about _that_." she purred. "Once that little blonde _twit_ is out of the picture, we should have a _new_ teammate, if I have my way."

Wanda rolled her eyes; now she remembered. The missing goon was that alien guy that Siryn had the hots for, or so she'd gathered.

Then, Siryn's smile grew. "Wanda?" she said. "Show time!" At that, Wanda nodded, and walked out of Siryn's stealth-spell.

It was time to kick some ass.

The X-Men could only watch as an angry-looking, scarlet-clad teenage girl walked out of the shadows, glaring at them. "Who are you?" Cyclops asked.

The girl's eyes narrowed, as she simply gestured towards Cyclops, her hands glowing blue-black.

Instantly, Cyclops' optic-blasts went off, as he unleashed a sweeping-blast towards his teammates, prompting them to duck. "_Scott?!_" Jean cried. "What are you _doing?!_"

"It's not me! It's _her!!_" Cyclops shouted.

Shadowcat looked stricken. "Uh-oh...I think we just found Wanda!!" she cried...seconds before she screamed, as she started to phase into the ground.

"_Kitty!!_" Avalanche cried, as he used his powers to loosen the ground around her...only to create an earthquake that sent both of them flying.

Trying to take advantage of the distraction, Nightcrawler tried to 'port towards Wanda...only to come out of the 'port outside the warehouse. "_Vas??_"

Jean tried to levitate Wanda...only to levitate _herself_, before falling towards the ground, where Scott managed to catch her. At Wanda's gesture, Spyke started firing spikes wildly, prompting Dazzler to raise a light-barrier. Wanda's eyes narrowed, as she pointed at Dazzler.

Dazzler's barrier exploded in a violent burst of light, causing Dazzler to scream, covering her eyes. At that instant, Siryn walked out of the shadows. "Nicely done!" she said. "_I'll_ take it from here." With that, she started to stalk towards Dazzler.

Gambit took out his card-deck, to charge it, but ended up charging his _coat_, instead. "_MERDE!!_" Gambit yelped, rapidly taking it off and tossing it before it blew. "Damn...Remy lose more coats, dat way."

Her eyes narrowed, Rogue walked towards Wanda, ready to drain her, but Wanda sent her flying with a blue-black energy bolt. With all her foes dispatched, Wanda started to calm.

"Cuddlebumps, you _rock!!_" Toad cheered from his stone prison, before smiling sheepishly. "Uh...a little help?" Wanda rolled her eyes, and gestured, causing the stone to crumble...and Toad promptly hopped over and _hugged_ her. "Strong _and_ beautiful...where have you _been_ all my life?" he exclaimed happily.

Wanda's eyes narrowed, as she hex-blasted him into a wall. "_Never_ touch me _again._"

By then, Blob had recovered, and he hurried over to help his friend. "You okay, little pal?"

Toad just stared dreamily at Wanda. "_What a woman..._" he murmured, before he passed out, a goofy smile on his face.

Siryn glared at her blinded rival, before firing a fire-spell at her, driving her back. "I _warned_ you." she hissed, before firing another spell, prompting Dazzler to raise a barrier around herself, as her sightless eyes darted around. "You were _stupid_ to cross _me_, Blaire! Kal-El was destined to be _mine_, and you're about to _learn_ that!!"

Dazzler tried to focus on Siryn; her eyes were blurry from Wanda's attack – she couldn't see clearly to aim an attack...

Siryn's face twisted in fury as she fired again, causing Dazzler's shield to falter. "I was _always_ superior to _you_, Blaire!!" she shrieked. "I am _royalty!!_ _You_ are _nothing_ to me!! _Nothing!!_ You _dared_ to think _you_ could take what is _mine?!_"

Dazzler's mind raced; her barrier was weakening, and unless her vision came back, right _now_, she couldn't fight back...

Suddenly, she had an idea. '_The practice drill!_' she thought. She focused, concentrating...

She could almost hear Clark's advice in her mind: '_Focus, Ali...see the __**warmth.**_'

Her barrier dropped, and Siryn smirked. "You lived as nothing, and you will _die_ as nothing." she sneered, as she raised her arm to cast her spell...

Dazzler's vision instantly changed from a muddle of blurs to hues of red, orange, yellow, and purple...with a orange-red outline of Siryn directly ahead of her, readying an attack.

As Siryn fired, Dazzler leaned to the side, evading the attack, taking Siryn completely by surprise. This was her chance; she _had_ to take advantage of it...

_She had to go faster..._

Dazzler darted towards Siryn at mind-numbing speed, faster than she'd _ever_ moved, before focusing sound energy into her gloves and punching Siryn in the stomach, causing her to start to double over, though she seemed to be moving in slow motion, from Dazzler's perspective.

Siryn's arrogant tirade had _really_ ticked her off; she wanted nothing more than to _deck_ that little brat...

Dazzler pulled her other fist back and _slammed_ Siryn right in the face, sending her flying a good forty feet, crashing into a support girder.

Only the most reflexive of barrier-spells saved Siryn from a broken jaw, but the impact of the punch had still crushed her lips to her teeth, sending a trickle of red leaking from her mouth. Siryn's expression was one of fear...but was quickly replaced by arrogant _rage_ "You _DARE_ touch me?!!" she shrieked. Hissing, Siryn readied a spell...but quickly conjured a barrier as Dazzler fired her eye-rays, slamming her against the girder again.

Now Dazzler was _drained_, as she dropped to her knees; her Kryptonian powers _rocked_, but they were so draining...

Siryn recovered, and took aim. "A valiant effort...but ultimately _futile!_" she sneered, and she cast her spell.

Dazzler was too tired to dodge it...as she heard the faintest echo of a sonic boom off in the distance...

It took Superman a matter of seconds to fly to the warehouse district, where he scanned the warehouses with his X-Ray vision...and his eyes widened in horror.

Instantly, he flew towards one warehouse at top speed, bursting through the roof, and swept Dazzler into his arms, causing Siryn to miss _entirely_ as he darted by in a blue-and-crimson blur. "Ali, are you okay?" he asked softly.

Dazzler smiled, her eyes a bit glassy. "I'm okay." she cooed, as he set her down. "My eyes are just stinging, and I can't see well, but they're getting better."

Superman smiled. "I'm glad."

Siryn looked dismayed. "You _still_ choose _her?!_"

Superman glared at Siryn. "I'm getting _tired_ of repeating myself, Siryn."

Siryn's eyes narrowed angrily. "_Stubborn Kryptonian!!_" she shrieked, as she cast a spell-bolt at him, but Superman simply dug in his heels and braced himself; the spell pushed him back a few feet, but he was otherwise fine.

Superman's eyes narrowed. "_My_ turn." he said, as he inhaled, and started to unleash a burst of gale-breath...

As he exhaled, his burst seemed to come back at him, surprising him. Superman promptly stopped. "Okay..._that's_ a new trick..."

Dazzler looked stricken. "The Brotherhood has a new member: Wanda Maximoff." she said. "She can warp reality with her hexes; be careful, baby!"

'_Great. __**Another**__ magic-user._' Superman thought, as he evaded another blast from Siryn...only to get hit by a blue-black hex-bolt from the scarlet-clad girl, Wanda. The bolt knocked him back a fair distance, but he easily recovered, thought it _stung_. As Siryn readied another spell, Superman fired his eyes-rays to deflect it...but instead of hitting the spell-bolt, his eye-ray angled away at the last second, as if the air itself was refracting the beam, prompting him to dodge again.

"_Sheesh_, Wanda!" Pietro shouted. "What are you _waiting_ for?!! Quit sand-bagging that loser and _blast him!!_"

Wanda's eyes narrowed in exertion. "I'm _trying!_" she snapped. "I don't get it; it's as if my hexes just can't get a good grip on him! He ought to be flat on his butt, by now!"

'_Thank you, X-Gene immunity._' Superman thought; _some_ protection was better than none at all.

Siryn frowned. "Well, he _still_ can't use his powers as well, so that's _something._"

"_Yeah!_" Quicksilver sneered. "How do you plan to beat us _now_, Super-Geek?!"

Superman chuckled, as his hearing picked something up. "The same way we _always_ do, Pietro." he said. "_Teamwork!_"

At that, Shayera flew down through the hole in the ceiling, landing beside him, brandishing her mace, crackling with energy. "Did I miss anything?" she asked.

"No, you're right on time." Superman said, grinning. "Brotherhood of Mutants, meet Lieutenant Colonel Shayera Hol; Shayera, Brotherhood."

Wanda's eyes narrowed, as she fired another hex-blast...but Shayera slammed it with her mace, sending it fizzling away to the side, harmlessly.

Shayera's eyes narrowed. "I'll take the brat in red." she growled. "You take the brat in green."

Superman nodded. "Fine by me." With that, they closed on their respective targets.

Superman braced himself as Siryn unleashed her sonic scream, bearing the brunt of the vocal blast. Siryn then tried to strike him with several spell-bolts, but his eye-rays deflected every one, unhindered by Wanda's powers, now negated by Shayera's Nth mace. Then, before Siryn could attack again, Superman unleashed a gale-burst, sending her flying, to land hard on her rear.

Shayera closed on Wanda, who fired hex-bolt after hex-bolt at Shayera, but every single bolt was deflected by the Nth metal mace, negated completely, as Shayera's fierce war-cries started to make Wanda's blood run cold. Finally, Shayera was within striking distance, and whirled into a spin-strike, not with her mace, but with her _wings_.

Wanda had assumed that those wings were soft, like down, and to an extent, she was right...

...but underneath that down-soft layer of feathers...there was iron-solid _muscle_.

Shayera's wings _slammed_ into Wanda's stomach, sending her flying a good twenty feet, to land hard on the floor, feeling as though she'd been hit by a _cannonball_. Shayera promptly closed on Wanda, and like the soldier she was, raised her mace to finish off her opponent...

...but Superman stopped her. "No, Shayera." he said quietly but firmly. "That's not how we do things."

Shayera blinked. "She's the _enemy_..."

"It's not that simple." Superman said. To Wanda, he added, "we're not going to hurt you. Go home." As Wanda, confused, slowly got up, Superman finished, "That goes for _all_ of you."

Then, he turned to Siryn, glaring at her. "And as for _you_, Siryn, I suggest you get out of here before I decide to sic _Krypto_ on you!!"

Siryn's eyes widened in horror. "You _wouldn't!!_" she cried. "You wouldn't _dare!!_"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "_Try_ me."

Almost instantly, Siryn 'ported herself away, as the Brotherhood slinked away.

By then, the X-Men had recovered. "Way to bring zhe cavalry, Big Blue!" Nightcrawler exclaimed.

Superman chuckled. "I try."

"Oh my _gosh_, I _love_ your wings!" Shadowcat exclaimed, zipping over to Shayera.

"Um...thank you?" Shayera replied. "On Thanagar, they're really quite ordinary..."

"'_Thanagar_'??" Shadowcat repeated. "Is that another planet??" Shayera nodded. "Oh my _gosh_, that is so _cool!!_"

Chuckling, Cyclops extended his hand to Shayera. "Thanks for your help, Colonel Hol." he said. "You really helped save our butts."

Shayera simply looked at his hand, before she got the idea; she smiled, and shook it. "Any friend of the survivor of Krypton is a friend to Thanagar."

Superman then hurried over to Dazzler. "Are your eyes any better, _taushi?_" he asked.

Dazzler smiled, and nodded. "They're just about back to normal." she replied.

"So, Colonel, what will you do, now?" Jean asked.

"Well, I was going to notify my people to pick me up," Shayera said, "but I think I might stick around, at least for now; my people don't know much about Earth – it might be good to have someone stationed here."

"That would be so _cool!_" Kitty exclaimed. "Earth's newest heroine: the Hawk-girl of Thanagar!"

Rogue groaned. "_Gawd_, Kitty, do ya _hear_ yerself?!"

But Shayera looked thoughtful. "_Hawkgirl_...hmm..."

"Well, take care, Shayera." Superman said.

Shayera smiled. "You, too." she replied, before she flapped her wings, taking to the air, and flying out through the hole in the ceiling, as Superman and the X-Men headed out of the warehouse.

As they exited the warehouse, the Professor and Logan were waiting for them. "Are you all alright?" the Professor asked.

"Well, yeah, considering we got our butts kicked." Cyclops said.

"Even _Kal_ had trouble with Wanda around." Shadowcat said.

Superman nodded. "Fortunately, I had brought backup."

"Well, I am glad that you are all safe." the Professor said. "And perhaps this will be a valuable lesson to us all."

"Oh, it _was_." Cyclops said. "As of right now, we're stepping up training."

"_After_ our bruises heal, right, Fearless?" Spyke joked.

"Do you think Wanda will ever join us?" Dazzler asked.

The Professor sighed. "I have sent for an old friend of mine to talk to her; someone that she might relate to, better." he answered. "But, for now, I do not believe so."

Superman then listened carefully...and his face became determined. "Maybe not," he said, "but I'm game for one more try. You guys go on home; I'll be back soon." With that, he took to the sky, as the X-Men piled into the X-Van, while Logan helped the Professor into his car, to head back home.

After leaving the warehouse, Wanda had left the others and started looking for Magneto; if his cronies had been there, he _couldn't_ have been far. She just had to _find_ him...

"Hi."

Wanda's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the alien guy – "Superman" – slowly float down to stand in front of her. By pure reflex, Wanda readied her hex-bolts...

"I only want a few minutes of your time. After that, if you want me to leave, I will."

Wanda was about ready to laugh in his face...but he seemed to be serious. Slowly, she calmed. "Alright."

"I've been told you don't like Magneto." Superman said.

Wanda scoffed. "Well, _duh!_"

If Superman was offended, he didn't show it. "Well, if that's the case," he said calmly, "you have funny taste in friends."

Wanda's eyes narrowed. "_What?_"

"Well, for starters, just ask yourself: is your brother _really_ the type to turn against your father?"

Wanda thought about it for a moment. "_No._" she muttered. "But that doesn't prove that _you_ don't work for him!!"

"Maybe not." Superman agreed. "But I just spared you a moment ago. _Think_ about it, Wanda; if I were working for Magneto, why would I have spared someone who would want my alleged employer dead?"

Wanda paused at that. "Say I believe you." she said. "Who _do_ you work for?"

"We don't 'work' for _anyone_." Superman replied. "Our mentor is Professor Xavier."

Wanda's eyes went wide. "Then you're from..."

"...the Institute." Superman finished. "And you can join us, Wanda."

"I _can't_." Wanda said. "It's too late for that."

"It's _never_ too late."

"I can't go back." Wanda said. Her voice turned deadly. "Not until I _kill_ him."

Superman sighed. "I can tell I'm not going to change your mind."

Wanda looked regretful. "But...I'm sorry I attacked you." she said. "Professor Xavier was always kind to me; please tell him I'm sorry."

Superman nodded. "I will."

Wanda's eyes narrowed. "Siryn lied to me." she hissed. "Well, I'm definitely going to _pop_ that little _zit_, next time I see her."

Superman suppressed a chuckle, before his voice turned serious. "Wanda...I know I can't say I understand how you feel, but if you ever need to talk, I'll be there for you, to listen."

Wanda blinked. "You actually mean that?"

"Why would I say it if I didn't?"

Wanda laughed mirthlessly. "_God_, Pietro would keel over _dead_ if he ever said a thing like that." she muttered. "He hates you, you know...almost as much as _I_ hate _Magneto_."

"I kinda figured that."

Wanda nodded. "That's part of why I can't stand Pietro; he can be your best friend and your worst enemy in the same minute." she muttered. "He couldn't tell the truth if his _life_ depended on it." She chuckled. "I bet that's part of why he hates you; you remind him of his weakness."

"I guess so." Superman said. "I'll let you go, but I'll be there to listen if you need me."

"Okay." Wanda said. "But...how will I find you?"

Superman smiled. "I'm always around." he replied, before he took to the sky, flying off at a speed that would've made Pietro _green_ with envy.

Wanda chuckled to herself. '_And __**that's**__ probably the __**other**__ reason why Pietro hates him._' she thought, as she walked off.

Several hours after the warehouse incident, Anita had returned to her hotel room, poring over her spell-books, to prepare herself for the next time...and to figure out just _where_ that little _twit_ had gotten that boost in power...

Suddenly, her door exploded inward, as Anita found herself encased in a blue-black hex-field.

"_You LIED to me!!_" Wanda exploded, glaring hatefully at Anita. "I just paid a visit to my 'darling' brother, and I _leaned_ on him a bit; he told me that you're _WORKING_ for Magneto!!"

Anita paused for a second...before she chuckled. "My dear Wanda, he's _dead_ wrong." she said. "I'm working for _my_ father, Victor von Doom, who just _happens_ to be your father's associate...for _now_."

Wanda kept glaring at her. "You _used_ me." she snapped. "You _used_ me to get rid of that Blaire girl! You were _never_ going to help me!!"

"Oh, I _am_ sorry about that, Wanda," Anita said, "but you _do_ know what they say about love and war." Then, her eyes hardened. "But as for helping you...let me tell you a story, Wanda: a story about a little girl named Anita LeRoux. Anita's parents always left her with a mean, cruel nanny named Elizabeth, whose hobby was making Anita cry, and seeing if her precious _dog_ could make Anita cry. One day, Anita was so mad, she told Nanny Elizabeth to take her dog and go jump out the window."

"_And she __**did.**_"

"Anita was a mutant; her voice could make people do things." Anita continued. "Anita was so happy, she wanted to show her parents. '_Mommy, Daddy, look what I can do!_' she exclaimed, hoping her parents would be proud of her...but her parents weren't proud. Not at _all_."

"And so, Anita's parents tossed little 6-year-old Anita into an asylum, just like your father did with you, and left her there. Anita thought she would _die_ there."

"_But she didn't._"

"Anita was rescued, by a man who became her new father: Victor van Damme, who later became called Doom." Anita finished. "He took little Anita in, and gave her a much nicer home, made her his heir...and taught her to use her voice, as well as all the sorcery that he'd taught himself. And Anita grew up, and her new Papa was so very proud of his new little girl...who decided to call herself _Siryn_. And one day, Anita found her old parents...and she made them _sorry_. She made them give her _everything_ they had, completely _breaking_ them."

Wanda was silent at that. "That...was _you..?_"

Anita nodded. "You're saying that I won't help another child who was screwed over by good-for-nothing parents. You're saying I don't approve of your vengeance." she hissed. "I know what you feel, Wanda...and I say, '_Good for you._'"

Slowly, Wanda released Anita from her hex-field. "Where's Magneto?" she asked.

"I don't know." Anita said.

"I can't stay here." Wanda said.

"I know." Anita said. "Do what you have to do. Just stay one night at the Boarding House; get a fresh start for tomorrow."

"Okay." Wanda said. "Good-bye." With that, she turned and left.

Once Wanda had left, Anita smiled to herself, and picked up her phone. "Papa?" she said. "The berserker is in play..."

"So, how did things go with your Mom?"

Kurt smiled as he sat next to Amanda on the couch in the living room. "It vent fairly vell." he replied. "Mystique vants us to be a family again...oh, und Rogue is my foster-sister."

Amanda smiled. "Wow, that's _great!_"

"Not _zat_ great." Kurt groaned. "After finding out vat ve did, Logan gave Rogue und I extra Danger-Room sessions for a _month_."

"Ouch." Amanda said. Then, her smile became shy. "So...about yesterday...look, I was pushing you..."

"_Ich liebe dich._"

Amanda froze. "W-What?"

Kurt smiled. "I...I love you, 'Mandy."

Amanda didn't speak for a moment...before she smiled radiantly, and _pounced_ on him, kissing him with a passion that curled his _tail_. "Oh, Kurt...I love you, too." she cooed.

Kurt smiled goofily at that, before he returned his girlfriend's kiss. He briefly looked up to the sky. '_I will never doubt You, again._' he thought, before continuing to kiss his beloved Amanda.

After returning to the Institute, Alison had promptly taken a shower – after everyone else had done the same – and changed into her blue bra and panties with Clark's crest, her undisputed favorite sleepwear, before sitting down on her bed with her current favorite mystery novel, to do some reading before turning in.

She hadn't gotten very far into the novel when she felt a pair of strong, wonderfully warm arms encircle her waist, lovingly pulling her close against an equally warm, inviting chest, as her lover sweetly kissed the back of her neck. Alison sighed happily as she put her book down. "Hi, baby." she cooed.

"Hi." Clark replied, smiling as he held her close, having changed into a white t-shirt and black boxer shorts. "Are your eyes better?"

"Yes, Clarkie; they're completely fine." Alison replied. "So, did you talk to Wanda?"

Clark sighed. "Yeah." he answered. "I don't think she's going to attack us, anymore, but I couldn't convince her to join us."

"You can't save _everyone_, Clark." Alison sweetly admonished.

"Maybe not." Clark said. "But that doesn't mean I'm giving up, anytime soon."

Alison giggled. "I suppose that's part of what makes you the man that I love." she teased. Her smile grew. "I used more of my new powers, today; super-speed and strength – I _really_ knocked Siryn for a loop, before I got tired!"

"_That's_ my girl! I'm so _proud_ of you!" Clark laughed. "Now, what did I tell you? You'll have the hang of your powers in _no_ time!"

Alison giggled. "So I'll be able to help you in your crime-fighting?"

Clark chuckled. "Not _quite_ yet, Ali; you're getting there, though." he said.

"Okay." Alison replied. Then, she looked down at her lover's arms wrapped around her. "So, what do you want to do _now?_" she cooed.

Clark chuckled. "I think you _know_, already, Ali." he said. And with that, he released her, as his hands moved to her back, tenderly undoing the strap of her bra, letting it fall away from her, as Clark wrapped her in his embrace again, his hands lovingly cupping her bare breasts, giving a gentle squeeze, as he pulled her even closer to him, lovingly kissing the side of her throat.

Alison softly moaned, as pure bliss saturated every single one of her senses, until she didn't think she could _take_ any more; when her lover paused in his sweet ministrations, Alison turned in his embrace and _pounced_ on him, kissing him with every ounce of passion in her ecstatic heart. When her loving fervor ebbed, she stopped, gazing into his eyes. "I love you, _tausha_." she whispered.

"I love you, too, _taushi_." Clark replied. "And no crazy Aunt or jealous witch is going to change that." Alison smiled happily at that, before she leaned into Clark for another kiss...

Clark suddenly froze, and Alison sighed to herself. '_Figures._'

"Don't worry, Ali; it's just a cat stuck in a tree – it won't take long."

Alison giggled; even though it occasionally interrupted their 'alone time,' she couldn't help but love her Clarkie's Good-Samaritan routine. "I'll be waiting." she cooed flirtatiously. "You'd better make it up to me."

Clark grinned, and gave her a kiss that promised to do just that and _then_ some, before he darted off, to save the day once more.

Alone again, Alison put on her blue bathrobe, as she absently took out the sketches she'd done to design her uniform. She still liked it, but now that her powers were growing, she felt like she was starting to...become_ more..._

Slowly, an idea started to form, as she took out a pencil, smiling to herself, and started to sketch.

As morning came to the Boarding House, Wanda walked outside, her few meager things – and some supplies – in a duffel bag. She looked around, as she started to leave...

"You're leaving?"

Turning, Wanda saw Toad, in his street clothes, standing in the doorway. "Yeah." she answered.

"Kinda figured that you would." Toad said. "Which is why I wanted to give you this." He held out a small object wrapped in red cloth.

Wanda took it, mildly confused. "What..?"

"Pietro's birthday was a while ago, so I know it's kinda late, since you're twins and all..." Toad said sheepishly, "...I...did the best I could, with the short notice, and all, so...Happy Birthday, Wanda!"

Slowly, Wanda opened the package...revealing a simple cloth doll, with black stitched eyes and a stitched smile, with black wool hair, wearing a red stitched coat – like _hers_ – and a beautifully stitched red pointed hat on her head. "Toad..." Wanda murmured.

"My Granny used to be in the theater, an' she taught me how to make puppets and stuff...until my folks tossed me out." Toad – no, _Todd_ – said. "I figured that the nights alone in..._that_ place had to be kinda scary; now, you won't be alone, any more!" He paused, fearful that he'd said something stupid. "Look, if you don't like it..."

"_No!!_" Wanda cried, clutching the little doll close to her. Slowly, she smiled...which she hadn't done in _years_. "I...I _love_ it, Todd." she added. "_Thank you._"

Todd smiled back. "No problem, Snookums."

Wanda groaned. "Oh, _God..._"

"Sorry." Todd said. "So...don't be a stranger, okay?"

Wanda lightly smiled. "Okay." she whispered. And with that, she walked away.

As she walked, Wanda tucked the little doll into an inside pocket of her coat. Todd might have been a goofy little wart...but he was a really sweet guy, she had to admit, and he had a good heart...

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Wanda looked up in surprise, seeing an elderly lady, clad in a long, simple dark robe, sitting on a bench to the side of her. She had long, mist-grey hair, tied in a conservative bun, and eyes so dark, they seemed to be spaces between _stars_. "Who are you?" Wanda asked.

The old lady smiled pleasantly. "My name, dear child, is Agatha Harkness." she answered. "Charles Xavier is an old acquaintance of mine, and he told me you were passing through."

Wanda frowned. "If you're trying to convince me to go to the Institute, I'm sorry, but you've wasted your time; I can't go there."

"I know." Agatha said, standing up. "I understand the journey you must take; I simply want to be your guide, to help you control your powers as you go."

Wanda arched an eyebrow. "Siryn said pretty much the same thing."

"And perhaps she was sincere." Agatha chuckled. "But, honestly, child, what kind of tutor would you prefer; one with a few years experience...or one with a few _centuries'_ experience?"

Wanda's eyes widened in amazement. "You're..?"

"Retired." Agatha said. "After a career as...lengthy as mine, teaching should be a welcome change." Then, she sat back down on the bench. "It's up to you, though."

Wanda smiled. "I'm up for it."

"Good." Agatha said, standing back up. "Now we'd best get under way, Wanda."

Wanda then thought of the little doll Todd had given her...and of her powers...and she smiled. "Call me...the Scarlet Witch." she replied.

Agatha smiled. "A fine choice." she said. "Lead on, Scarlet Witch." With that, Wanda continued on her way, with her new teacher following her.

_Author's Note: Wow. That took longer than I had expected. I hope you all enjoy it!_

_On a side note, I tried putting in dividers, to separate the scenes, but for some reason, they vanish during the upload, even when I edit them in on this site. For those who have inquired about this issue...sorry._

_Coming Soon:_

_A blast from Krypton's past compels our heroes to make a little trip._

_But between the metal visitor and the locals, the Man of Steel and the X-Men will have their hands full…as 'inhumanity' takes on a whole new meaning…_

_Be there when it happens in "Space Case," coming to your computer soon…_


	25. Space Case

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: SPACE CASE

_Deep Space, April 19, 2008_

The vast blackness of space was deathly silent, as always, save only for the constant radar-pulses of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Deep-Space Probe as it floated near the Red Planet. The Probe had been designed to detect incoming space-debris, comets, and meteors, but, so far, there had been none to detect...

Suddenly, an object moving at speeds _hundreds_ of times the speed of light _whooshed_ past the Probe, searing further into the system, almost scrambling the Probe's sensors, as it tried to send an alert to the Moon-Base...

The Trans-Warp Pod came out of Trans-Warp a few hundred thousand kilometers from Earth, letting inertia take it in, as the on-board intelligence roused from its self-diagnostic, the full systems test that its creator – fearing a defect – had ordered it to carry out. It took manual control of the Warp Pod, piloting it towards the system's third planet.

Suddenly, a free-floating piece of space debris struck the Pod, sending it off-course towards the planet's natural satellite. A purely logical, artificial intelligence could have possibly maneuvered back on course.

But the A.I. in control of the Pod was not purely logical; its emotional software – developed by chance from the nano-bots that composed its structure – was short-circuiting.

It was _panicking_.

The Warp-Pod crashed into the lunar surface, skidding along the craggy ground until it stopped. Slowly, a silver fluid seeped out of the Pod...before it began to coagulate, condensing into a humanoid shape. Once it had re-formed, the AI began to look around.

_Mark V online. Reviewing primary directives:_

_Achieve landing on Class -One Planet designated Earth: failure._

_Locate and observe lifeform designated Kal-El: failure._

_Commence analysis of Earth technology: failure._

_Broadcast completed analysis for interception by Mark VI: failure._

The little nano-assembled android's yellow eyes drooped as its emotion-software processed this data as _sadness_. There was only one thing left to do.

_Final Directive: initiate shut-down of all systems..._

Suddenly, the droid's sensors picked something up.

_Alert: unknown energy signature detected._

_Revising directives: commence investigation of unknown energy source._

With this new mission, the little android started to walk across the lunar surface, guided by the emotion known as _curiosity_.

_Xavier Institute_

The afternoon sun was high in the sky as Clark sat at his laptop in his room, typing away at his final assignment, his hands zooming over the keys.

After a few minutes of typing, Clark paused, to let the computer catch up with him. His second year of university was coming to an end, as was his internship at the Daily Bugle – he only had a few weeks left.

His friends were also out on spring break; after the past few weeks, they deserved a week off, Clark thought with a smile.

Clark's smile grew as he recalled that last week had been Ali's 18th birthday; he had given her a silver bracelet with the crest of the House of Lir engraved in its band.

He had also given Alison her very first flying lesson, that day; her flying ability had started to emerge, and Clark had started to teach her to fly – a task that he _loved_, he freely admitted; he loved sharing the undeniable joy of flight with the woman he loved more than life itself. And she was really making progress...although, on occasion, Clark had to catch her before she bumped into a wall...like _he_ had done in the past, as a child, while learning to control his flight at home, in Smallville.

Suddenly, from where he was sitting on Clark's bed, Krypto perked up, and Clark smiled as his hearing picked up the incoming sound...seconds before his lovely _taushi_ zipped into his room – using her newly-developed super-speed – coming to a perfect stop in his lap, her arms looped around his neck. "Hi, baby." she cooed.

Clark smiled back. "Hi." he replied.

"Can we go flying?"

Clark chuckled; ever since she had become capable of flight, Alison practically wanted to fly every other minute. "Didn't I give you a lesson, just this morning?"

"Well...yeah." Alison said. "But I wanted to practice, some more!" Her expression became a pleading pout. "_Please?_"

Clark laughed. "How old are you – five?" he teased. His tone became serious. "Ali, I _really_ need to finish this paper."

Alison's expression became apologetic. "Sorry." she whispered. With that, she slid out of his lap, and stood behind him, watching as he typed. "Is that your report of your year at the Bugle?"

"Yep." Clark replied.

Alison nodded. "So," she asked with a smile, "what's next for my mild-mannered reporter-in-training?"

Chuckling, Clark replied, "Well, the third and final year of my program consists of more advanced course-work, and throughout the year, we're expected to write a lengthy paper on a current-events subject, and we're to present it at the end."

"Okay." Alison said. "So, what do you think you'll write yours on?"

"I'm not sure, yet." Clark said. "I think I might..."

But he was cut off as his belt-computer started beeping. Quickly, Clark got up, and took it out from under his regular clothes, snapping it open. His eyes went wide in astonishment at what he saw on its screen. "What's wrong?" Alison asked.

"The Fortress' scanners have detected a Trans-Warp event in this system." Clark said.

Alison's eyes went wide. "_Another_ one?"

Clark nodded. "_This_ time, whatever it was landed on the _moon_." he said. "I'd better go check it out..."

Suddenly, another sound filled his senses; Alison and Krypto both followed his gaze beyond the Institute walls, having heard the sound, as well. Clark used his X-Ray vision to look through the walls to the source of the sound...and frowned worriedly. "Or maybe _not_." he added, as he headed out of his room, followed by Alison and Krypto.

As Clark walked into with main hall with Ali and Krypto, Scott, Professor Xavier, and Logan were there, as well. "Professor?" Alison asked. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure." the Professor admitted. "I had only recently received a message from General Fury..."

Logan snorted. "Wonder what old Iron-Pants wants _now_." he muttered.

"Well, I guess we'd better go ask him." Clark said, gesturing to the back yard. With that, they headed into the back yard.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. gunship was just touching down in the yard as the six of them stepped outside. A minute later, General Fury stepped out of the ship, walking over to them. "Professor." Fury greeted. "I'm sorry to come on such short notice, but this is something that couldn't wait."

The Professor looked worried. "I must say, General, for you to come so suddenly, it must be of grave importance."

"Oh, it _is_." Fury said. "Gather your team together, Xavier; they're going to need to see this."

The Professor nodded. "Scott, get the rest of the X-Men and assemble in the meeting room." he instructed. Scott nodded, and hurried back into the Institute, while the rest of them headed in, towards the meeting room.

Within minutes, the entire X-Men team, including Ororo and Logan, had gathered in the underground meeting room, where General Fury stood at the front of the room, Professor Xavier standing a few feet to his right. "What I am about to show you is classified top secret." Fury said. "Under _no_ circumstances are you – _any_ of you – to discuss what you are about to see with _anyone_ outside these walls." His eyes narrowed. "Understood?"

"We understand, General." Scott replied.

Apparently satisfied with that, Fury inserted a CD into the nearby computer terminal, warming up the projector screen. "A short while ago, one of our deep-space probes detected an object heading towards Earth." he said. The screen promptly showed an image of space...before a blur darted by.

"We had to slow the data-stream down to less than a frame a second just to _see_ it." the General continued. The screen then showed the same image...before a fair-sized pod darted by.

Clark nodded to himself. "Trans-Warp."

Fury turned to him, an eyebrow arched. "Come again?"

"Trans-Warp; it was a technology that my father developed _just_ before Krypton was lost." Clark explained. "Essentially, Trans-Warp technology enables a vessel to move hundreds of times faster than light without all of the temporal consequences of traveling faster than light. Krypton was the only world that I knew of with Trans-Warp capability...but that's not to say that other space-faring civilizations couldn't have it."

General Fury's eyes narrowed suspiciously, before he continued. "Well, whatever this thing was, it quickly dropped back to regular speeds, before it started heading for Earth," he said, "and then it hit a bit of space-debris, and crash-landed on the moon, just out of reach of our lunar outpost...but not of our surveillance. We were able to catch one shot of our joy-rider."

The screen now showed a picture of the lunar surface; the pod had crashed into the moon, and a silver, metallic-looking fluid flowed out of the pod...before taking shape.

Clark's eyes widened in sheer astonishment...and then narrowed in sheer _fury_.

The fluid had condensed into a slim humanoid-shape, barely the same height as Kitty, with wide golden-yellow eyes, its face completely blank, with no mouth, nose, or facial features...

...and upon its forehead was a sigil consisting of three circles, connected in a triangular, V-shaped pattern.

Clark's fury grew to levels he hadn't thought himself _capable_ of, as his eyes started to glow _red_ from his barely-contained _rage_.

"_Whoa!_" Evan cried. "What's the matter, big guy?"

"Kal, take it easy!" Jean exclaimed.

Alison was instantly by his side. "Baby, what's the matter?" she asked.

Fury noticed his reaction. "You know what that is, don't you?"

Clark managed to calm enough for his eyes to stop glowing, as he growled out the answer like a swearword.

"_**Brainiac.**_"

"'Brainiac'??" Scott repeated...and his eyes widened. "As in, _that_ Brainiac? That robot who..?"

"..._who betrayed Krypton._" Clark answered. He glared at the screen. "He's still alive."

"How is zhat _possible?_" Kurt asked. "Zat robot should have been blown up vith Krypton!"

"Brainiac _isn't_ a robot." Clark said. "He's a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence...who had complete access to Krypton's computer network. It would have been _child's play_ for him to upload his core subroutines to a Kryptonian satellite, and then execute a series of wireless transfers until he'd uploaded himself into a satellite on the farthest edges of the Xerius Galaxy, where the blast would have been weakest...in a matter of _nanoseconds_."

"And now he's _here_." Fury finished. "What could he want?"

"I don't know." Clark admitted. "But if he's _anything_ like he was back then, it's _nothing_ good."

"I see." Fury said. "In that case, the reason I came here was to ask all of you if you would be able to take this 'Brainiac' thing out before it does what it's here to do."

Logan arched an eyebrow. "What do you need _us_ for, Fury? Ain't that kind of job what you have Steve and _his_ team for?"

"Normally, yes." Fury said. "But this is part of why this goes _no_ further: I have reason to believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. has a spy...one who would just _love_ to get his hands on that kind of technology. That's why almost _no-one_ knows about that object's landing on the moon. Not only that, but the part of the moon that this ship landed in...S.H.I.E.L.D. has no jurisdiction, there."

"Why not?" Kitty asked.

Fury's eyes narrowed. "That's _classified_." he said sternly. "All I'm asking is for you all to get up there, grab that ship, take out this 'Brainiac,' and get out before anyone spots you."

Remy arched an eyebrow. "'Get out 'fore anyone spots us'?" he repeated. "Remy can' say 'e like de sound o' dat."

"You're making it sound like you guys aren't the _only_ ones up there." Lance said. He paused. "You..._are_, right?"

"That's..."

"...classified." Scott finished. "We get it, General."

Fury arched an eyebrow. "Well?"

"I'll go." Clark said. "Brainiac betrayed my world to its death." His eyes narrowed. "I intend to make him _answer_ for it."

Alison looked worried. "_Not_ alone." she said. "I'm coming, too."

"And so are we." Scott added.

Jean nodded in agreement. "No _way_ are we letting you do this, alone."

"Good." the General said. "If you'll come with me, we'll get you to the next ship heading to the moon..."

"No need." Clark said. "We can use _my_ ship, the _Argo._"

The Professor blinked. "It's ready?"

"Ready _enough_." Clark said. "I'm still working on installing the Trans-Warp Drive, but the rest of the upgrades and repairs are complete; she's space-worthy."

General Fury's eyes narrowed. "When exactly were you going to let on that you had a _working_ spaceship?"

Alison frowned. "No offence, General, but right now, you're not exactly the poster-child for being forthcoming."

Fury frowned at the shot...and then chuckled. "Point taken." he replied. "In that case, I'll be heading to the lunar outpost within a few hours. I'll transmit the co-ordinates where the ship crashed; that should give you a good place to start looking. Good luck." With that, he headed out.

"I'll head to the Fortress and get the _Argo_ ready." Clark said. "I'll also pick up a few things that we can use on the moon."

Scott nodded. "We'll wait for you, here." he replied.

"Okay." Clark said. "Ali? I'll need you to come, too." With that, Clark headed out of the meeting room, followed by a still-worried Alison.

Within minutes, Clark and Alison had donned their uniforms, and were both flying north, towards the Fortress; Superman was flying at a relatively slower pace, as Dazzler couldn't quite keep pace with him, and her flight was still a bit wobbly. She hadn't _quite_ mastered flight, yet.

As they flew, Superman remained quiet, deep in thought. Brainiac's appearance had him worried...and _royally_ ticked.

"_Tausha?_" Dazzler asked. "Are you okay?"

"I _will_ be, _taushi_." Superman replied.

Dazzler looked stricken. "You're upset about Brainiac." she stated.

"After what he did...he's _still alive_..." Superman muttered, his fists clenching ahead of him as he flew.

"Baby, I _get_ that you're angry, and you have every _right_ to be." Dazzler said. "I just don't want you to close yourself off because of it; we're _all_ here to help you, in this."

Superman looked back to Dazzler; her pleading gaze said what was on her mind: '_Please don't shut me out..._'

Superman smiled faintly, before he slowed to her pace, and took her hand in his. "I know, _taushi_." he said. "I know."

Dazzler smiled. "Okay." she cooed. With that, they continued on, towards the Fortress.

Within a few minutes, they had arrived at the Fortress, and Superman promptly deciphered the complex lock on its main door, and they both headed inside the mighty crystalline stronghold. Once inside, Superman headed into the vast main hall, where the central teleporter was, and Alison followed. "So, where's the _Argo?_" she asked.

"It's in the main vehicle bay." Superman said. "I just need to pick up a few things we'll need." Then, he said aloud, "Fortress: initiate Emergency Protocol, password: _Kir'ton Rakar Lyr'ek._"

At his command, keyed to his voice alone, a large, crystal pedestal rose up next to Superman, before it expanded, revealing a black, metallic cylinder, with several Kryptonian characters engraved in it...the characters that made up the code he needed to input. Superman's eyes flashed electric-blue, as he used his X-Ray vision to perceive the invisible holographic interface surrounding the cylinder, circling it randomly. He reached out, and touched the interface, slowly lining up the individual segments until they matched the code on the cylinder, before he tapped each character in quick succession.

Instantly, the cylinder expanded, revealing a single crystal inside...except _this_ crystal was _black_. Superman promptly took it, and walked over to the teleporter pad. As he stood on the teleporter, another crystal pedestal rose up next to him, with a slot in the center, surrounded by another holographic interface.

"Clark?" Dazzler asked, as she walked over. "What's going on? What was that phrase you used?"

"It's Kryptonian." Superman replied, as he inserted the crystal into the slot, before tapping the interface, locking the crystal in place. "It means, '_When All Else Fails_'." With that, he turned the crystal to the left, aligning it with the first character of the code, tapping it, and then doing the same until all the characters of the code had been matched, before tapping the interface to unlock the crystal, and then removing it.

"_Emergency Protocol initiated. Locked systems now unlocked._"

Superman closed his eyes. "I had never thought I would need this." he said. Then, aloud, he said, "Fortress: Armory." Instantly, a bright column of light engulfed them both, taking them away.

The teleporter deposited Superman and Dazzler deep in the lower levels of the Fortress...levels normally inaccessible, even to Superman, unless the Emergency Protocol was initiated; this level was filled with transparent crystalline pillars. "Where _are_ we?" Dazzler asked.

"The Fortress' Armory." Superman replied. "It contains almost every weapon designed for and used by the Kryptonian Defense Force. Jor-El designed it in the event that I would be in danger and had to defend myself...but I think Brainiac showing up is close enough."

"_Whoa..._" Dazzler murmured, looking around. Chuckling, she added, "Well, you're right about _that_; now's as good a time as any to break out the big guns!"

Superman lightly smiled, before he walked to one pillar. He simply touched its side; instantly, the transparent crystal glowed blue, and retracted, revealing numerous small crystalline spheres, small enough to fit in his hand, with several spikes dotting their surface. Superman took two of the spheres, and then tapped the pillar again, closing it, before he walked back to Dazzler. "Here, Ali." he said, as he lightly pressed on one of the spheres, causing it to expand into a fairly large ring-shape – large enough to fit around her belt buckle. He then placed it on her belt buckle, where it seamlessly closed around her buckle.

Dazzler blinked in confusion. "What is it?"

"I'll tell you when the time is right, Ali; just trust me on this." Superman replied, as he expanded the other sphere and fitted it to his own belt.

Dazzler smiled. "Okay." she cooed.

Superman smiled back, before he and his _taushi_ walked back onto the teleporter. "Fortress," he instructed, "teleport Alison directly to the _Argo_, and teleport me to my workshop. Once teleportation is complete, disengage Emergency Protocol." Instantly, the light engulfed them both, teleporting them out of the Armory.

Superman arrived in his workshop as expected, as the Armory automatically locked itself down, once more. After replacing the black crystal in its cylinder, Superman quickly moved to his work-bench; he'd once realized that, in the future, he and the X-Men might have to go on deep-space missions, especially now that he had the _Argo_...so he'd been tinkering with an atmospheric field-generator, which would eliminate the need for bulky space-suits.

After a few minor adjustments, and several tests, Superman smiled as he held the green-and-black disc-shaped object – the generator – in his hands, before he clipped it to his belt. His preparations complete, he made his way to the vehicle hangar.

The hangar was large, and mostly empty, since only two ships were inside it: the _Krypton_, the smaller ship that had carried him, as a child, to Earth, and the mostly-repaired _Argo_. Superman walked up to the _Argo_, and tapped his belt-computer; instantly, the ship's teleporter activated, 'porting him inside.

Inside the _Argo_'s cockpit, Dazzler was waiting for him in the chair next to the pilot's seat. She smiled at him. "What took you?"

Superman smiled. "Oh, just last-minute preparations." he replied. "Which reminds me," he promptly tapped the generator, causing it to release a small black-green chip, "put this on your belt, Ali."

Dazzler blinked. "Okay." she said, as she took it, and clipped it to her belt. "Can you tell me what _this_ is for?" she sweetly teased.

"Atmospheric field-generator. It will enable you to breathe safely on the moon without a space-suit." Superman replied.

"Cool!"

Superman grinned. "Ali," he quipped, "you haven't seen _anything_, yet." With that, he placed his hands on the control console, powering up the _Argo_, before he piloted it out of the Fortress, heading towards the Institute.

Shortly after Superman and Dazzler had left for the Fortress, the rest of the X-Men, as well as Krypto, had promptly suited up, as well as donned headset-communicators, and were waiting for their comrades in the back yard. "So..." Avalanche said, "...we're actually going to the _moon_."

"Yeah." Cyclops agreed.

"I've...never _seen_ Clark that _mad_..." Shadowcat murmured softly.

"That Brainiac thing betrayed CK's whole _race_, K-Girl." Spyke said. "That's not the kind of thing anybody just forgets."

"_Merde_, Gambit sure 'ate t' be dat Brainiac when de big guy catch up t' 'im." Gambit said.

"Ah'll say." Rogue agreed. "He'll probably rip that back-stabbin' 'bot in _two_."

Jean lightly smiled. "I guess those zero-g training sessions _will_ come in handy, after all." she said.

Cyclops grinned. "What did I tell you?" he quipped.

Just then, they all heard a distant whirring noise, which gradually grew louder...as the _Argo_, Superman's ship, descended from the clouds, to hover in front of them. Seconds later, a bright blue beam of light shone from the _Argo_, as Superman and Dazzler teleported outside. "Whoa..." Spyke murmured, "..._that's_ your ship, CK?"

"Nice job on the repairs." Cyclops said.

"Thanks." Superman replied, as he held out a handful of small, green-black chips. "These are atmospheric field-generators; they'll enable you to breathe safely on the moon without a space-suit. I'll be operating them remotely, so all you guys need to do is clip one to your belts."

Promptly, each of the X-Men took one, clipping them to their belts, while Superman clipped one to Krypto's collar. "I guess we should get going." Jean said.

Nightcrawler grinned as he looked to the _Argo_. "Are you _sure_ you don't vant someone..._else_ to drive?" he asked hopefully.

Rogue chuckled. "No offence, Bro, but Ah think we kinda want ta arrive in _one_ piece."

"_Hey!_"

"Let's go." Cyclops said. "We shouldn't wait any longer than we have."

Superman nodded. "The longer we wait, the more of a head start Brainiac gets." he agreed. With that, he tapped his belt-computer, and the teleporter beam transported them all inside the _Argo_. Once inside, the X-Men took their seats as Superman sat in the pilot's chair; as they sat down, the chairs automatically vacuum-sealed them in place, securing them. "Hold on." Superman said with a smile. "She's a little peppy." With that, he powered up the engine, and piloted the ship upwards.

The _Argo_ shot upwards with considerable thrust; had they not been secured, they would have been pushed back into their seats, for sure. "Now I'm _glad_ I'm not driving!" Nightcrawler exclaimed, earning a chuckle from all as the _Argo_ broke through the clouds, heading up into space.

_Undisclosed location_

In the Friends of Humanity's secret base, Graydon Creed strode into the comm-center, after receiving the report he'd just read. "Are you _certain_ of this, Doctor?"

Dr. Bolivar Trask turned to him and nodded. Trask was in his mid thirties, with short black hair, cold green eyes, and a thin black moustache, clad in the black pants and jacket that comprised the S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. He was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top geneticists and cyberneticists...making him the perfect inside man for what they were planning.

"I'm _quite_ sure, sir." Trask replied. "General Fury's keeping this quiet, but I managed to find out about it: something has _definitely_ landed on the moon, deep in the sector controlled by those..._other_ freaks."

Graydon scowled. "First that winged space-freak, and now _this_." he muttered. "Earth already _has_ enough 'naturally-occurring' freaks; we _don't_ need any more coming from _space!_"

Trask nodded in agreement...and then looked thoughtful. "Whatever it was, sir, it was being propelled at speeds _infinitely_ faster than light – something that physics states is impossible. I'd _love_ to take a look at whatever technology it was using; would it be possible to notify our people on the moon to grab whatever it was while they're acquiring the mutagenic elements?"

"No." Creed said firmly. "There's too much distance between the landing site and the storage facility that the moon-freaks use in their 'rituals'. Acquiring those mutagens is the priority here; we know next-to-nothing about these moon-freaks. Getting rid of all mutant scum on the Earth is just the _first_ step; _next_ in our mission is reclaiming _our_ moon, and the only way we can gain an advantage is by learning more about what they use to gain their powers." He thought for a moment. "But that kind of tech _is_ a valuable commodity; wait until S.H.I.E.L.D. secures it, and then ask to study it."

"Of course, sir." Trask agreed. "I'll notify our people, immediately." With that, he turned, and headed out.

Graydon was left alone with his thoughts. '_These freaks are infesting our entire solar system...and it's up to us to __**exterminate**__ them._'

_Lunar surface_

At the _Argo_'s impressive speeds, it took only minutes for them to reach the moon. After entering the coordinates of Brainiac's landing-site into the _Argo_'s computer, the navigational systems automatically plotted a course to the site. Before long, the site came into view. "There it is." Superman said.

"Guess he couldn't spring for First Class." Spyke quipped.

"Any sign of him?" Dazzler asked.

"_Argo_: initiate surface-scan of immediate area." Superman instructed. "Identify any and all thermal signatures."

Instantly, the _Argo_'s HUD displayed a topographical map of the area where the pod had crashed; there were no heat-signatures anywhere near the crashed pod. "Looks like we'll have to track him on foot." Cyclops said.

"_Argo_: take us in closer to the crash-site." Superman instructed. "There, teleport us down, and then 'port that pod into the cargo-bay." At once, the ship flew in closer to the crash site, hovering over it. Getting up from the controls, Superman promptly activated his friends' atmospheric-generators, before tapping his belt-computer, activating his nano-suit, before the _Argo_ teleported them all out onto the lunar surface.

The surface of the moon was completely barren, and mostly flat, with the occasional crater disrupting the regular flatness; ever-curious, Krypto promptly began to sniff the ground, before grunting in confusion as his nose picked up no scents whatsoever. "Wow..." Shadowcat said over her headset, "...we're actually on the surface of the _moon_..."

"This would be _seriously_ cool if we weren't hunting for a murderous robot." Avalanche added.

By then, the _Argo_ had 'ported the wrecked pod into its cargo hold. "_Argo_: commence analysis of vessel." Superman instructed.

"_Analyzing...analysis complete. Vessel is a one-man rudimentary vehicle; it contains only a propulsion system and navigational system._"

"Makes sense." Jean observed. "Since Brainiac's a robot, he doesn't need life-support."

"_Analysis of Trans-Warp systems indicates 50 percent similarity to Kryptonian technology._"

"Sounds like Monsieur Robot lifted a ship from someone." Gambit said.

Superman nodded. "Probably from a race on the verge of Trans-Warp, themselves; he basically filled in the gaps in their design." he agreed. "And they probably didn't give up their ship willingly."

"_God_," Dazzler said, "what kind of monster _is_ he?"

Superman nodded, sharing her sentiment completely. "_Argo_," he instructed, "initiate cloaking field, and stand by for further instructions." At once, the _Argo_ raised its cloaking field, completely vanishing from sight.

"Not bad." Rogue said, as she watched the _Argo_ cloak itself.

"Guys! Over here!" Nightcrawler called. At once, everyone hurried to their friend's side, where he pointed to what he had seen.

Footprints. Not human ones; these prints had no boot-treads, but were almost oval-shaped...and were heading off to the west, across a vast lunar plain.

"This is his trail." Superman said. "He couldn't have gotten too far; we should be able to catch him."

"Everyone stay on guard." Cyclops instructed. "Let's move." With that, they headed west, in the direction of the prints.

After several minutes of walking, the prints came to an abrupt stop. "Okay..." Shadowcat said, "...where's Brainiac?"

"Somet'ing ain' right, 'ere." Gambit said.

Superman's eyes narrowed as he looked at the end of the trail; his eyes flashed electric-blue as he used his X-Ray vision. "There's a cavern below here." he said. "And it looks _big_..."

Suddenly, he stopped. "_Sshh!_" he hushed everyone. "Vibrations...in the ground..."

"Hey, don't look at _me!_" Avalanche whispered.

"No...too regular..." Superman whispered.

Krypto began to growl. "_I_ feel them, too, now!" Dazzler whispered.

Suddenly, about a dozen humanoids, clad in silver space-suits and armed with high-tech-looking lances, popped up out of the ground, surrounding them. "_HOLY..!!_" Avalanche cried. "_Moon-men!!_"

"Foul Earthers!!" one space-soldier snarled over his radio. "You have been warned countless times not to trespass on our territory!"

"Hold on," Cyclops said calmly, "we're not looking for trouble..."

The soldiers didn't listen. "_FOR ATTILAN!!_" their leader yelled, and the soldiers attacked.

Cyclops fired an optic-blast, knocking one soldier back...who quickly got back up again. Jean then levitated the soldier, as Cyclops slammed him with a larger blast, knocking him down _harder_. As two soldiers closed on them, Krypto, snarling in feral rage, pounced at them, biting one's arm, before leaping off to bite the other's leg, leaving punctures in their suits. The soldiers instantly backed off, patching their suits using a kit they kept on their belts.

As two soldiers came at her, Shadowcat phased herself into the ground, before pulling their feet into the earth. They didn't stay that way, as Avalanche generated a mini-quake, popping the two of them into the air, before Nightcrawler 'ported in, grabbing their ankles, and slamming them into the ground.

After giving Gambit a quick tap to copy his powers, Rogue touched the ground, charging it, and causing it to explode, throwing up moon-dust, creating a smoke-screen to blind the three moon-men closing on them. As the armed soldiers tried to see through the dust, three glowing playing-cards floated towards them through the empty atmosphere. The soldiers looked at them in confusion...before they blew up, sending them flying, to clothesline themselves on Spyke's bone-staff. One was knocked out, but the other two were still standing, albeit a bit shaky. Spyke ducked under the swing of one moon-man, and slammed him with a high-sweep with his staff. He then rolled towards the other, and did a foot-sweep, knocking him down, where Spyke slammed him with a punch, knocking him out.

Moving at super-speed, Superman easily grabbed one soldier, and then another, before slamming them into each other, knocking them out. Turning, he saw Dazzler send one flying with a punch. Suddenly, he saw a second dart behind Dazzler, and catch her in a choke-hold with his lance; Dazzler struggled for a moment...and then smiled, before she generated a hard-light force-field behind her, and forced the soldier away from her, sending him flying. Superman smiled at her, and she smiled back, with one eyebrow arched, as if to say, '_What?_'

As the X-Men regrouped, the moon-men recovered in record time, before starting to close on them, again...

"_Hold!!_"

The moon-soldiers immediately stopped at that command, as another space-suit-clad individual – a female, with a slender, elegant frame – walked up to them. "_Fools!_" she reprimanded, as she pointed to Superman. "Do you not know what this man _is?_" She turned to Superman. "Please, forgive our sentries, man of Krypton."

_That_ statement caught Superman completely by surprise. "How...how do you know what I am?" he asked. "Who are you?"

"I will explain everything, shortly." the woman said. "Please, all of you, follow me." With that, she tapped a button on her belt; instantly, the ground nearby just _opened_, revealing an elevator that led down into the depths of the moon. The woman and the soldiers promptly got on the elevator, and Superman, the X-Men, and Krypto all followed, as the elevator began to descend at incredible speeds, the ground closing behind them. After a few minutes, the elevator slowed, nearing the bottom of the shaft, before stopping, to dock with a clear-walled tunnel, leading further into the rock. As the elevator stopped, they all stepped off, and entered a chamber that led into the tunnel; an airlock. Once the doors behind them had closed, air rushed into the chamber, until it was safe to breathe again.

The woman then tapped her belt, causing her helmet to retract, revealing her face; she seemed to be around 16, with long, light-red hair, and green eyes. She lightly smiled, putting them partially at ease. "Welcome to our home." she said.

"Where exactly are we?" Jean inquired. "Who are you?"

"Perhaps it would be best if we showed you." the woman said. "But, as for myself, I am Crystallia Amaquelin Boltagon."

"Vhoa, _zhere's_ a mouthful!" Nightcrawler exclaimed.

"No offence, ma'am, but...any chance you got something easier to say?" Spyke asked.

Chuckling, the woman – Crystallia – said, "My friends simply call me Crystal. If you wish, you may do so, as well."

After retracting his nano-suit, Superman replied, "In that case, my name is Kal-El, and these are my friends, the X-Men." Chuckling, he knelt down to scratch Krypto's ears. "And this is Krypto." Krypto barked in agreement. Turning back to Crystal, he added, "But...how did you know I was Kryptonian?"

"I recognized your crest." Crystal said. "My people have had some knowledge of the people of Krypton for quite some time." She gestured to the tunnel. "Please, come with me; I will explain everything, shortly." With that, she – escorted by the soldiers – headed further into the tunnel, and Superman, the X-Men, and Krypto followed.

After a few minutes of walking, the tunnel came into a vast, underground cavern...where a massive, beautiful, high-tech-looking domed city lay. "Wow..." Dazzler murmured.

Crystal smiled. "This is Attilan, our home." she said, as she led them through the tunnel, and into the large dome that housed Attilan. She led them onto a transportation pad, which took off at high speeds, towards one of the large, gleaming building-spires that composed Attilan. The transport stopped in front of the building, and Crystal led them inside, into a spacious chamber; clearly, it was a reception area. "This is the Council Building, where the Council of Attilan presides over all of our people." Crystal explained. "My sister and her husband will certainly want to meet with you before convening the Council; they will certainly answer any questions you have. They should be here shortly."

Over the next few minutes, more detailed introductions were made, before the door opened, and two individuals – a man and a woman – walked in. The woman, seemingly in her mid twenties, was tall, and elegantly built, with long, red hair, reaching down to mid-thigh, and green eyes, clad in a violet bodysuit, underneath a long, slim, light blue semi-transparent gown-like garment. Her facial features were somewhat similar to Crystal's – clearly, she was Crystal's elder sister. The man, in his late twenties or early thirties, was tall, and stately-built, clad in a full black bodysuit, with white lightning-bolt patterns on the chest, and a black cowl, with white lenses concealing his eyes, and a small two-pronged white crest upon the forehead of his cowl. Then, from behind them, a large, canine-like creature walked in. Instantly, Krypto started to growl, and the creature started growling back.

The woman looked stricken. "Lockjaw, stop!"

"Krypto, _heel!_" Superman declared. At both commands, Krypto and the creature – Lockjaw – stopped growling. "Sorry about that." Superman said.

"It is alright." the woman said. "No harm done."

"Sister," Crystal said, "these are the X-Men; they are mutants – humans who possess abilities that most do not."

The man arched an eyebrow quizzically, while Crystal's sister nodded. "Amazing..." she murmured. She then looked to Superman, and her eyes widened in surprise; her husband's eyes also widened, but only momentarily, as he quickly regained his calm composure. "Are...are you..?" the woman asked.

"I am Kal-El, of Krypton." Superman said.

The man nodded, as did Crystal's sister. "Well met, Kal-El." the woman said. "What little we know of Krypton told us that the House of El contributed greatly to the advancement of science; it is an honor to meet you." Then, she gasped. "Oh, how rude of me! I completely forgot to introduce myself and my husband!" She gestured to herself. "My name is Medusalith Amaquelin Boltagon; my friends simply call me Medusa, just as my sister is called Crystal." She gestured to her husband, smiling. "And this is Blackagar Boltagon, the ruler of Attilan, and leader of our people; similarly, he is known as Black Bolt." The man – Black Bolt – turned to her, briefly returning her smile, before turning back to Superman and the X-Men, lightly nodding.

Superman bowed to the two, as did the X-Men. "The honor is ours, Your Majesties." Superman said. "But, please, tell us, how do you know of Krypton?"

"And, with all due respect," Cyclops added, "who exactly are all of you?"

Medusa looked to Black Bolt, who simply nodded. "Those questions have part of the same answer." Medusa said. "Approximately 1000 years ago, an alien race came to Earth; they were known as the Kree."

Superman's eyes widened. "The _Kree??_" he exclaimed.

Medusa nodded. "I am sure that you need no explanations about them, Kal-El." she said. "The Kree saw, in humanity, the potential for a race of superhuman shock-troops, to use against their mortal enemies, the Skrulls...and, in time, against the people of Krypton." She lowered her gaze. "Over five centuries, the Kree experimented on a group of humans, until those humans – our ancestors – rebelled, and drove their former masters away. It was at the exact same time that a Skrull task force passed through this system, for reasons that we still do not know; all we know is that the Kree and Skrulls fought in space after our ancestors drove them out. The space-battle depleted the Kree's resources considerably, though there was still the threat that they would regroup and attack our ancestors, again...until a stray Kryptonian ship happened onto the battlefield."

"Kon-Lir's Speeder." Superman said.

Medusa nodded. "As great as their hatred was of each other, their hatred of _your_ people, Kal-El, was greater still."she continued. "They ceased their battle to attack the lone ship, and managed to disable it, sending it crashing to Earth...though not before that ship inflicted a great deal of damage to both sides; because of that, the Kree and Skrulls had no choice but to withdraw." Medusa smiled. "Our ancestors then built Attilan from the remnants of the Kree outposts on Earth, and called themselves the Inhumans, to forever remember what our ancestors had endured and survived, and in the records of our former oppressors, we learned of the Kree's enemy...and our inadvertent saviors."

"So _that's_ what happened..." Dazzler murmured.

Crystal nodded. "That legend is well-known by all of our people." she said. "Once, Attilan was located upon the Earth, but we had to relocate it here, recently, as long-term exposure to Earth pollution was hazardous to us."

"But, please, tell us: what brings you here?" Medusa inquired.

Cyclops looked grim. "We're sorry to tell you this, Your Majesty," he said, "but we're afraid that your people are in terrible danger."

Black Bolt's jaw clenched grimly, as Medusa's eyes widened. "From what?" she asked.

Superman's eyes narrowed. "From the betrayer of Krypton." he said. "_Brainiac_."

"Who is this 'Brainiac'?" Crystal asked.

"The Brain Inter-Active Construct." Superman answered. "He is an Artificial Intelligence, initially developed by my father, Jor-El, to aid Krypton's ruling Council of Twelve in most matters. About thirty years ago, my father tried to warn the Council of a growing instability in Krypton's core; he told them that the planet was going to explode. The Council asked Brainiac to verify these findings...and Brainiac said that my father was wrong."

His eyes closed. "But Brainiac _lied_." he continued. "Because of that, Krypton – and all its people – were _destroyed_. The only reason I survived was because Jor-El managed to send me to Earth in an experimental Trans-Warp ship."

Black Bolt's eyes went wide, and Medusa's expression became one of utter horror. "This...this is _terrible_..." she stammered. "I am so sorry..."

"Brainiac is _here_." Superman continued. "He landed on the moon shortly ago, and we tracked him to your elevator."

"Our sensors had detected a small intrusion in the elevator, shortly ago." Crystal said. "Because of its size, and that it quickly vanished, we had dismissed it..."

Black Bolt's jaw set firmly, as he quickly made a series of gestures to Medusa, who nodded in agreement, and then he headed out of the room. Medusa looked mildly stricken. "Please, forgive my husband." she said. "He meant no offence; he merely went to summon the Council – this matter must be addressed quickly."

"No offence taken, Your Majesty." Cyclops replied.

"He's...kinda quiet, isn't he?" Shadowcat murmured.

Medusa smiled wistfully. "My husband is silent out of _necessity_, I am afraid." she said. "You see, all of our people are born with physical prowess above most humans...but, later in life, most undergo the sacred ritual of Terrigenesis."

"'Terrigenesis'?" Jean asked.

"The young Inhuman is exposed to the Terrigen Mists, generated by the sacred Terrigen Crystals." Crystal explained. "The Mists grant special abilities to the Inhuman on exposure; for example, when I was exposed, I gained the ability to manipulate the four classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water."

Medusa nodded. "And I gained the ability to manipulate my hair, much as a third arm." she added; to emphasize her point, Medusa's hair started to lengthen, snaking over to a nearby table, where it twined around a tea-kettle, and poured a cup-ful, before it grasped the cup, and retracted back to Medusa, who took it, and sipped it.

Crystal then knelt to Lockjaw. "Unfortunately, Terrigenesis can produce...unkind results." she said. "Our dear friend Lockjaw, after exposure, gained the ability to teleport himself and anyone else to any location he desires...but he became the being you see, today."

Medusa nodded sadly. "As for my husband, the Mists gave him incredible power in his voice." she said. "With even the tiniest whisper, Black Bolt can unleash the equivalent quasi-sonic force of a thermonuclear detonation. It was with a whisper that he relocated Attilan to the moon, when the pollution of Earth became hazardous to our people." She sighed. "It is for that reason that my husband does not speak; for many years, he was isolated due to the sheer amount of power he wielded. He communicates through a sign language that he developed himself, during his years of isolation, one that only he and I understand – in matters of state, I am his interpreter."

"How exactly do your people survive, up here?" Shadowcat asked.

"We grow crops in the lunar soil within the outskirts of Attilan's dome, nourishing them by means of irrigation and artificial sunlight." Medusa answered. "We managed to take enough fresh water with us for our needs, and we recycle what we have by means of a water recycling system we developed, much like how water is naturally recycled on Earth."

"Artificial rain." Dazzler observed.

Medusa nodded. "And in the event that we are ever in short supply, we trade for what we need through S.H.I.E.L.D. Beyond that, we have a simple agreement with S.H.I.E.L.D.: we leave them alone, and they leave us alone."

"Sounds lahke we just found what Iron Pants said was 'classified'." Rogue said.

"Sounds like it." Superman agreed. Noting Medusa's mildly confused expression, he elaborated, "Brainiac's landing was also detected by General Fury. Due to our relative familiarity with these issues, and the fact that investigating it himself would undoubtedly violate whatever treaty you had with S.H.I.E.L.D., we volunteered to investigate."

"A wise decision." Medusa agreed. "But come; the Council is assembling, and you must fully explain this matter to the Council. Please, follow me." With that, Medusa, Crystal, and Lockjaw headed out of the greeting room, and Superman and the X-Men followed them.

Medusa led them down a long corridor, and stopped in front of an impressive door. "This leads into the Council Chamber." she explained. "When it opens, enter, and we will introduce you; after that, make your case to the Council. Good luck." With that, she, her sister, and Lockjaw headed further down the corridor. A few minutes later, the doors slowly opened, and they headed inside.

The Council Chamber was incredibly vast; it partially resembled a stadium, with seats encircling the entire structure, with them on the ground floor. The seats were filled with countless humanoid creatures; the Inhuman people. And, on a high bench, sat Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, and one or two other Inhumans; one was a tall, lean, fish-like humanoid, and the other was a slightly shorter, more human-looking individual, his face heavily tattooed.

As they walked in, Black Bolt raised his hands, silencing the Inhumans. Once silence filled the air, he quickly made a series of gestures. Medusa promptly translated: "Lord Black Bolt wishes to inform you, my brothers and sisters, that today, we have visitors from Earth, bearing grave news. He asks that you listen to them." A soft murmur came up from the crowd, and Medusa spoke again. "We would like to introduce the X-Men, of Earth, and Kal-El, of Krypton."

A silence fell over the crowd at the utterance of "Krypton." "Gambit t'ink dat she said de magic word." Gambit quipped.

"Okay, Kal," Cyclops said, "you're the expert on Brainiac." He gestured to the Council.

Nodding, Superman stepped forward, and took a deep breath. "People of Attilan, and honored members of the Council," he began, "a short while ago, an object, traveling at Trans-Warp, crashed into your territory. This object was, in fact, a vessel...carrying the artificial life-form, Brainiac, who betrayed Krypton to its destruction. We are here to find Brainiac, and stop whatever vile schemes he intends to carry out."

The crowd started to murmur, as the fish-like member of the Council stood up. "We are grateful for your concern for our welfare, and we weep for your people, Kal-El," he said, "but, truthfully, I think that we should be able to deal with _one_ robot..."

"I am afraid that you are mistaken, honored Councilman." Superman replied. "Brainiac merely inhabits a robotic _body_; Brainiac is an Artificial Intelligence, of a degree of sophistication that neither you or anyone on Earth has encountered, before. If he gains access to a computer terminal, he can easily upload himself into your computer system."

The tattooed member spoke up. "Surely, our electronic countermeasures can deal with such an attack..." he reasoned.

"_Not_ against Brainiac." Superman insisted. "He isn't a virus, a subversive program, or even a hacker; he is an electronic _intelligence_, programmed to adapt, improvise, and _learn_. He will counter every anti-virus, tear through every firewall, until he has completely infiltrated your system...and then, all he has to do is turn off your life-support."

There was a few moments of silence at that. Finally, Crystal spoke. "What can we do?"

"Brainiac can do the most damage if your system is _networked_." Superman answered. "It would be advisable if you isolate every one of your systems; cut all hard lines, close all inter-system links, make sure no data can be transferred from one system to another. That will limit Brainiac's access to your systems."

"_Preposterous!!_" the amphibious Inhuman declared. "That will _cripple_ Attilan! We'll be _defenseless!!_"

"Councilman Triton," Medusa said, "surely, we _must_ take this threat seriously; if our visitors are correct, this 'Brainiac' is undoubtedly the greatest threat we have ever encountered, and measures _must_ be taken..."

"How do we know if these Earth-dwellers can be _trusted?_" Triton said. "How can we be sure that this 'Brainiac' is a real threat, and not a ruse by the Earth-dwellers to gain access to our secrets?"

"Our sensors _did_ pick up an impact, several hours ago, Triton." the tattooed Councilman mused. "It _could_ have been the craft they spoke of."

Black Bolt then raised his hands, wordlessly asking for silence, before he made another series of gestures. "Lord Black Bolt wishes to know what must be done to locate this 'Brainiac'." Medusa translated.

"If his access to your systems is limited, Brainiac will have no choice but to try to access your systems one at a time." Superman said. "To do _that_, he will have to access each system-terminal directly, meaning he will have to move around Attilan on foot."

"We think that, if we work together, we can catch him." Cyclops added. "If we split into teams, and patrol each terminal, we _should_ be able to catch him at _one_ terminal."

"A good plan." Medusa said, and Black Bolt nodded. "I propose that Attilan security forces aid the X-Men as they patrol each terminal."

"Perhaps that would be best." Triton agreed reluctantly. "Lord Black Bolt?"

Black Bolt nodded, once more, before making another series of gestures, and Medusa translated. "My Lord suggests that Councilman Karnak supervise the isolation of our systems, and that he begin _immediately_."

"Of course, my Lord." the tattooed Councilman – Karnak – said.

Black Bolt gestured, again. "My Lord suggests that our security forces confer with the X-Men, to fully plan these patrols." Medusa said.

"We agree." Cyclops said. "We'll start patrols immediately."

Black Bolt nodded, before gesturing again, as Medusa translated for him. "Lord Black Bolt states that all citizens of Attilan should remain in their homes until this crisis is over. For now, Council is adjourned." Black Bolt nodded, and with that, the Council of Attilan began to adjourn, as Superman and the X-Men headed out of the Chamber, to confer with Attilan security.

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Lunar Outpost Epsilon_

Inside the secret lunar base, where S.H.I.E.L.D. kept an eye out for extraterrestrial threats to Earth security, a single agent sat in his quarters, reading a newspaper, when his personal communication terminal switched on, broadcasting on a secure channel. "Report, soldier."

At once, the agent snapped to a salute. "Dr. Trask, sir!"

"Is the operation almost ready?" Dr. Trask demanded.

The agent smiled, nodding. "We're just about ready to go, sir." he answered. His smile grew. "Not only that, but our sensors indicate that Attilan's systems are powering down; we should be able to sneak in without incident."

"Excellent." Trask said. "As soon as you acquire the crystals, return to base and send them to Earth; our people will be waiting for them. And, if possible, acquire the object that crashed into the moon, recently."

"Understood, sir." the agent said. "We'll have what the Friends of Humanity need, soon." At a nod from Trask, the agent ended the transmission. Alone again, the agent gathered his gear, and left his quarters, to join the rest of the F.O.H. operatives working clandestine at the lunar base; they were scheduled for a space-walk recon mission...which was the perfect cover to sneak into Attilan territory – now blind to their activities – and acquire those crystals.

Soon, their plan to drive all muties off of the Earth would begin.

_East Agricultural Sector, Attilan_

It didn't take too long for the A.I. to gain access to the underground city; with its nano-bot body, it had been easy to liquefy and pour through the cracks in the underground elevator. After that, all it had needed to do was enter the ventilation ducts in the tunnels and flow down the ducts into the city.

It had exited the ducts into a sort of food-growing sector, with irrigation systems and farming equipment, and the rest of the impressive city in the background.

For a moment, the A.I. stopped, looking upon the impressive city; it was what organics would call a 'beautiful sight,' though not _quite_ as beautiful as what the Mark V imagined the cities of Krypton looked like...

Instantly, the Mark V's internal failsafe kicked in; its creator had, for reasons unknown, established a programming block that suppressed all knowledge of Krypton – he possessed the same knowledge of the planet that his creator did, but every time he tried to access it, the block activated. The creator did not want him to know about Krypton's existence.

His past thoughts caused the Mark V to pause; he had started to think of himself as a "him," as an individual. He was personifying.

Just as the defective Marks I-IV had.

The Mark V felt the emotion of _sadness_, once more. He _was_ defective; the creator had been right to order him to shut down once all other directives were complete.

By all rights, he should shut himself down, right now...

...but he still felt this _curiosity_. He wanted to know more about this place; it made no difference if he shut down now or several hours from now.

Spying a computer terminal, the Mark V hurried over to it; reaching for the access port, his arm began to shift, as it _flowed_ into the terminal, his nano-bots linking with the system, as his consciousness, his very _mind_ accessed the system. He was linked to the irrigation system; at once, he tried to access the main database...

...but he couldn't; this system was isolated from all others. Feeling another twinge of _sadness_, the Mark V started to detach from the system.

Suddenly, his wireless communication system picked up a transmission. "_Kal, we've got a hit! We've detected him in the eastern agricultural sector!_"

"_Kitty, you and Lance are the closest; you two try and track him – the rest of us will box him in!_"

The inhabitants of this place were looking for him. But, how could they have known..?

_Kal-El!!!_

Kal-El was _here!_ _Fear_ started to scramble the Mark V's circuits, as his directives automatically came up.

_Directive: locate and observe lifeform designated Kal-El._

_Sub-directive: avoid direct contact with lifeform designated Kal-El._

Kal-El wanted to destroy the creator...and he would destroy _him_, as well.

But _why?_ Why did Kal-El wish to destroy the creator? It _had_ to have something to do with the files about Krypton...

As the programming block snapped up again, the Mark V realized that he had no choice but to _hide_. Quickly, he disconnected from the system, and ran away, as fast as his metal legs would carry him.

As soon as Brainiac had been detected, Shadowcat, Avalanche, and two Attilan soldiers had hurried to the agricultural sector. Before long, they had reached the terminal that Brainiac had been trying to access. "He couldn't have gone far." Avalanche said.

One guard gestured to a tunnel leading down into Attilan's lower levels. "He must have gone in there!"

"Let's go!" Shadowcat exclaimed. At that, the four of them hurried into the tunnel, into the inky darkness of the lower levels.

Suddenly, ahead of them, Shadowcat saw a flash of silver metal, before it turned a corner. "_There he is!_"

"That turn doubles back this way; if we turn around, we can intercept him!" one guard said.

"No time!" Avalanche said. "Kit, go for it!" Shadowcat promptly nodded, and turned to the wall, before sprinting towards it, and phasing through it.

Her momentum carried her through the wall, to tackle into the fleeing mechanoid as she emerged, knocking them both to the ground. Brainiac was sent sprawling, but Shadowcat rolled back to her feet, her fists up. "Okay, you computerized _creep_, let's _go!!_" she shouted. She was ready for _whatever_ Brainiac threw at her...

...but Brainiac didn't attack; he merely pulled his spindly knees close to his frail-looking metal chest, his oval-shaped, flat metal feet still, his spindly metal arms around his legs. "_In-Initializing vocal software..._" came a soft, metallic whimper. "_Analyzing vocal pattern and cross-referencing...done; language of use is English._" His next response was even softer. "_P-Please don't hurt me..._"

Slowly, Shadowcat lowered her guard, as she got a good look at him; all things figured, he was even shorter than _her_, with an oval-shaped head, bright glowing-yellow eyes, a speaker where his mouth should have been, and the three-circle-sigil on his forehead. "Brainiac?" Shadowcat asked.

The little mechanoid shook his head in negation. "_Negative; Mark V unit was created by Brain Inter-Active Construct several earth-months ago._"

"Brainiac..._made_ you?" Shadowcat asked. The little mech nodded. "Why did you come here?"

Just then, Avalanche and the two guards rushed in. "Kitty, are you okay?" Avalanche exclaimed. He glared at the mech, readying a quake. "Say your prayers, you..!"

"Lance, _wait!!_ This isn't Brainiac!" Shadowcat cried. "I don't think he's trying to hurt us!"

At that, Avalanche stopped his quake, as the guards lowered their weapons. "What?" Avalanche said, confused.

"Brainiac _created_ him." Shadowcat explained. "I don't know why he's here, but I don't think he wants to hurt us."

Slowly, Avalanche nodded...and then grimaced. "Good luck trying to convince Big Blue."

Kitty sighed. "Yeah; he'll be a hard sell." she agreed. "Well, no sense putting it off." She smiled at the little mech, and extended her hand. "Let's go, little guy." she said. The little mechanoid blinked...before taking her hand in his cold metal one, and stood up, letting her lead him out of the tunnel, followed by Avalanche and the guards.

As they emerged from the tunnel, the others were there to meet them...with Superman at the head. His eyes narrowed as he saw the little mech, and started to glow red. "_Traitor..._" he growled, before his voice grew to a roar. "_TRAITOR!!!_"

"Kal, wait!" Shadowcat exclaimed, as the mech hid behind her. "This isn't Brainiac!"

"Whatever lie it was that he told you, Kitty, it was _exactly_ that: a _lie!!_" Superman shouted. "Now, get out of the way! Brainiac has this coming!!!"

"_No..._" the mech whimpered. "_Not Brainiac..._"

"_Stop_ it, okay?! Just _STOP_ it!!" Superman exploded. "You're not fooling _anyone!!_ I _know_ what you are, Brainiac!! I _know_ what you've done!!!"

"Kal, _stop!!_" Kitty cried. "Look at him, will you? Just _look_ at him!" She gestured to the little mech, who was quivering in terror. "You told us all about Brainiac on the way up here, remember? You said that Brainiac was pure, logical, emotionless intelligence. _Look_ at this little guy, Kal; he's _scared to death._"

Superman paused, considering that...before shaking his head. "Brainiac is programmed for cunning, Kitty; he's completely ruthless – programmed to survive! He's _faking!_"

"Kal," Dazzler said gently, "you also told us that, back on Krypton, Brainiac _despised_ emotion; that he would rather delete himself than experience emotion for even a _nanosecond_. The Brainiac you told us about would have preferred your eye-rays to quivering in fear."

Superman paused, as he thought about that. "This isn't Brainiac, Kal." Shadowcat said. "Brainiac _created_ this little guy, several months ago."

Superman's eyes stopped glowing, but they did not lose their glare. "If that's true, then his Base Program Code should reflect that."

"His _vat??_" Nightcrawler asked.

"His Base Program Code; every Kryptonian program – from the lowliest subroutine, to the most advanced AI – has one; it's like an electronic fingerprint, and it can show a number of things...such as creation date. It cannot be altered, and it cannot be forged; if this AI was created several months ago, his Code should show it." He looked to the little mech. "Listen to me, now, for this is your _one_ chance to save yourself; you will show us your Base Program Code, right now. If you refuse, I'll _know_ you're lying."

The little mech slowly stepped forward, and extended his left hand; his palm promptly shifted, forming a data-port. Superman promptly unclipped his belt-computer, and linked it to the mech's palm. "No tricks." he warned, before he tapped his computer, bringing up the Code.

Instantly, the computer showed a holographic projection of an incredibly complex code, consisting of countless Kryptonian characters. Superman studied the Code for several minutes...and then his eyes widened. "It's _true_..." he murmured. "You're _not_ Brainiac." He looked at the little mech warily. "What is your designation?"

"_Brainiac Emulator unit, Mark V._" the mech answered promptly.

"Mark _V??_" Spyke asked. "What happened to Marks I to IV?"

"_Emulator programs I through IV were deleted in experimental phase, due to program defects._"

"What kind of 'defects'?" Shadowcat asked.

"_Early programs had shown evidence of personification._" the Mark V answered. "_Programs exhibited emotional behavior...prompting deletion._"

"They were starting to become sentient." Superman said. His voice hardened. "And he _destroyed_ them."

"_Mark V unit was under suspicion of personification defect; unit had engaged in self-diagnostic during Trans-Warp flight._" the Mark V concluded. "_Suspicion proved valid; Mark V unit has shown early evidence of personification – unit is defective. Unit was unable to complete mission._"

"What mission?" Superman asked. "State directives."

"_Directives are as follows: commence landing on Class-One planet designated Earth; locate and observe lifeform designated Kal-El; commence analysis of Earth technology; broadcast completed analysis for interception by Brainiac Emulator unit Mark VI._" the Mark V answered. "_Final directive, to be commenced upon completion or failure of all other directives: initiate shut-down of all systems._"

Everyone was silent for a moment as they considered everything they'd heard. "_God_..." Jean murmured, "...this was a _suicide_ mission; Brainiac sent him here to _die_..."

"_Query: initially, Kal-El referred to Mark V as 'traitor'._" the Mark V said. "_Unable to determine cause for said referral. Please clarify._"

Superman looked pained. "Do you know...what Brainiac did to Krypton?"

"_Unable to answer: all data regarding current state of Krypton is restricted._"

Superman sighed. "Brace yourself." he said softly, as he tapped a few keys on his computer, still linked to the little mech, accessing the block that prevented the mech from accessing those files...and deleting it.

"_Accessing..._" the Mark V began...before his yellow eyes widened in utter horror. "_He...the creator...Brainiac...he...he..._" The Mark V could go no further, before he put his hands to his metal head, curling into a ball-shape. "_No...no...it cannot be true..._"

"It _is._" Superman said sadly. "He betrayed Krypton."

Suddenly, two new Attilan guards rushed up to them. "Lord Black Bolt has summoned the Council for an emergency meeting! Please, come with us!" one guard said. Confused, Superman, the X-Men, Krypto, and the Mark V followed the guards to the Council Building.

_Council Chamber, Attilan_

By the time Superman, the X-Men, Krypto, and the Mark V reached the Council Chamber, the Council was already in session. Councilman Triton was currently speaking. "You see, my brothers? It is as I warned you!" he declared. He glared at Superman and the X-Men. "Our very way of life is now threatened because we listened to _them!_ And _look_: they bring that murderous machine _here!!_"

"Councilman, we were mistaken." Superman replied. "This is not Brainiac; he means no harm."

"But, please, tell us; what has happened?" Cyclops asked.

"A short time ago, while all of us were searching for 'Brainiac,'" Medusa said softly, "a group of humans – undoubtedly S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives – infiltrated the storage facility for the Terrigen Crystals and stole them." She lowered her eyes. "I never thought that General Fury would betray us so..."

"Whoa, hold on, Your Highness!" Shadowcat exclaimed. "General Fury might be a bit of a jerk, but he wouldn't do something like this!"

"Earth-bound _lies!!_" Triton snarled. "We were _foolish_ to trust them! This was Fury's plan from the beginning!"

Superman then looked to Black Bolt, whose expression was neutral, considering all that he was hearing. "Lord Black Bolt," he began, "there _was_ another reason that General Fury asked us to come here."

Black Bolt's expression hardened at that. Triton promptly took advantage of the statement: "You see?! He _admits_ it!!"

At once, Black Bolt snapped his fingers at Triton, cutting off his tirade before it started. He then looked to Superman expectantly, waiting for him to finish. "The reason that the General asked us to come was that he did not trust his people in the lunar base." Superman finished. "He had suspected that there was a clandestine organization operating within S.H.I.E.L.D., so he asked us to investigate, instead. This organization _must_ be the ones responsible for stealing the Crystals, my Lord; even with his faults, General Fury is an honorable man – he would not do this, nor would he allow anyone under his command to commit such a crime. I do not believe that he is guilty, my Lord."

Black Bolt's expression was thoughtful...before it hardened, as he made a series of gestures. "My Lord wishes to believe you, Kal-El, but he must also believe what he _sees_." Medusa translated. "At present, the most likely explanation is that S.H.I.E.L.D. is responsible; if there is another party at work, then prove it." Black Bolt gestured again, and Medusa looked regretful. "My Lord states that we will retaliate against S.H.I.E.L.D. in one hour; if you wish to investigate the matter, you must do so within that time. The Terrigen Crystals must be recovered at all costs; we can wait no longer than an hour."

Superman nodded respectfully, and then turned to his friends. "Okay, guys; any ideas?"

"If that clandestine organization did this, we're going to have to catch 'em in the act." Dazzler said.

"If they took the Crystals, then they'll be trying to transport them off the moon as quickly as possible." Jean said.

"We'll have to stop the transport shuttle they're using." Cyclops agreed.

"Okay, then; how will we know which one?" Spyke asked.

"_I can help._"

That soft, metallic voice caused everyone to turn to the Mark V, who actually looked a bit nervous. "_If a transport shuttle is being used, it is possible to identify the crew using it, and cross-reference with any recent space-walks._" he said.

"But...that would mean that you'd have to get _into_ the lunar base." Shadowcat said.

"_The Mark V unit was initially designed for stealth operations and infiltration._" the Mark V said. His tone turned remorseful. "_The creator's actions caused the destruction of Krypton; that places a heavy burden upon him and all of his creations. Please, allow the Mark V unit...allow __**me**__ to help; I caused this – let me help fix it._"

Superman looked to Cyclops, who nodded. Turning back to the Mark V, he said, "Okay. If we can get you into the base, can you identify which shuttle has the Crystals?"

"_Affirmative._"

"Okay." Cyclops said. "Once we know which shuttle it is, we'll have to get into the base ourselves and catch these guys red-handed."

"Hol' de phone." Gambit said. "What's t' stop dese guys from jus' loadin' up de shuttle an' 'eadin' for de 'ills?"

Superman smiled. "I think Ali and I can keep the shuttle-crew busy outside."

Dazzler arched an eyebrow, smiling. "Does this have anything to do with these crystal gizmos on our belts?"

"You'll see, _taushi_. You'll see."

"We should definitely get Fury on the horn." Avalanche said. "We'll need his word to prove that these guys were operating without his say-so."

"I can radio the _Argo_; with it, I should be able to raise the General remotely on its comm-system." Superman said.

"One problem." Rogue said. "_How_ are we gonna get this Brainy-bot _into_ the lunar base?"

Superman smiled. "I think I have an idea." he said. Turning to the Council, he asked, "Lord Black Bolt?" Black Bolt turned to him, an eyebrow arched quizzically. "We have a plan to expose the real criminals," Superman continued, "but we just need a _little_ help..."

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Lunar Outpost Epsilon_

Deep within the lunar outpost, a single guard on patrol passed through an empty steel corridor. Pausing, he scanned up the corridor and down it. Finding nothing, he moved on.

Seconds later, once the guard was gone, a bright flash of light filled the corridor, as the Inhuman Lockjaw teleported in, with the Mark V.

"_Thank you, Inhuman-designate Lockjaw._" the Mark V said. "_I will proceed with my objective; please rendezvous with the others according to plan._" At that, Lockjaw promptly barked, before teleporting away.

'_**I**__ will proceed...__**my**__ objective..._' Those thoughts echoed across the Mark V's main processor; the defect was clearly getting _worse_...but...Kal-El and his comrades – his _friends_ – did not see it as a defect...

Shaking his head, the Mark V focused on his new mission; he could sort out these thoughts _later_. At once, he assumed liquid-state, before he slid up the wall, into a ventilation duct. Inside the duct, the Mark V activated his sensors, scanning for the nearest electromagnetic signature – the nearest computer terminal – before sliding through the duct towards it.

Within minutes, the Mark V had reached another grate directly above the EM signature; there were no infrared signatures – no humans – so it was safe. He extended a single silver-metal tendril, reaching down through the grate, and linked with the computer.

It was only a simple Personal Computer, not linked to the main database...but it _did_ contain a map of the outpost. The Mark V promptly downloaded a copy of the map into his memory banks, before disconnecting from the PC, and sliding further down the duct, heading towards the main operations center.

Within minutes, the Mark V had reached the grate overlooking the main operations center...which was crawling with S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives; there was no way to get in without being seen. He had to get them _out_...

Suddenly, the Mark V spotted an emergency fire-suppression system...and got an idea. Slowly, he extended a metal tendril through the grate, trailing it up across the ceiling, unseen by the humans, until it reached the sprinkler, where it linked with the control box, and triggered the system.

Instantly, the sprinklers activated, dousing every single agent in the center. The humans all shouted in anger, before hurrying out of the center, muttering and cursing, leaving the center empty.

Slowly, the Mark V emerged from the grate, pouring down onto the ground, before assuming solid, humanoid form. He then moved to a computer terminal, and linked with it.

Instantly, the duty-roster of the entire outpost came up. The Mark V started to look through it; there _had_ to have been a space-walk through Attilan territory, recently..._there!_

There _had_ been a space-walk into Attilan territory – something that _no_ S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would do – only a few hours ago. The Mark V promptly brought up the shuttle schedule; the same group that had done the space-walk was scheduled to take a shuttle to Earth...with several hundred pounds of "mineral samples."

At once, the Mark V activated his communicator, promptly uploading the data to Kal-El's computer. "_There was a space-walk into Attilan territory; the guilty ones are taking a shuttle to Earth on Landing Pad Five. They are supposed to leave in less than ten minutes._"

"_Thank you, Mark V._" came Kal-El's reply. "_We'll commence with the plan; get to the loading dock as soon as you can to assist the others._"

"_Affirmative._" the Mark V replied, before ending the transmission. He then resumed liquid-form, and re-entered the ventilation duct, and headed for the loading dock as fast as he could.

He did not know what he truly was, now – machine or sentient – but he _did_ know that the others – his _friends_ – needed help.

Superman, the X-Men and Krypto were waiting at the airlock leading to the elevator to the lunar surface with Black Bolt and Medusa when Lockjaw 'ported back. "Okay, guys; the guilty shuttle is leaving from Landing Pad Five." Superman said.

Cyclops nodded. "We'll just slip in and get proof that _they_ stole the Crystals, while you and Dazzler make sure that shuttle doesn't take off."

"We wish we could assist you," Medusa said, "but if you are mistaken, we must be prepared to take the appropriate measures." Black Bolt nodded in agreement.

"We understand." Jean said. "We'll get the Crystals back for you."

"Not _alone._"

At that voice, the entire group turned to see Crystal walk up. "Sister," Medusa warned, "your place is _here_..."

"Sister, these people risked their _lives_ to help us, and _now_, they plan to do so _again_." Crystal countered. "I'm not willing to sit by and let them go alone."

Medusa looked stricken, and Black Bolt's eyes narrowed...but he nodded in agreement. Crystal smiled, before turning to Superman and the X-Men. "What can I do?"

"Superman and Dazzler will be disabling the shuttle from outside while the rest of us sneak in to catch these guys red-handed." Cyclops said. "If you want to help, we can sure use you in getting in there." At that, Crystal nodded in agreement.

Superman then turned to Dazzler. "Okay, Ali; just grasp the crystal device on your belt at the top and bottom." he instructed. "Pull both parts out, and then push them back again." Dazzler nodded, and then did so, and Superman did the same with the crystal device on his belt.

The very instant they had done so, the crystals began to glow...and then began to _grow_. The crystals expanded, coating their belts, before spreading over the rest of their bodies. In seconds, they were both wearing full, sleek, white crystalline armored bodysuits, covering them from their necks down. Seconds later, the crystals grew to cover their faces, forming crystalline helmets, with three sleek fins – one in the middle of the helmet, and one on each side – extending back over their heads, their faces hidden by white-blue visors; within the helmet, Superman could now see a Heads-Up Display on his visor, similar to that of his nano-suit.

"_Whoa!!_" Dazzler exclaimed, her voice taking on a metallic tone through the helmet. She looked at her hands, now in crystalline gloves. "What _are_ these?"

Superman chuckled. "They're _Silent Wrath_-Class Battlesuits, used by Kryptonian Special Forces." he said. "They render the wearer completely invisible to almost all forms of detection. They're armed with Force-Pulse Cannons in the palms, wrist-mounted Plasma Torpedo-Launchers, arm-mounted Repulsor Field Generators, full-body energy shielding, and a limited jump-jet system. We'll need these to sneak up on the outpost; otherwise, we'd trigger their sensors."

Spyke whistled. "_Definitely_ gotta get one of _those_." he quipped.

"Okay, everyone; let's do this." Cyclops said.

"Good luck." Medusa said, and Black Bolt nodded in agreement. With that, Lockjaw closed his eyes, focusing, before 'porting himself, the X-Men, Crystal, and Krypto away, as Superman and Dazzler walked into the airlock, which sealed behind them, before pressurizing and letting them onto the elevator, which took them up to the lunar surface.

"Okay, Ali," Superman said over the suit's radio, "your HUD shows the direction we have to take." He gestured to his belt. "To activate the jump-jets, just tap the large button on the left side of your belt." With that, he tapped the button, which activated his jump-jets; a bright-blue burst of energy-exhaust pulsed from the undersides of his boots, boosting him into a large jump, high above the ground...before the artificial gravity generator kicked in, pulling him back.

Dazzler took a deep breath, and tapped the button. "_WHOA!!!_" she exclaimed, startled by the sudden burst, before she landed next to Superman. "_Wow!_ These are _awesome!_" she laughed.

Superman chuckled. "The finest that Kryptonian tech has to offer." he quipped. "Let's go." With that, the two of them continued to boost-jump across the lunar surface, towards the outpost.

Within minutes, they were on a large hill overlooking the outpost. Superman checked his HUD, confirming which landing-pad was the one they had to target. "Okay, Dazzler; time for some on-the-job combat training." he said. "Pressing the button next to your thumb while your hand is open charges a Force-Pulse; move your arm so that the targeting reticule in your HUD lines up with your target, and then release the button to fire. Pressing the button while your fist is clenched charges a Plasma Torpedo; line up the target like before, but hold it for a few seconds until your on-board computer locks on – _then_ release it. If anyone fires at you, cross your arms in front of you; that activates the Repulsor Field."

"Got it." Dazzler agreed.

"Okay, we're going to go for a longer boost-jump, and fire at the loading equipment as we land. Once it's clear, I'll tag the shuttle with a scattered Plasma Torpedo, and order the _Argo_ to fire its Disruptor at it, shutting it down." Superman instructed. "This time, press the boost button, and hold it for three seconds before releasing."

"Okay." Dazzler said, as she pressed the boost-button, and held it, and Superman did the same. After three seconds, they both released the buttons, boosting into a jump.

Their jump carried them _well_ over the outpost, to begin their descent on the other side, coming down towards Landing Pad Five. Superman could then see the shuttle, being prepped for launch by unmanned drones. He took aim at the drones, as Dazzler picked her own targets; they both charged Force-Pulses in each hand, and fired just before they touched down.

The bright blue Pulses lanced towards four loading drones, knocking them off-line from the impact, causing all the other drones to flee to their recharge ports, ceasing loading. Unfortunately, seconds later, spacesuit-clad S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, armed with laser rifles, began to swarm out of nearby airlocks. "Dazzler, keep your Force-Pulses low on charge; we don't want to hurt them." Superman instructed. Dazzler nodded, before she raised a Repulsor Field, repelling a barrage of laser-fire. As the soldiers paused, Dazzler dropped her Field, and rolled to the side, firing a Pulse as she popped up, knocking three soldiers back.

One soldier closed on Superman, firing his rifle, but Superman's shields easily shrugged it off. As the soldier swung at him with his weapon, Superman blocked the attack, and whirled the motion into a throw, taking him down and knocking him out. He then turned, and raised a dark blue Repulsor Field, blocking the shots of ten soldiers, firing as one, before he charged two Pulses, and fired, knocking them all down.

As the soldiers regrouped, Superman headed towards the shuttle, but stopped, as two gun-turrets stood between him and the shuttle. "I'll take care of them!" Dazzler called. "You tag that shuttle!" With that, she clenched her fists, and started to charge two Plasma Torpedoes, locking onto the turrets, and firing.

The neon-green projectiles lanced towards the turrets, utterly devastating them before they even got a shot off, forcing the agents to abandon them. Superman laughed. "Ali, you're a _natural!_"

"Thanks!" Dazzler cooed over her radio. "I had an _awesome_ teacher!"

Chuckling, Superman charged a Torpedo, and then, using his free hand, tapped a few buttons on his belt, altering the Torpedo's program, directing it to spread into a scatter-burst after it was fired. Then, he opened fire; the Torpedo expanded into a cluster of smaller blasts, peppering the shuttle with plasma energy.

Now, the shuttle was a glowing target on _any_ scanner. Superman quickly activated his remote access to the _Argo_. "_Argo_, arm Polaron Disruptor!" he ordered. "Target plasma-signature; 5 percent charge, minimal Dispersion-Radius! Fire when ready!"

At once, from far away, the _Argo_ armed the Disruptor, charged its blast, and fired; seconds later, the blue-white electrostatic blast impacted the shuttle, sending tendrils of lightning snaking over its hull, devastating its electronics.

It wasn't going anywhere.

By then, the soldiers started to regroup. "Well," Superman said, "why don't we see how the others are doing?"

"Fine by me!" Dazzler exclaimed. "Let's go!" With that, they started to head to the nearest airlock, fighting their way past more S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Lockjaw's teleportation deposited the X-Men, Krypto, and Crystal in a corridor leading into the loading dock, before the Inhuman canine 'ported away. Cyclops peered around the corner, looking into the dock; there were over a dozen agents in the dock, moving large containers onto the conveyor belt that loaded the shuttle. "Okay," he said to the others, "we're going to have to distract those guys, somehow, so we can confirm that the Crystals are in there."

"I think I have an idea." Shadowcat said. She spoke into her communicator. "Mark V?"

"_Acknowledged._" came the reply.

"We're at the loading dock, now, but there are a lot of people, around here." Shadowcat said. "Do you think that you could find some way to distract them?"

There was a second's pause. "_Affirmative. It is possible to simulate an airlock failure, prompting an evacuation. This will require several minutes._"

"Okay." Shadowcat said, ending the transmission. "Okay, guys; one distraction, coming up!"

"Alright." Cyclops said. "Once the dock is clear, two of us will check out those crates, while the rest keep an eye out for those agents."

"I know the Terrigen Crystals by sight." Crystal said. "I'll go."

"I can port us to zhe crates quickly." Nightcrawler added.

Just then, an alarm klaxon began to sound. Instantly, the men at work stopped, and ran for the exits, leaving the dock empty.

"_The dock is clear._" came the Mark V's voice. "_However, this will not fool them for long; please confirm the Crystals' presence quickly._"

"Understood." Cyclops said. "Nightcrawler, Crystal, _go!_"

At once, Nightcrawler placed a hand on Crystal's shoulder, before they both vanished in a cloud of sulfur, to reappear next to the crates. At once, they started to pry the wooden boxes open; within minutes, the wooden sides fell away, revealing a glass case...containing numerous white crystals, with clouds of green vapor rising from them.

"The Terrigen Crystals!" Crystal exclaimed. "They _are_ here!"

"Scott, zhe Crystals are here!" Nightcrawler said. "Ve have to get Kal to notify zhe General!"

"We will, Kurt; now get back here!" Cyclops said. Suddenly, another alarm klaxon started to sound.

"Uh-oh!" Jean exclaimed. "It sounds like Kal and Ali are outside, now!"

Just then, the agents started to pour back into the dock. Nightcrawler and Crystal tried to 'port out of sight...but it was too late.

"Mutie scum!!" one agent snarled, drawing his laser rifle. "You just _had_ to interfere, _didn't_ you?!" With that, he and the rest of his men started to open fire on them.

Nightcrawler and Crystal were _just_ able to duck around the corner with the others. "Well, at least we know who's behind this." Avalanche muttered.

Cyclops spoke into his communicator. "Kal, we've got the proof we need; can you contact General Fury?"

"_No problem, Chief; it'll just take a couple of minutes._"

"Roger." Cyclops replied, ending the transmission. "Okay, guys; we need to buy a few minutes."

Crystal's eyes narrowed. "I think we can manage." she said. With that, she focused, manipulating the air around her, condensing pure oxygen into her hands, before she supplied the tiniest spark, keeping the ignition controlled, before she darted out and threw the air-orb.

The orb exploded in an impressive blast, blinding the soldiers, and stopping their firing. With that opening, both Cyclops and Krypto darted out; Cyclops fired his optic-blasts, knocking several soldiers back, while Krypto, snarling in feral _rage_, pounced at one soldier, knocking him down and ripping the gun out of his hands, before leaping away towards another in a matter of seconds.

By then, more soldiers were flooding into the dock, answering the alarm; these were S.H.I.E.L.D. regulars – they were only doing their duty. "Take them down, but don't hurt them!" Cyclops instructed. "We just need to buy time!"

As a fresh wave of soldiers started to open fire, Jean blocked their shots with a large TK-barrier; when they paused to reload, Jean turned the barrier into a massive PSI-pulse, knocking them over like bowling pins. Jean turned to see another agent taking aim at her, but Shadowcat phased out of the ground next to him and swiped her hand through his weapon, shorting it out, before slamming him with a spin-kick, knocking him out.

As more soldiers swarmed in, Avalanche summoned an impressive tremor, opening up large gashes in the steel floor, knocking several dozen soldiers down, but the rest kept coming...until Crystal summoned massive crystalline spikes up from the ground, working in tandem with Avalanche's quake, disabling even _more_ soldiers. When the quake subsided, the attacking wave was stunned...giving Nightcrawler and Rogue – who'd copied Kurt's powers – more than enough time to 'port in and out of the attacking group, snatching their weapons as they went.

By then, another attacking wave was forming, coming at them. Spyke promptly generated dozens of small, throwing-star-sized bone-spikes on his forearms. He then plucked the spikes from one forearm, and handed them to Gambit. "Do your thing, card-shark!" he quipped, before firing the rest of the spikes at the soldiers, forcing them to slow their attack to evade them.

"_Merci._" Gambit replied, grinning as he took the spikes. He then flipped the spikes into both hands, and charged them. "Feelin' lucky, _mes amis?_" he asked, before he flicked the charged spikes into the attacking group; seconds later, dozens of fair-sized explosions erupted, sending dozens more soldiers flying, stopping the attack.

"Somehow, Gambit don' t'ink so."

The explosions had triggered the sprinkler system, soaking everyone in the dock. By then, even _more_ soldiers were flooding the dock; too many to fight. As the X-Men slowly backed up, Crystal formed a protective water-barrier around them all, as she fired water-bolts at the soldiers, trying to drive them back; Jean reinforced Crystal's barrier with her TK, but there were just too many...

"Uh, Mark V?" Shadowcat asked over her communicator. "We could use a little help..!"

"_Situation understood, but unable to comply._" the Mark V replied. "_Combat systems are disabled._"

"Well...can't you just _turn them on?!_" Shadowcat cried.

"_Unable; creator locked-out activation subroutines._"

"Mark V, just _forget_ what Brainiac did or told you to do!!" Shadowcat cried. "You are a sentient being; you have to make your _own_ decisions!!"

"_But...but such an action...would be indicative of a defect..._"

"Sentience is _not_ a defect, Mark V!" Shadowcat exclaimed. "Brainiac may not have programmed you for free will, but you have it, anyway! Now _use it!!_"

There was a momentary silence. "_Understood. Accessing activation subroutines...accessing...accessing..._"

By then, Jean and Crystal were starting to falter. "Access _faster!!_" Shadowcat cried.

"_Combat systems enabled. Please stand by._" came the Mark V's reply, his tone echoing with what sounded like _determination_. Seconds later, a silver metallic liquid flowed out of a vent overhead, into the middle of the attacking group, causing them to back away, confused, their attack stopping momentarily. Then, the Mark V assumed his humanoid form, his yellow eyes narrowing...and turning _red_.

Instantly, scanning beams shone from the Mark V's eyes, scanning the soldiers' laser-rifles; the scans were instantly processed, integrated, and _upgraded_ into the Mark V's systems. "_Activating morphic battle-system._" the Mark V said, as he began to _change_: his legs shifted, and divided in half, so that he now had _four_ spindly, spider-like legs. His torso _grew_, filling out, becoming solid, as he became _taller_, towering over _nine_ feet. His arms grew stronger, his hands becoming deadly _claws_...before they started to morph, into silvery, upgraded versions of the soldiers' rifles. His head grew sleeker, with spiked fin-structures extending back from his forehead, and the three-circle sigil on his forehead glowing fiercely red.

The battle-ready Mark V's red eyes narrowed at the soldiers, before he fired a concussive force-bolt from his weapon, sending over a dozen soldiers flying. The soldiers returned fire, but their shots had no effect, as the Mark V's armor repaired itself faster than they could damage it. As the Mark V laid down covering fire, Crystal formed her barrier into water-bolts, sending them at the soldiers, compounding the Mark V's attack. As a relieved Jean lowered her own shield, Cyclops fired his optic-blasts, and Krypto pounced back into the fray. With renewed vigor, the X-Men started to attack, slowly driving the soldiers back...

"_Warning: insufficient power. Morphic battle-system off-line._" came the Mark V's regretful statement. "_I am sorry._" With that, he reverted to his normal humanoid form.

As the X-Men, Krypto, Crystal, and the Mark V backed up, the soldiers took aim, ready to end this...

"_Hold it!!_" one soldier – clearly, the commanding officer – shouted, as he rushed to the front. "This doesn't have to end this way; if you surrender, we'll spare you."

"Colonel, I _wouldn't_." another soldier – the one in command of the initial dozen, the ones stealing the Crystals – said. "We should just..."

"That's _enough_, Lieutenant!" the Colonel barked. "They may have attacked our base, but they're still entitled to due process of law." He turned back to them. "Last chance; surrender now, or we'll have no choice but to open fire."

Just then, the inner doors of the nearby airlock hissed open, as Superman and Dazzler, still in their Battlesuits, walked in. "Colonel," Superman said, having heard the entire conversation, "I think I have someone here who wants to talk to you." With that, he tapped his belt, generating a holographic image of General Fury's face, transmitting from Earth to the _Argo_, before relaying to his communicator.

The General's eyes narrowed. "_All of you, stand down, NOW!!!_" he thundered.

At once, every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent snapped to salute. "General Fury, sir!" the Colonel exclaimed. "We...we were just apprehending these intruders..."

"_These 'intruders' are under __**my**__ direct orders, Colonel!_" Fury barked. "_And what the HELL is going on?! Who authorized this transport?!_"

The Colonel paused, confused. "Why...why _you_ did, General." he said. He gestured to the Lieutenant. "Lieutenant Armstrong gave me the communique detailing your orders, himself..."

"_I gave no such order, Colonel!!_" Fury roared. "_Armstrong falsified my orders, so that he and his cronies could cross into Attilan territory and steal their Terrigen Crystals, in DIRECT violation of our treaty with them, which could have precipitated a war we do NOT need!! I want those traitors thrown in the brig, or so help me, I'll come up there and boot every single one of you out the airlock IN THE NUDE!!!_"

"Yes, _sir!_" the Colonel agreed, saluting. He nodded to a group of soldiers, who quickly took the agents in question into custody.

"'_Traitors?!_' _You're_ the traitor, Fury!!" Armstrong screamed as he was led away. "You bargain with these freaks, and it's going to come _back_ at you!! We won't stop until every last freak is _dead!!_" His tirade was cut off as the door closed behind him.

"_As for the rest of you, none of you are to breathe a __**word**__ about what you saw; this __**never**__ happened._" Fury continued. "_Just make sure that those Crystals get back to Black Bolt and his people. Fury out._" With that, the transmission ended.

The colonel turned to the X-Men. "Please, forgive us; we had no idea you were acting on the General's direct orders." he said. "And we must _especially_ apologize to you and your people, Princess Crystal; we had no idea that the Terrigen Crystals had been stolen from you."

Slowly, Crystal nodded. "I believe you."

"If you require assistance transporting the Crystals back to Attilan, we would be happy to assist you..." the Colonel offered.

"The offer is appreciated, Colonel, but not necessary." Cyclops replied. "We have our own means of transportation."

Superman nodded, as he tapped a button on his belt. "I've signaled the _Argo_; it's on its way." he said.

"In that case, we'll just move those crates outside, so your ship can pick them up." the Colonel said, before he and his people got to work.

Crystal smiled as she turned to them. "My people and I owe you a great deal." she said. "You have saved our very way of life."

Behind his visor, Superman chuckled. "Hey, it's what we do." he said. With that, as the X-Men and Krypto switched on their atmospheric generators, and Crystal donned her spacesuit helmet, they all headed to the airlock, to wait for the _Argo_.

_Attilan_

After loading the crates into the _Argo_'s cargo bay via its teleporter, Superman, the X-Men, Krypto, the Mark V, and Crystal had all gotten into the Speeder, and Superman had piloted it back into Attilan territory, following Crystal's directions into the lunar canyon where the Crystals' storage facility was located. After teleporting them back inside, Superman piloted the _Argo_ back to Attilan, landing on the elevator, and taking them down.

After disembarking, they had returned to the Council Building, at Crystal's request; in the Council Chamber, Black Bolt and Medusa were waiting for them on the main floor. The Chamber was empty, save for them.

As they walked in, Medusa smiled. "We have just received word." she said. "My husband and I are eternally grateful, both for retrieving that which is most precious to our people, and for saving us from making a terrible mistake."

Cyclops smiled. "It was the right thing to do, Your Majesty."

Lightly smiling, Black Bolt placed his right clenched fist over his heart, and then extended his hand towards them, lightly bowing. Medusa's smile grew. "My husband says that all of you are welcome here from now on; that you are all the most honored friends of Attilan."

Smiling, Superman tapped a button on his belt, retracting his Battlesuit's helmet, before bowing. "We are honored, Your Majesty." Promptly, Dazzler did the same, as all the X-Men, and even the Mark V, bowed.

Slightly sheepishly, Avalanche spoke up. "Uh...just one question, Your Highness." At that, Black Bolt arched an eyebrow, lightly smiling. "No offence, but...isn't there an easier way for you to communicate? I mean, it's _got_ to be tiring to always have to do stuff like _this_ all the time!" Then, to illustrate the point, Avalanche put his hands to his ears, then tweaked his own nose, before scratching his head, and then tugging on his own earlobes.

Black Bolt blinked several times at that...and then clamped his hands over his mouth, as chuckle-sounds emanated from his throat. He then bent over, his shoulders shaking, as he slapped his hand on his knee.

He was _laughing_; to be more accurate, he was _busting_ a _gut_.

Avalanche blinked. "Okay. What the _heck_ did I just say?"

Medusa, through her own laughter, managed to reply. "You...you just..." she chuckled, before suppressing a laugh, "...you just told my husband a _very, very_ funny story!"

At that, Black Bolt held up one hand, silently excusing himself, before he left the Chamber. Seconds later, a massive tremor shook the Council Building, and likely all of Attilan, almost knocking everyone off of their feet. As the tremor subsided, Dazzler spoke up. "Earthquake?"

"No." Medusa said softly. "Merely my husband's laughter." She sighed. "He must isolate himself in his soundproof chamber, even to do a simple thing as _laugh_."

Superman nodded sadly. "Yes." he agreed. "Power can be a great burden."

Looking to the X-Men, Medusa smiled. "All of you are a credit to the people of Earth." she said. "It is my hope that, in the future, our people can establish peaceful coexistence with yours; your actions today have only _strengthened_ that hope." To Superman, she added, "And you, Kal-El, though you are the last, you do your entire people great honor."

Superman grinned. "Thank you, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid that's not _quite_ true. I'm only the Last _Son._" With that, he looked to Dazzler, who smiled back, lightly blushing.

Medusa's smile grew. "Then I was mistaken: the Kryptonian race is _doubly_ honored."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Dazzler replied.

"We'd better be going." Jean said. "Professor Xavier – our mentor – is waiting for us."

"Take care!" Crystal called.

"We will." Cyclops said. "It was nice meeting all of you."

"As it was meeting all of you." Medusa replied. "Farewell." With that, Superman, the X-Men, Krypto, and the Mark V all headed out of the Council Building.

As they headed back to the _Argo_, Superman sighed to himself. "Mark V," he said, "I'm sorry."

The Mark V paused. "_For what reason?_"

"I blamed you for something that wasn't your fault." Superman answered. "I almost let my anger cloud my judgment; I almost destroyed you, and I'm _sorry_."

The Mark V was silent...and then shook his head. "_Apology unnecessary, Kal-El. Your actions were not unjustified; had I been aware of the reasoning behind them at the time, I would have understood._"

Superman smiled. "Thank you."

"_Query: do you wish Mark V unit to implement Final Directive?_"

Everyone froze at that. "_What??_" Kitty cried.

"_Do you wish the Mark V – me – to shut down?_" the Mark V asked. "_My revised directives have been completed; there is no logical reason for me to remain online._"

"Why would you even _think_ that?! _No_, we don't want you to shut down!!" Kitty exclaimed.

The Mark V paused. "_You wish me to remain active...knowing that I am defective?_"

Jean smiled. "Mark V, you don't have a defect." she said. "You have a _mutation._"

"Yeah, metal-head; we're _all_ mutants, more-or-less." Spyke said. "We stick together!"

Jean nodded. "_Your_ mutation makes you sentient, Mark V." she said.

The Mark V blinked. "_You...wish me to join your group?_"

"Only if y' int'rested, Monsieur AI." Gambit quipped.

Superman nodded. "It's your choice."

The Mark V was silent for a moment. "_Proposal accepted; I wish to join you._" he said. "_Final Directive is permanently disregarded._"

"That's _awesome!_" Shadowcat exclaimed. "We're so glad to hear it!"

"So, what would you like us to call you?" Cyclops asked.

"Because 'Mark V' is kind of a mouthful!" Rogue quipped.

The Mark V looked thoughtful. "_I am an andro-morphic mechanoid...which your language has a contemporary term for._" he mused. "_I wish for my new team-designation to be 'Android'._"

Dazzler smiled. "'Android,' it is." she said.

"But you'll still need a _personal_ name." Shadowcat said. Smiling, she added, "How about 'Mark'?"

"_Update complete. Mark V unit is now designated as 'Mark,' with team-designation 'Android.'_" 'Mark' said. "_However, my appearance is much more conspicuous than yours; it is logical that my exo-structure should reflect my new designation._" With that, Mark's nano-assembled body began to shift, as he wirelessly accessed the Internet, accessing pictures of what human males should look like. Slowly, his arms and legs became less clunky, more human-like. His torso became human-like, as his head shifted to human-shape; his eyes sprouted eyelids, as a small nose grew under them, and his speaker became hidden behind a mouth, before he grew fairly short, metallic silver hair. He was still shorter than Kitty, and quite frail in frame, but now he looked like his new code-name. Then, his legs, arms, and torso suddenly colored themselves black...like the X-Men's uniform. "_Is this acceptable?_"

Cyclops grinned. "It sure is, Android." he said. "Welcome to the Institute family!" By then, they had reached the _Argo_, and they teleported in, before Superman piloted the Speeder up out of the lunar caverns, into space, and taking them home.

_Xavier Institute_

The sun was just setting as the _Argo_ touched down in the Institute's back-yard, and Charles and General Fury were there, waiting.

Fury's eyes narrowed warily. "So, that's the ship."

Charles nodded. "Kal has told us that it is a _Swift Justice_-Class Speeder." he said. "He and the Fantastic Four were able to salvage it, with the aid of King Namor and his family."

"Swell."

Just then, Superman and the X-Men teleported out of the Speeder, with what seemed to be a new recruit. "Welcome back." Charles greeted, smiling. "I am glad that you are all safe."

Cyclops smiled. "Professor, you won't _believe_ what happened, up there!" he exclaimed. With that, the Institute students began to tell Charles and the General what had transpired.

Once they had finished, Charles smiled in astonishment. "Amazing!" he exclaimed. "To think, there is actually another civilization, living on the moon!"

Fury nodded. "I'd hoped that you'd have been able to just get in, fry the invader, and get out before Black Bolt caught on," he said, "but you did good."

Rogue frowned. "We might've had an easier tahme if _someone_ had told us about 'em!"

Fury's eyes narrowed. "Judging from the tech you kids have access to, I wouldn't talk about being forthcoming." he countered.

Charles looked worried. "Perhaps you'd best head inside." he said. "Mark, the other students will help you get settled in."

"_Acknowledged. Thank you._"

"Hold on." Fury said. He pointed to Superman and Dazzler, still in their Battlesuits. "Xavier, I need to talk to you and _those_ two." At that, Superman lightly frowned, placing a slightly protective arm around Alison's shoulders. Xavier nodded to the other students, who headed inside. "I've just gotten a report from the lunar base." Fury continued. "Those crystal tuxedos of yours pack quite a punch, from what I've just heard...to say _nothing_ about that ship, kid." He fixed Superman with a stern glare. "You just made some of the best military technology on the planet look like something you'd buy at a _garage sale._ Do you have any _idea_ what this country's enemies would _give_ for that kind of firepower?"

Superman remained calm. "It wouldn't matter, General." he countered. "Kryptonian technology is _encoded_ so that only _Kryptonians_ can use it; it's _useless_ to anyone else."

Fury arched an eyebrow. "_That's_ supposed to make me feel better?" he asked. He looked to Dazzler. "What about her?"

Alison frowned, folding her arms. "I'm _part_ Kryptonian."

The General sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. "Terrific; so now there are _two_ beings, wielding incredible power, with exclusive access to technology that could completely tip the global balance of power _against_ this country." he muttered. "If the President ever finds out, he'll have a shit-fit."

Charles frowned. "General Fury, you cannot possibly _believe_ that Superman and Dazzler would ever threaten this world..."

"Oh, _I_ don't." the General admitted. "But if this ever comes out the wrong way, Xavier, it could hit the fan something _fierce_. This kind of intel could make a lot of those damn pencil-pushers pretty jumpy, and I know of plenty of people in the military with dangerously itchy trigger-fingers." He looked to Superman. "Frankly, kid, _I_ wouldn't consider you a danger to the United States, but we both know how certain people with certain mind-sets would react to this...so I'm asking you to please _stay under the radar._"

Superman nodded. "I'll do my best, General."

"Good." Fury said. Just then, a S.H.I.E.L.D. gunship started to descend. "Well, my ride's here." he added. "Take care, all of you, and remember: _I was never here._"

"Understood, General." Charles said.

As the gunship touched down, its engines kicked up a cloud of dust...which wafted over to Dazzler, making her nose start to itch. "Ah..._Ah...__**Ah-CHOOOOO!!!**_"

Dazzler's sudden sneeze blew the gunship off to the side a good few feet, before it regained control. Charles and Superman both suppressed a chuckle as Dazzler clasped her hands over her mouth in utterly embarrassed _horror_, her face beet-red.

General Fury just looked back to her...and chuckled. "_Gesundheit._" he said, before he hopped into the gunship, and it took off, heading away at impressive speeds.

"Oh, _God..._" Alison moaned, "...I just made a total _fool_ of myself..."

Superman placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, _taushi_." he assured her. "It _could_ have been worse: you _could_ have blown that ship across the _country_, like _I_ did with that truck when I was a kid." At that, Dazzler lightly smiled. "We'll just have to add 'Breath Control' to your training regimen."

Dazzler smiled, and hugged him. "Thanks, _tausha_." she cooed. With that, they headed into the Institute, and Charles followed them in, smiling to himself.

_Attilan_

Shortly after Kal-El and his friends had departed, Medusa retired to her and her husband's personal chamber in the Council Building. As she stepped inside, she smiled as Black Bolt stepped out of the soundproof smaller chamber that he required, on occasion, the one built to withstand the unimaginable force of his voice. "It was good to hear – or, in this case, _feel_ – you laugh, beloved." she cooed. At that, Black Bolt gave her a genuine smile; something he did far too infrequently. "Statecraft can be truly tiring, my love."

At that, Black Bolt nodded, as his gestures spoke as plainly as words: _We both act as rulers of our people for so long, we easily forget that we are also husband and wife._

Medusa nodded in agreement. "Still, it was nice to meet Kal-El and his friends; it was a needed reminder that there _are_ good people upon the planet below."

Black Bolt nodded, smiling. _I know your hopes, my love; you hope that, one day, we can return to Earth, and live peacefully with those of Earth._

Medusa sighed. "Is such a dream unworthy, my Lord?"

_Of course not, my love. It is a beautiful dream...but it may take time._

"That is all too true." Medusa agreed. "Regardless, husband, the Council will wish to learn that the crisis is resolved. Should we convene the Council?"

_Yes,_ Black Bolt gestured, _in an hour._

"An hour?" Medusa inquired, puzzled. "Why the wait?"

Black Bolt simply smiled; their relationship was so deep that, alone, they needed no other communication but a _gaze_.

"_My Lord!!_" Medusa exclaimed, surprised...and wonderfully flustered. "We...we don't have time!!"

Slowly, Black Bolt took her hands in his, before bringing them to his lips, lovingly kissing them. _My love...it has been __**far**__ too long._

Medusa fought to keep herself from smiling. "We...we _shouldn't_..." she tried to reason...but she wasn't even convincing _herself_, let alone her husband.

Then, Black Bolt took her in his arms, and lovingly kissed her. Tossing her previous worries aside, Medusa was content to get lost in the kiss of her husband, her true love, and her best friend...who once again, showed her that no words were _needed_.

_Undisclosed location_

As his gunship touched down in an empty field, far from prying eyes, Nick Fury stepped out. He'd told his informant to meet him here...

Just then, he managed to see a single black bird – a _raven_ – against the sunset sky. Motioning for his aide to cover him from the ship, Nick walked further out into the field, as the raven followed him from above. After he'd gone a few meters, the raven touched down behind him, and Nick stopped.

"Darkholme."

Mystique frowned as she assumed her natural form. "I haven't found out anything, Fury." she said. "What do you want?"

"A few hours ago," Nick said, "there was an incident at the lunar base; someone was operating from within S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I had nothing to do with that." Mystique replied.

"I know." Nick said. "But I'm willing to bet that your _son_ did."

Mystique's eyes narrowed. "Kurt had _nothing_ to do with this!" she hissed. "Don't you _dare_ even go _near_ him, Fury!!"

"I said your _son_ was involved." Fury said flatly. "I never said anything about _Kurt_."

Mystique's eyes widened. "_No..._"

"We both know that he has no love for mutants." Nick said. "He's disappeared, Raven; we need to _find_ him."

Mystique lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry." she said. "I haven't spoken with him in _years_; I have no idea where he is or what he's doing. Even if I _had_ talked to him, he'd have never told me; he _hates_ me."

Nick sighed. "It was a long shot, but I had to try." he said. "We're done here." With that, he headed back to his gunship, which took off as he stepped on board.

Alone, Mystique lowered her gaze, as a single tear escaped her eyes, before she changed into her namesake, and flew off, with only one sad thought.

'_Graydon...I'm sorry..._'

_Xavier Institute_

By nightfall, Clark had returned from the Fortress, after returning the Battlesuits to the Armory, parking the _Argo_, and put Mark's Trans-Warp pod in the laboratory for analysis. After donning his street-clothes, he'd flown up to sit on the Institute's roof, to look at the stars – his admitted favorite pastime, when not with Ali.

Before he'd left, he'd asked Mark about the 'Mark VI' he'd mentioned; as far as their new friend knew, Brainiac had been working on a Mark VI Emulator...but that was all he knew.

That knowledge bothered him...but not as much as something else...

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Clark smiled as he saw Alison, in her regular clothes, float up to him, not quite as wobbly as before, and sit down next to him. "Ali...today, I almost destroyed a sentient being." he whispered. "If Kitty hadn't stopped me, I would have _fried_ Mark." He lowered his eyes. "I don't like what that says about me."

Alison sighed. "Clark," she began, "do you remember when we first met? The _very_ first time?"

Clark nodded. "You were five, visiting Smallville; you'd skinned your knee..."

"...and you helped me." Alison said. "Ever since then, I'd _adored_ you, but do you know _why?_ It _wasn't_ because you were cute." She blushed. "Well, okay, it wasn't _just_ because you were cute; it was because you were a kind, decent, caring person. You were just so full of goodness; you cared about what was _right_, and about _other_ people; you would have done everything in your power to help them, to right a wrong; the notion of doing wrong made you _furious_." She smiled. "And you haven't changed at _all_, Clark; you got mad because someone had wronged _you_, _big-time_...but I _know_ that, even if Kitty hadn't been there, you wouldn't have destroyed an innocent person."

Slowly, Clark smiled. "Thanks, Ali. I needed that."

"I know." Alison cooed. Then, smiling slyly, she floated in front of him, before tapping the tip of his nose with her finger.

"_Tag!_ You're it!"

And with that, she flew off at top speed, giggling.

Clark burst out laughing. "You little..!" he laughed, as he took off after her.

Clark flew after Alison, but chose not to fly at his usual speed, to keep their game going; so far, he hadn't _really_ ever seen what his absolute _maximum_ speed was, but Alison was getting close to maxing out at Mach Two. After a few minutes of chase, Clark grinned, before putting on an extra burst of speed, and snaring his giggling girlfriend in his arms.

"You big _goon!_ Let me go!" Alison squealed, playfully wiggling in his arms.

"No chance, _taushi_." Clark quipped.

Alison promptly stopped squirming. "No _fair._" she playfully pouted. "You're still _way_ faster and stronger than I am! I didn't have a chance!"

"Well, then," Clark teased, "my terms for surrender will be quite reasonable."

Alison smiled. "Oh, really?"

Clark nodded. "First, I will admit that I would be completely _lost_ without you and that I would likely have self-combusted _ages_ ago if I hadn't met you." he said. "And you, in turn, will agree to let me give you a _doozy_ of a kiss."

Alison smiled, turning in his arms and looping her arms around his neck. "Those terms _do_ sound good." she cooed. "I _agree_."

"Good." Clark replied, before he pulled her in close, and kissed her, with more passion and love than _ever_ before. As Alison reciprocated, one of Clark's hands slowly trailed down her back, to gently cup her perfectly sumptuous _derriere_, and pull her even _closer_ to him. Alison gasped at the gesture, before she kissed harder, until they were both utterly lost in the kiss.

After a few exquisitely long minutes, Clark gazed upon his _taushi_, whose eyes were blissfully closed...before he grinned, and returned her gesture.

"_Tag!_ You're it!"

And he flew off at the same speed, laughing as he heard Alison's laughter. "You _jerk!_ Get back here!" she giggled, chasing after him. Clark only laughed, as they continued to play their little game across the night sky.

_Deep Space_

In the vast, obsidian depths of space, a massive, somber, leviathan-sized ship lumbered through the stars, on a routine patrol, on the outskirts of the Kree Empire.

On the bridge of the Kree Heavy Cruiser, the bridge-crew – all blue-skinned, blue-eyes, silver-haired Kree, in military uniform – worked numerous monitors, which oversaw ship functions. After viewing one scan readout, one Kree officer stood up, and headed to the command chair, to bring this to the attention of the commanding officer. "Uh...s-sir?"

The massive Kree, in dark green robes, a hood covering his face so that only his glowing blue eyes were seen, with his mallet-like Universal Weapon across his lap, turned to him. "Report." he ordered.

The officer gulped. "W-Well, sir," he said, "our scanners have detected an anomalous energy-signature. We...we're not sure, but...it looks like whatever made it was...traveling faster than light, sir."

Ronan, the Supreme Public Accuser of the Kree Empire, scoffed. "Ridiculous!" he sneered. "Faster-than-light travel is _impossible!_ Step-through is the only feasible method of space-travel! Even the smallest Kree child knows _that!_" Step-through – which was, essentially, folding space between two points – _was_ the only known means of efficient star-travel. It was used in every ship larger than Light Cruiser...and it was used in the World-Gate system of the hated Kryptonians, now rightfully extinct. The problem, however, was the power-consumption; after step-through, even the largest ship was helpless for nearly a quarter-hour. It was a problem that the Gates had solved...until the Kryptonians had closed the network.

But they were _gone_, their world destroyed; the Creator had punished them for their transgressions against the Empire.

"I...I know, sir, but there is more." the officer stammered. "The power-signature...it...it looked like it was..."

"_Speak up!_" Ronan thundered.

The officer grimaced. "..._K-Kryptonian_, sir."

Ronan's eyes widened...and then narrowed, as he grasped the officer by the collar, lifting him up as he stood. "_WHAT did you just say?!!!_"

"I...I know how it sounds, Lord Accuser, but that's what it looks like..."

Dropping him, Ronan stormed to his station...and confirmed it. "_Where was it headed?!_" he roared.

The navigator promptly looked at the data. "Earth, sir."

"Plot a course!" Ronan ordered, returning to his chair. "Contact the Supreme Intelligence; this is an emergency!"

As the crew followed his orders, Ronan was left to his thoughts.

A Kryptonian. Alive. One might have survived.

This _had_ to be investigated.

Ronan scowled...and then smiled. Though part of him hoped that it was a fluke, that none had survived Krypton's death..._another_ part hoped that it was true, that he could bring the last Kryptonian before the Empire and _judge_ him, redeeming his family's honor.

For countless years upon countless years, his ancestors had led the Kree Armada to the Xerius Galaxy...and each time, they had been wiped out by the accursed Sentrius Battlestation. Even _now_, after its creators were gone, Sentrius was still unassailable, invincible...

...but the last survivor, if there _was_ one, was not protected by that monstrosity.

Not anymore.

Ronan's smile grew as his ship began step-through, heading for Earth. It would take time...but he could wait.

His family had waited centuries for their revenge. He could wait a few more weeks.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. There are only two chapters left before I start the first part of the finale. I'll see if I can write them faster. Thanks for understanding!

_Coming Soon:_

_With university out, the Man of Steel gets a call to meet up with some old friends._

_As old times are made new again, our hero gets a taste of his true destiny._

_But a certain aristocratic mutant with his own team is going to make sure there's Hell to pay…_

_Be there for "The First Hurrah," coming to your computer soon…_


	26. The First Hurrah

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE FIRST HURRAH

_Daily Bugle, New York, May 28, 2008_

The sun was just starting to set as Clark, in his work-clothes, finished up his paperwork at his desk, on his last day at the Bugle.

His university classes were finished, his research paper submitted, and today, his internship was completed. With his work done, Clark started to gather up his things; it was time to go.

"All done?" Peter asked, as he walked by.

"Yep." Clark replied. "You know, I think I'm going to _miss_ this place, a bit."

Peter chuckled. "Yeah, I'm _sure_ you'll miss JJ's bellows, every day!" he joked. "Seriously, though, what's next?"

"Well, I've still got another couple of years left in my program." Clark answered. "After that, I guess I'll be looking for a job with any newspaper."

Peter nodded. "Well, Clark, it's been great having you here." he said.

Clark grinned. "Hey, I'll still be around!"

Peter chuckled. "True enough!" he agreed. "In that case, I'll see you out there!"

Clark nodded. "See you out there!" he replied. "Well, I guess I'd better let Mr. Jameson know I'm all done."

"Good luck with that." Peter quipped. Chuckling, Clark headed to Mr. Jameson's office, to let his now-former employer know that he was all done.

As Clark walked in, he was that Mr. Jameson's back was to him, as he was looking at something. "Mr. Jameson?"

"Huh? Oh, it's you, Kent." Mr. Jameson replied, quickly putting the object away. "What is it?"

"I just...wanted to tell you that...I'm all done, sir." Clark replied.

"Oh." JJ said. "Well...that's good, I suppose."

Clark arched an eyebrow. "Sir, is...everything okay?" he asked. "What were you looking at?"

Mr. Jameson sighed, and took the object out; it was a framed photograph, one of a younger Mr. Jameson, next to a lovely young lady. "My wife." he said softly. "Today would have been our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary."

Clark froze. "What happened?" he asked.

Mr. Jameson looked terribly haunted. "I had been working with another paper for a few years; I was still fairly new to reporting." he whispered. "I was working on an expose of a big-time crime-lord; he was more-or-less like what the Kingpin is, today. One day, I got a call from what must have been one of his goons, telling me to kill the story." He lowered his gaze. "I was still a hot-head; told him I wasn't going to be intimidated."

"As I was heading home, a black car drove by just as I was heading inside, and a guy with a machine-gun – a guy in a _mask_ – leaned out the window...and opened fire." Mr. Jameson continued. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I still don't know how I wasn't hit...but I wish I _had_ been."

"She died, didn't she?" Clark asked softly.

JJ nodded. "He'd been trying to get _me_, but he hit _Meg_ – my wife."

Clark nodded. "That's why you hate Spider-Man, isn't it?"

Mr. Jameson blinked...and then nodded in agreement. "I suppose my beef with him is on principle; I've got a special _kind_ of hate for masked men who think they're above the law." he said.

"Mr. Jameson, I'm very sorry to hear about your wife, and I can understand why you feel the way you do," Clark said, "but I think you're wrong about Spider-Man."

JJ looked at him. "What?"

"I don't think Spider-Man sees himself as above the law." Clark continued. "I think he's just a regular person who was suddenly given abilities that other people don't have; I think he just tries to do _more_ with those abilities than regular people, like you or I, can do. And I think that he wears that mask because, since he can do more, bad people – like the Kingpin – would try to stop him by hurting those he loves if they knew who he was." Then, he quickly added, "But that's just my opinion."

JJ blinked. "Is that so."

Clark nodded. "Sir, all I'm saying is that, in the future, maybe it would be a good idea to just _try_ to see _both_ sides of Spider-Man, rather than just the negative aspects." he said. "But it's just a thought."

Slowly, JJ nodded. "I'll...keep that in mind." he said. Lightly smiling, he added, "You're a good kid, Kent. Get yourself a backbone, and you'll make one _hell_ of a reporter, someday!"

Clark suppressed a smile. "I'll...see what I can do about that, sir."

"So, Kent, now that you're done here, what do you plan to do?"

"Well, sir," Clark replied, "I hope to finish up my Journalism degree before anything else."

"Good to hear." JJ said. "Ever think about applying to the Bugle after you do that? We can always use another good reporter."

Clark blinked; he wasn't entirely sure he was hearing right. "Sir?"

"Kent, I was only a few years older than you are when I first got into reporting." Jonah said. Chuckling, he added, "Hell, I was probably even _greener_ than _you_ were, when you came here! Anyway, I had applied to work at the Daily Planet, owned and operated by Perry White; the man was a news _legend_ – completely and utterly _incorruptible!_ You could threaten to drop a nuclear _bomb_ on him, and he wouldn't even _think_ of killing a story! When I started reporting, Perry more or less took me under his wing, taught me the ropes, and before long, I was writing stories with the best of 'em! As the years went by, I rose up through the ranks, until Perry and I were co-owners of the Planet!" JJ chuckled. "My God, those were the golden years!"

Clark smiled. "He sounds like a great guy."

"Oh, Perry was one-of-a-kind, Kent; they don't make 'em like _him_, anymore!" JJ laughed. "Why, he kept going until _well_ into his sixties! And, dear _Lord_, his Elvis Presley anecdotes were the stuff of _legends!_"

"So, what happened?" Clark asked.

Jonah's expression turned sad. "9/11 happened, basically." he said. "You see, Perry had a son, Richard, who became a real hotshot at the stock exchange. As much as Perry loved the Planet, he loved his boy _twice_ as much; you couldn't have _found_ a prouder father on Earth." His gaze lowered. "Richard was in the World Trade Center, that day."

Clark froze. "He died, didn't he?"

Jonah nodded. "Perry tried to put on a brave face, but we all could tell: losing his boy just _killed_ him, inside." he replied. "Of course, he tried to keep going, to carry on, but a year or two later, his wife, Alice, succumbed to a stroke. A few months after that, Perry just..._stopped_; the doctors said he passed away in his sleep, real peacefully."

"After his funeral, Perry's will was read; turns out that, in the event that his son should go before him, he'd left the Planet to his partner – namely, me." Jonah finished. "After a few years running it, I decided to rename it as the Bugle...and the rest, I guess, is history."

Clark nodded. "I wish I could have met him." he said. He got up to go, but not before extending his hand to his former employer. "It's been an honor, sir."

Jonah smiled, and shook his hand. "Likewise, son." he replied. "And like I said, when you finish up, you give us a call, either here or in Metropolis."

Clark blinked. "Metropolis?" he repeated. Metropolis was New York City's unofficial "sister city," and was a close second-largest city in the States.

Jonah nodded. "I've been thinking of establishing a second office for the Bugle in Metropolis; that city's got _just_ as many potential readers as New York, plus it's shaping up to be _just_ as interesting a place as here, what with that 'Green Arrow' vigilante showing up, recently."

Clark nodded. "Well, I'll definitely think about it." he said. "Well, Mr. Jameson...I guess I'll see you around."

"See you around, Kent." Jonah replied. With that, Clark walked out of JJ's office.

As Clark walked back into the main work area, he saw that Robbie was standing next to his desk, talking to Peter. As he walked over, Robbie turned to him. "Peter tells me that you're finished, today." he said.

Clark smiled, and nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Robbie smiled. "Well, it's been great having you around, Clark." he said. "Best of luck to you."

"Thanks, Robbie." Clark replied. "And who knows? I might just be back, in a couple of years!"

Peter grinned. "_Man_, Clark, you're a lot braver than _I_ am!" he quipped.

Clark chuckled. "Well, I guess it's like what my Ma always says: '_A glutton for punishment always gets his fill._'" he answered, earning a laugh from his two friends and former co-workers.

Suddenly, the phone at Clark's desk started to ring. "Why don't you get it, Clark?" Robbie suggested. "Until you leave, you're still on staff."

Walking to the phone, Clark picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Clark._"

Clark smiled. "Hey, Lex." he said. "How've you been? I haven't heard from you in a while."

"_Yeah, I've been busy; between company stuff and a personal project of mine, I've barely had a free moment._" Lex replied. "_Anyway, I was hoping to catch you before you left, today; I've been talking to Arty, lately; he mentioned the little bit of 'scuba-diving' you'd done, recently._"

Clark chuckled. "Yeah, that _was_ an...eventful day." he said. "So, what's Arty up to?"

"_Oh, you know; same old same old._" Lex answered. "_Anyway, I'd just gotten the idea for all of the old gang to meet up, back at Smallville, tomorrow – say at our old hangout in your folks' barn attic; Arty was cool with it, and so were Wally, Vic, and Ollie; what do you say?_"

Clark grinned. "Sounds great!" he replied. "Count me in!"

"_Hey, that's great!_" Lex said. "_If you like, I could send a chopper for you._"

"No thanks." Clark answered. "I think I can...arrange for my own transportation."

"_Yeah, I kinda figured that._"

Clark chuckled. "One thing, though; I have a feeling that, if Ali catches wind of this – and she probably _will_ – she'll want to tag along."

"_Well, if she wants to, she can come._" Lex said. Chuckling, he added, "_So, anxious to get back at the other guys for all the ribbing we gave you about her always following you?_"

"You know me better than that, Lex."

"_I know, I know; just goofing._" Lex said. "_Anyway, come for just before lunch, Smallville time, okay?_"

"Got it. See you, then!" Clark said.

"_See you!_" Lex replied, before he hung up.

As Clark hung up, Peter asked, "Who was that?"

"That was Lex. He was just calling to tell me that some of my old pals from Smallville were meeting up, tomorrow, and he wanted to know if I could come." Clark answered.

"Sounds nice." Robbie said. "Well, Clark...I guess we'll see you, later!"

"Yeah, take care, Smallville!" Peter added, grinning.

"I will." Clark said. "I'll see you guys later!" With that, he picked up his knapsack, and headed out, to catch the bus back to the Institute.

_Xavier Institute, May 29_

By the time the early morning sun had risen over the Institute, the New Mutants had already suited up and were on their way to the Danger Room. "Boy, you'd think they'd cut us _some_ slack, what with exams coming up." Iceman muttered.

"I _hear_ you." Sunspot agreed.

"Hey, isn't today Mark's first real training session as a New Mutant?" Multiple asked.

All the other New Mutants went silent at that. It had been about a month since Mark – code-named "Android" – had joined the Institute. For much of that time, Mark had just been acclimatizing to life on Earth, and had just been doing basic training simulations; despite being a highly advanced alien mechanoid, he hadn't been _designed_ for battle – his power-source wasn't strong enough to sustain his battle-mode for very long. But, recently, Mark had been finding a way around that problem...enough so that Clark and the instructors had decided to let him formally join the New Mutant team.

"Yeah...I'd forgotten about that." Iceman said softly.

Jubilee blinked. "What's the big deal?"

"He's _creepy_, Jubes." Berzerker said flatly.

"_Ray!!_" Magma exclaimed. "How can you _say_ that?!"

"Jubilee, Mark was _designed_ to infiltrate Earth, and spy on Clark and the rest of the planet, and report back to that 'Mark VI' thing." Berzerker continued. "Yeah, I agree, he's changed, but it's still creepy to think about what he was _supposed_ to do."

Boom-Boom arched an eyebrow. "_God_, Ray, _paranoid_ much?"

"Yeah!" Cannonball agreed. "_Clark's_ an alien, and none of us mind havin' _him_ around!"

"Yeah, but Mark's a _machine_." Berzerker said. "It's a lot harder for machines to go against their programming."

Wolfsbane's eyes narrowed. "When I turn to a wolf, 'tis not easy for me to always ignore my wolf-instincts, Ray." she said. "Does that make me evil?"

"_Greetings._"

The entire team turned to see Mark – Android – standing behind them, in his "uniform." "Oh, hey, Mark." Multiple said.

Frowning, Berzerker turned, and went on ahead.

Mark's expression became slightly sad at that. "Mark?" Jubilee asked. "Did you...hear any of that?"

Android nodded. "_My auditory sensors picked up the entire conversation._"

Everyone was silent at that. "Hey...Ray's just being a _jerk_." Magma said.

"_Yet his statements are not entirely invalid._" Android replied. "_My initial function was to provide intelligence for the Mark VI, to be used against Kal-El and this planet. It is not entirely unreasonable for Ray to be apprehensive around me._"

"Just give him time, Mark." Iceman said. "He'll come around."

At that, Mark smiled. "_Thank you, Robert._"

Iceman chuckled. "It's _Bobby_."

"_Understood._" Android said. With that, the New Mutants all headed to the Danger Room.

When they reached the control room, the X-Men, Superman, Storm, Beast, and Wolverine were all there, in uniform. "Okay, Mark," Superman said, "you ready?"

"_Program upgrades are fully installed; tactical and combat programs loaded._" Android replied, smiling. "_Analysis: I am ready._"

Wolverine grinned. "Good to hear, Metal-Head."

Android blinked. "_Query: I am unaware of any student designated 'Metal-Head,' Instructor-designate Wolverine. To which of us were you referring?_"

Cyclops chuckled. "That's just Logan's nickname for you, Mark."

Jean nodded, smiling. "He has nicknames for _all_ of us."

"_Understood._"

"Well, what are you waitin' for?" Wolverine asked.

Storm smiled. "Good luck!"

"_Thank you._" Android replied, as he headed to the elevator, which took him into the Danger Room.

As Android walked into the Danger Room, he quickly refreshed his tactical programs, reviewed his combat protocols...and felt the emotion of _anxiety_ pulse through his processors. He had seen all the others – his _teammates_ – do their own simulations, before; they had all done very well. This was his first time doing a simulation of this difficulty level, and he wanted to do as well as they could.

He did not want to let them down.

"_Commencing simulation._"

Android instantly went on alert as the simulation started. At once, numerous laser-turrets popped up from the floor, and started to fire at him; Android ducked under one blast, and dove out of the way of another, before he promptly assumed liquid-state, becoming a puddle of silvery metallic-looking fluid, causing the turrets to lose their lock on him. Android flowed through the web of turrets, and resumed his solid-form, before morphing his arms into large scythe-like blade-whips, and unleashing a sweeping strike, taking out over half the turrets.

As he reformed his arms, the floor gave way under Android's feet, as a panel rose up from the floor, tossing him to the side, as another panel extended out from the wall, trying to crush him between the two panels. Android promptly assumed liquid state as the panels closed on him, and he simply flowed out from the crack between the panels, before becoming solid, again.

By then, several larger laser-cannons had emerged from the floor, and were starting to fire at him. Android darted towards one cannon, rolling under its line of fire, and zipped around to its back; his hands promptly became claws, as he stabbed his hands into its armor plating, injecting nano-fibrils into its circuitry. In seconds, his nano-bots had completely integrated with its systems; his body instantly liquefied, and seemed to pour over the cannon, turning it a shiny silver, with outlines of blue circuitry woven into it.

The cannon then turned to another cannon...and then opened fire, blasting it to pieces. It then proceeded to do the same to the other cannons, until it was the only one left.

With the other cannons dispatched, Android disassembled from the cannon, but left his nano-fibrils in, enabling him to siphon power from it, draining it until it deactivated, disabling the cannon, as well as filling his auxiliary energy supply, which he had learned to use to fuel his main battle-mode.

As the last cannon shut down, Android saw numerous robotic drones emerge from panels in the floor. His eyes narrowed, and turned red, as he activated his battle-mode; his entire body began to morph, as he grew into the large, spider-legged, heavily armed terror of a mechanoid that he became when he activated his battle-mode. Taking aim with his force-cannons, he opened fire on the advancing drones; in less than a minute, he had blasted every drone to scrap.

And it was a good thing, too; he hadn't had enough reserve power for much more than that, as he automatically returned to normal.

"_Simulation complete._"

Android felt _relief_ fill his systems at that announcement. Promptly, he deactivated his combat protocols, and switched off his tactical programs.

"_Good job, Mark._" came Kal-El's voice over the audio system.

"_Yeah, not too bad._" Wolverine added. "_But you should've tried to avoid getting squished by those panels; you're not always going to have the option of going to putty, all the time, Metal-Head._"

"_Understood._" Android replied, before he started towards the elevator, which took him back up to the control room.

As Android walked into the control room, the New Mutants promptly greeted him. "Mark, that was _awesome!_" Jubilee exclaimed.

Iceman grinned. "Way to go!"

"I wish _I_ could transform like that." Multiple said.

"_Thank you._" Android said. "_I am glad to see that my combat protocols can be put to a better use than my initial directives dictated._"

Cyclops smiled. "Well, they'd sure be handy against the Brotherhood." he said.

"Keep it up, Mark, and you might make X-Man." Shadowcat agreed.

"Alright, alright," Wolverine grumbled, "you're up, Firecracker."

Jubilee frowned. "See what we meant about the nicknames, Mark?" she said, sighing as she headed into the elevator, heading down to start her own session.

Android then paused, thinking of something. "_Query: I have noticed that, in weeks previously, all of you have attended an educational facility, yet, recently, you have not. Please explain._"

"Oh, that's just 'cause school's out for finals, Mark." Spyke said.

Android blinked, accessing his database. "_Searching...match found: finals, referring to the cumulative scholastic examinations which take place in the last weeks of the school year. Is this what you were referring to?_"

"Yep." Rogue said, nodding. "All our classes are done, so everyone uses the time to study before finals."

Nightcrawler grimaced. "_Ja_, so ve all get _more_ time to stress over how ve're going to _flunk!_" he lamented.

Superman chuckled. "Oh, what're you guys _talking_ about? You'll do _fine!_"

"Dat's easy fo' _y'_ t' say." Gambit quipped. Grinning, he added, "Gambit don' s'pose dat y'd care t' lend us dat 'Knowledge Chamb'r' dat y' mentioned b'fore."

Superman lightly smiled, folding his arms calmly. "Even if I _did_, Remy, it wouldn't help; Kryptonian tech is _encoded_, remember?"

"Dang."

Android lightly smiled. "_When will your educational facility resume activity?_"

"Well, after exams, school starts up again in September." Cyclops answered.

"Why?" Jean inquired. "Would you like to attend?"

"_Possibly._"

Shadowcat smiled. "That's a great idea!" she exclaimed. "What better way for Mark to learn about Earth?"

Avalanche chuckled. "_Sure_, Kit." he lightly teased. "Show the guy one of the possible reasons why Earth _should_ be destroyed." At that, Shadowcat playfully elbowed him.

Dazzler lightly giggled, and then turned to Superman. "So, what time were we going to head out to Smallville?"

Superman smiled. "Ah, so you _were_ listening." he teased.

"Yep."

Turning to the rest of the X-Men, Superman said, "You guys don't need me for anything, today, do you?"

"No, Clark, we're good." Cyclops said.

Jean nodded. "You go and see your old pals; we're fine."

"Hey, maybe you could ask them to visit _here!_" Multiple asked.

Superman smiled. "Well, I'll see if I can talk them into dropping by." he replied. "They'll probably want to hang out in Smallville for a little while first, though; we've all been gone our separate ways for quite a while – it'll be nice to hang out in the old neighborhood for a while."

Android watched the exchange with a light smile. It was hard to believe that, only a relatively short while ago, he'd been programmed to assist in this world's destruction, and now he was a member of a team, a _family_.

Was this what it felt like...to be _alive?_

Android's smile grew. '_I certainly hope so._' he thought, as his optic-sensors turned to the Danger Room, to watch his teammate's simulation.

After morning training, and after getting a quick shower, Alison had promptly returned to her room, clad in her regular clothes, and sat down on her bed, where Krypto had been napping. As she sat down, Krypto perked up, and started panting happily; smiling, Alison gave the lovable pooch a scratch behind his ears, before proceeding to crack open her books. She wanted to get her studying for the day done before she went with Clark to Smallville.

Once she'd studied for a good few hours, Alison momentarily put her books aside, before reaching for her sketch-pad and the new uniform she'd been working on. She quickly made the last few adjustments to it...and then smiled to herself. It was ready.

Just then, her hearing picked up her boyfriend's footsteps, and her smile grew. She quickly folded up her new uniform, and then put it in her knapsack, before putting on her blue jean-jacket, tying her hair in a ponytail, then putting on a baseball cap and shades – to ensure she wasn't recognized – and strapping her knapsack over her shoulder. As she got up, Krypto leapt to his feet, raring to go. "Sorry, boy; not this time." Alison said apologetically. "Clark and I are meeting his old friends, and they don't know he's not from Earth; we don't want to freak them out _too_ much."

Krypto started to whine. "Oh, don't be like _that!_" Alison added. "You can come next time, okay?" Krypto barked in agreement. Alison smiled. "See you soon!" With that, she darted outside, to meet Clark.

Alison met Clark just as he was walking by her door. "Hey, Ali." he greeted. "You still want to go?"

Alison smiled. "Of _course!_" she said. Her smile became teasing. "Do you _want_ me to?"

Clark smiled back. "Of _course_ I do, _taushi_." he replied, looping a loverly arm around her shoulders as they walked. "I just don't want you to be bored."

Alison chuckled. "Clark, with all the crazy stuff you guys used to get into, I don't think I could _ever_ be bored!"

Clark's smile became a grin. "Okay, then." he said. "I guess I can't talk you out of it."

Alison playfully smiled. "I thought that you'd be _eager_ to make those guys eat their words after the ribbing they always gave you about me."

Clark chuckled. "Well, _Alia_, I don't like to brag...even though I'm probably the luckiest alien on the planet."

Alison's smile grew. "Keep it up, mister." she cooed.

By then, they had reached the main hall, where Evan was walking towards the door, wearing his helmet and knee-pads, with his skateboard in hand. "You two are heading off, now?" he asked. "Well, have a nice time!"

"Thanks!" Clark replied.

"So, CK, what exactly are your pals like?" Evan inquired.

"Well, you guys have already met Lex," Clark answered, "and then there's Oliver Queen – he's rich like Lex is, and he's a pretty cool guy. Then there's Arthur Curry, who I told you guys about."

"Oh, yeah; the Prince of Atlantis, right?"

"Right." Clark said. "Anyway, then there's Victor Stone; the guy was in a pretty serious accident, years ago – a good bit of his body had to be replaced with cybernetics. He's got a great sense of humor, though; I think you'd like him. And then there's Wally West; basically, he's kinda like a nicer version of Pietro."

Evan chuckled. "Quite the bunch." he said. "Well, hope you guys find the time to drop by!"

Alison smiled. "Hope so."

"Well, we'll see you later, tonight!" Clark said. To Alison, he added, "Ready, baby?"

Alison smiled back. "Ready!" she replied. With that, they both walked outside, and then took to the sky, flying towards Smallville, at Alison's top speed, with Clark gladly matching her pace.

Outside the gates of the Institute, a black limousine drove by, pausing as Alison and her alien lover flew up into the sky, heading west.

Inside his limo, Shinobi Shaw, in his usual impeccable casual black suit, calmly sipped a glass of wine, scowling as he saw the two together. '_What Alison sees in that space-bastard, I'll never know._' he thought.

Shinobi smiled to himself; he was not the only one who disapproved of Alison's relationship with the alien – Alison's own dear Aunt Embeth, several weeks ago, had contacted him, and asked him to "talk some sense into her," which he was only too happy to do.

And now, it seemed that the alien – the Kryptonian, he believed the bastard was called – was heading back to his "home town," with Alison.

His "home." As if that _thing_ had a home here, had _any_ claim to this world...the world that the Inner Circle would rule.

The world that _he_ would rule, one day.

"Chauffeur," Shinobi instructed, "take me to the airfield; have my jet ready." He smiled slyly. "I think I'm in the mood for a little trip out west." With those words, the chauffeur drove away, towards Shinobi's private airfield.

_Smallville, Kansas_

It was mid-morning when Clark and Alison reached Smallville, taking care to touch down on the outskirts of town, so that no-one would see them. Clark smiled as he looked at his old home-town; it hadn't changed a _bit_. "Home sweet home." he said.

Alison smiled, as well. "Brings back memories?"

Clark chuckled. "Oh, yeah." he said. Grinning, he pointed to the old water-tower on the far east side of Smallville. "The guys and I used to hang out at either the attic of my folks' barn or at that tower."

Alison giggled. "I know! How many times did you say Wally fell off that tower?" she exclaimed. "God, how lucky was he not to get brain damage?"

Clark laughed. "Hey, his super-speed pretty much enabled him to catch himself before the fall." he answered. "I'd have to say that he's the _only_ guy on this planet who could _possibly_ be faster than me!"

Alison smiled. "You know, if Pietro ever found out about Wally, he'd be _royally_ pissed." she said. "Except for Wally being _way_ nicer, it's creepy how similar they are!"

Clark chuckled. "Yeah, it is!" he agreed.

Alison looked a bit sheepish. "Clark?" she asked. "Do you mind if we just drop by the drugstore for a minute? I'd forgotten that I was running low on toothpaste."

"No problem, Ali." Clark replied. With that, they headed into town, towards the drugstore.

Within minutes, they had reached the store, and headed in. "I'll only be a minute." Alison assured him. "Be right back!" With that, she headed towards the dental supplies aisle.

Left alone, Clark aimlessly wandered through the store for several minutes, stopping for a second...only to find that he had stopped in the aisle that held contraceptives.

Clark paused, as his location bade him to consider something he'd occasionally thought about; recently, his and Ali's 'quality time' had been steadily getting more and more intense – sooner or later, it was possible that they might decide to go _all_ the way. Clark wasn't _about_ to put any pressure on his beloved _taushi_, but if there was _one_ thing he remembered from "the Talk" that his Pa had given him so many years ago – that he hadn't repressed, anyway – it was that, when the moment was right, he had to, as his Pa had said, "_make __**damn**__ sure that you keep your special lady safe._"

Clark nodded to himself; whenever Ali was ready, he was going to make sure she was protected. Slowly, he reached for one box...

"See something you like?"

Clark spun around, and _froze_ as he saw Alison standing behind him. "Oh, uh...h-hey, Ali."

Alison smiled slyly. "Watcha looking at?" she inquired.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "You're enjoying watching me squirm, aren't you?"

"_May_-be."

Clark lightly smiled. "I think you already know what I was looking at." he said. He took a deep breath. "Look, _taushi_, I'm not trying to pressure you; it's just that..."

"...we're getting more and more serious." Alison finished for him. "You don't have to explain, _tausha_." She smiled. "You're doing the responsible thing, to keep both of us safe whenever we decide to take that step." Then, she shook her head. "But you don't need those, baby; I'm already on the pill."

Clark blinked. "Oh."

Alison's smile became a bit sheepish. "But it was just for medical reasons; I started a few weeks before we met." she admitted. "Regardless, in _that_ area, we're covered."

"Oh. Okay." Clark replied. He lightly smiled. "Hey...it didn't feel as weird to talk about that as I thought it would."

Alison lightly giggled. "I guess if you can't talk about it, you shouldn't do it." she agreed. "Of course, there _is_ still _one_ hurdle."

Clark smiled. "And that would be..?"

"Figuring out how to manage a future 'sleepover' with Logan and his nose sniffing the hallways."

Clark laughed. "Well, when we figure _that_ out, I guess we'll be ready!" he joked, earning another giggle from Alison. Then, he checked his watch. "We've still got a little while before we're supposed to meet the guys."

"Hey, do you mind if I just take a quick look around before we head to your Mom's house?" Alison asked. "You know, just to catch up?"

Clark smiled. "Sure, Ali." he replied. "I'll meet you at my Ma's place in ten, okay?"

"Okay." Alison agreed, before she leaned up, and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek, before she headed out the door. Smiling to himself, Clark headed out, walking towards the outskirts of Smallville. Once he was out of sight, he darted off at high speeds, heading for his Ma's farm.

After leaving the drugstore, Alison spent the next few minutes walking around Smallville. She smiled to herself; Smallville hadn't changed at _all_. It was still the same small, quaint little town that she had just _loved_ to visit as a little girl. The air was completely clean, the people were so friendly, and it was nice and quiet.

It was the perfect place to grow up in...

"Good God, what a wretched place."

Alison's face twisted into a reflexive frown at that voice, as she turned around to see Shinobi Shaw there, holding a handkerchief to his nose. "I have no _idea_ how anyone can stand it, here." Shinobi muttered, grimacing.

Alison's eyes narrowed. "_What_ are you _doing_ here, Shaw?" she snapped.

Shinobi smirked, arching an eyebrow calmly. "It's good to see you, too, my dearest Alison." he replied. "To be honest, I was about to ask you the same."

Alison suppressed the urge to _pound_ the smug little weasel. "What I choose to do is _none_ of your business, Shaw." she retorted. "I happen to _like_ it here, thank you very much."

Shinobi frowned. "Clearly, that bumpkin 'Kal' is influencing your judgement." he said. "It's no wonder that you've joined that ridiculous 'Institute.'"

Alison saw _red_. "You're not much of one to comment on 'sound judgement,' _stalker_." she hissed. "How many _times_ do I have to tell you to _leave me alone?!_"

"Well, my dear Alison, I am not the only one who thinks that you need...guidance." Shinobi replied, keeping his smirk. "Your own dear Aunt Embeth notified me of her concerns."

Alison had thought that she _couldn't_ get angrier, only to find that there was yet another level of rage to boil over into. "Embeth Blaire is a demented, self-centered, bitter old racist _witch_, and her delusions have absolutely _no_ bearing on what I choose to do with my life..._or_ who I choose to be with." Alison said with finality. "Now, once and for _all_, Shaw...leave me _alone!!_" With that, she turned to go...

...only to have Shinobi grab her wrist. "I'm not done, yet." Shinobi snarled.

"Let _go_ of me!!" Alison yelled, yanking her hand out of his grip.

"I _know_ what your precious 'Kal' is, Alison." Shinobi snapped, causing Alison to pause. "I know where he comes from."

Alison's eyes widened. '_How could he..?_' she thought. Her eyes quickly narrowed. "Then you _must_ know that, if he wanted to, Kal could _literally_ turn you _inside out_." she retorted. "The only reason he _hasn't_ shown up to do _just_ that is because he respects me enough to let me handle you _myself_." She smiled without humor. "But you wouldn't know much about respecting women, would you, Shaw?"

Shinobi's face twisted in fury. "He is _nothing_, Alison!" he shouted. "He is a _bastard_, with no heritage, no birthright, and no claim to this world!! He has no _right_ to be here, let _alone_..!"

_WHAM!!_

Alison's knee was poetry in motion as Alison tapped just the _tiniest_ fraction of her half-Kryptonian strength to drive her knee _right_ between Shinobi's legs.

Shinobi gasped for breath, as he crumpled to the ground like a rag-doll, cutting his rant off in mid-breath. "_Don't_ insult my _tausha_ ever _again_, Shaw." Alison warned. She smiled slyly. "I know I promised to do that with steel-toed boots, but, as you can see, I don't _need_ them." And with that, she walked off, leaving her somewhat-of-an-ex there, gasping for air.

Even as she walked away, Alison was still seething; the _nerve_ of Embeth, telling Shaw to follow her..!

Alison pulled out her cell-phone, and dialed her Aunt up. "_Who is it?_"

"Get this through your head, Embeth! This is _my_ life, and you have _NO_ right to interfere!" Alison shouted. "I _told_ you I never wanted to see you again, and that _includes_ sending jerks like Shaw after me!!" Then, before Embeth could reply, Alison hung up.

By then, much of Alison's fury had waned, as she sighed to herself. Shinobi's words had _really_ made her mad. Clark was the best man she'd ever _known_, and to hear Shinobi insult him had _seriously_ gotten her steamed. Aunt Embeth was no better; even after their last meeting, she still had it in her twisted brain to try and break her and Clark up...though she'd picked a _lousy_ way to try, Alison thought with a smile – trying to get Shaw to break them up was _not_ the way to go. Then, feeling better, Alison headed to the outskirts of Smallville; when she was far enough from any prying eyes, she took off at super-speed, to meet Clark at his Mom's farm.

It had taken Shinobi a good five minutes to pick himself up from Alison's knee-kick, though he still had to walk hunched over.

He scowled to himself; Alison's infatuation for the alien was even stronger than he realized. He'd hoped that darting out here in his custom-made supersonic jet to talk to her would have shown Alison the lengths he was willing to go to, and at least made her _somewhat_ receptive to his words...but the woman was still _smitten_ with the space-bastard.

It seemed that he was going to have to confront the alien directly, in order to snap Alison out of her infatuation. Well, that was fine with him; after learning about that 'Institute,' run by that Xavier fool, Shinobi had begun assembling his own team of fellow mutants, with some help from Emma Frost. Now, he thought with a smile, it seemed that a little _test_ was in order...

"Still lusting after the Blaire girl, I see."

Shinobi scowled as he turned to see Emma there, behind him. "What are you doing here, Frost?" he spat.

Emma Frost, clad in tight white pants, and a white tube-top under a white jacket, smiled, her cold blue eyes flashing with frigid mirth behind her shades. "Your Daddy Dearest advised me to keep an eye on you, Shaw." she replied. "And it was a good thing, too; jetting out here, without a moment's notice or even a by-your-leave, to chase after a woman who _clearly_ despises you? Your father was right to be suspicious of you; I barely had time to get my own jet ready and follow you."

Shinobi's eyes narrowed. "What I do in my own time is my _own_ business, Frost."

"_Not_ when it compromises your duties." Emma replied coldly. "You were ordered to head to Metropolis and oversee several of your father's transactions."

"'Transactions'?! They're nothing but low-level arms sales!" Shinobi scoffed. "Father insults me by sending me on these simple errands! _Any_ fool could handle them!"

Emma smiled mockingly. "Well, Shinobi, he must clearly think you _are_ a fool, and with stunts like _these_, it's hard to argue." she said.

"_He_ is the fool, not I!" Shinobi snapped. "The longer we let that alien live, the harder it becomes to _remove_ him! He is a threat to the Circle and _everything_ we've worked for!"

Emma chuckled. "Still envious, I see." she said archly. "Danger and opportunity often go hand-in-hand, Shaw. Your father knows this, as does von Doom."

Shinobi scowled. He would be _dead_ before he _ever_ bowed to that filthy creature..!!

"That kind of vocabulary betrays a small mind, Shaw."

Shinobi scowled at the White Queen; she'd been reading his thoughts. "Have you ever heard of _privacy_, Frost?"

Emma tilted her head, as if pondering his statement...and then shook it. "No. Never." she answered. Her eyes then narrowed. "Well, Shaw?"

Suppressing his rage, Shinobi nodded. "Very well." he muttered.

"Good." Emma said. "We'd best be off, then." With that, she turned, and walked away.

Shinobi briefly looked to the direction that Alison had been heading towards. '_Another time, my dearest Alison._' he thought. His eyes narrowed. '_Soon, alien, a reckoning will come...and I'll be ready for you._' With that thought, he followed Emma to the airfield.

_Kent Farm, Smallville outskirts, Kansas_

It hadn't taken Clark long to reach his Ma's farm at super-speed. After reaching his Ma's house, he'd politely knocked on the door. At once, his Ma came to the door. "Clark, you're here!" Martha exclaimed, smiling as she hugged him.

"Hi, Ma." Clark replied. "Sorry to drop by on such short notice..."

"Oh, _nonsense_, honey! You're _always_ welcome here!" Martha replied. "Oh, by the way, Lex and the rest of your friends are here; Lex called me yesterday and told me about the little get-together you were all planning! I thought it was a _lovely_ idea!"

Clark smiled. "I hope you didn't mind, Ma."

"Of _course_ not, Clark!" his Ma assured him. Her smile grew. "Is Alison with you?"

Clark grinned. "She's still in Smallville; she just wanted to see the sights. She'll be by soon, Ma." he replied. "Anyway, I'll just head up to the barn; Lord knows what kind of trouble those guys could get into!" he quipped, chuckling. With that, he headed up to their old barn, where his old pals were waiting.

Clark smiled to himself as he walked; he'd really missed his old pals. Sure, he'd been in contact with Lex over this past year, and he'd talked to Arty a while ago, but he hadn't heard anything about Ollie, Vic or Wally; he was curious as to what they'd been up to.

The last time they'd all been together was during the summer of 2002, when he'd been 15...

Clark's train of thought ground to a screeching thought as he passed by the hill where his Pa's grave lay, his expression turning so terribly sad. Slowly, he walked to the grave, to stand before it. '_Hi, Pa..._' he thought softly. He hadn't been here – to the grave – in more than a year; the last time he'd visited had been just after meeting the Professor and the others, when he'd first come to the Institute.

The last time he'd been with his friends...had been the day that his Pa had died...

"Thought you might stop here."

Looking over his shoulder, Clark saw Lex there, in his regular, black casual suit. Clark lightly smiled. "Just...wanted to say hello." he said softly.

Lex nodded. "He was a great guy." he quietly agreed. "I wish that there were _more_ like him."

"Yeah." Clark said. He'd been so fortunate to have been found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. "I really miss him."

"There's only _one_ thing that I can think of that hurts worse than missing a parent." Lex said.

Clark looked to his friend. "What's that?"

Lex looked haunted. "_Not_ missing them." he answered. "You should cherish the relationship that you had with your father, Clark." His expression became sad. "I had a _father_...but you had a _Dad_."

Clark lightly smiled. "I'll remember to do that, Lex."

Lex then smiled. "Okay, that's enough of our sob-stories." he quipped. "Our old crew's waiting, Boy Scout; let's go." With that, they both headed to the barn, to meet up with their pals.

Within minutes, they had reached the old barn that had been one of their favorite hangouts, and headed up to the attic, where their pals were waiting. As they came up, Arthur, clad in his usual green pants and orange vest, rose to greet them, smiling. "Hey, great to see you again, Smallville!" he greeted.

Clark smiled back, giving his old pal a brief hug. "You too, Arty." he replied.

"_Clark?_" came the voice of 19-year-old Wally West, as Wally zipped over. Wally was fairly tall, though a bit shorter than Clark, and lean, with short, red-orange hair, light blue eyes, and a light dusting of freckles across his face, clad in a red sleeveless t-shirt and blue jeans. "Aw, _man_, it's great to have you back! Where've you _been?_"

Clark grinned. "_That_, Wally, is a _long_ story."

Another voice laughed. "_Jeez_, boy, what you been _eatin'?_" Victor Stone chuckled. Victor was a 20-year-old African-American man, tall and well-built, clad in black pants and a white, black-striped, hooded sweater-vest, with the hood down...revealing the fact that half of his face was covered by a cybernetic metal-plastic plate, with electronics partially visible under the semi-transparent blue plastic, and his right eye was replaced by a red cybernetic one, his left eye still the same honest-brown. The sweater sleeves covered the majority of his arms, but his hands were also dotted with the same kind of cybernetics as his face. "Wherever it was that you zipped off to, the food must've been good!"

Clark laughed. "Not as good as Ma's, Vic, but I couldn't really complain."

Victor laughed. "Amen to _that_, bro!" he said. He smiled. "Great to see ya, Boy Scout!"

"You too, Vic." Clark replied. "You look good."

Victor chuckled. "Hey, just as long as I stay away from electromagnets, I'll be peachy." he said. He tapped his arm proudly. "Had a little work done on the ol' metal bod; got a sonic-pulse cannon put in and everything!"

Clark whistled. "Nice."

Then, the 20-year-old Oliver Queen stepped into view. "Well, the gang's all here." Oliver said, smiling. Oliver was around the same height as Clark, with a lean, athletic frame. His short hair was a light blond, with green eyes, clad in blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a dark green jacket. "Nice to see you, Boy Scout."

Clark grinned. "You too, rich boy." he quipped.

Lex chuckled. "The Six Musketeers, together again."

Clark nodded, smiling. "All for one, and one for all."

At that, the others laughed. "Clark, only _you_ could say something like that!" Wally exclaimed.

"So, where you been these past few years?" Victor asked.

Arthur lightly smiled. "Yes, do tell, Superman."

Clark half-glared at Arthur. "What?" Arthur asked. "Clark, it's _us!_ Anything either of us tells the others, we take that with us to the _grave!_"

Clark slowly nodded. "Okay." he replied.

"Superman?" Wally repeated. "You're _Superman?_"

Clark slowly smiled. "Afraid so."

Slowly, Oliver grinned, and turned to Wally and Vic. "Okay, you two. Pay up."

Grumbling, Wally and Vic both took out twenties, and handed them to Oliver. "Sheesh, man, you couldn't have _waited_ to tell us that?" Victor quipped.

Clark's expression went flat. "You three bet on whether or not I was Superman?"

"Hey, come _on_, Clark!" Oliver chuckled. "How many _other_ super-strong, super-fast, flying guys can there _be?_ Plus, you disappear for a few years, and all of a sudden, Superman comes out of nowhere?"

Lex chuckled. "He's got a point there, Clark." he said. "To those of us that _really_ know you, it's not that big of a stretch to connect the dots."

Wally grinned. "Your secret's safe with us, Clark." he exclaimed. "Us freaks have to stick together!"

"Thanks...I _think_." Clark said, smiling.

"But you didn't answer my question." Vic said. "Where'd you go?"

Clark sighed. "You'd better sit down." he said. As his friends did so, Clark began to tell them the story of his origins.

When Clark finished, Victor, Oliver, and Wally were all amazed; Lex and Arthur already knew the story – there were no surprises for them. "_Whoa._" Vic murmured.

Oliver let out a low whistle.

"Wait...you mean that big lumpy thing under a sheet tied up with cord that I always used to sit on was your _spaceship??_" Wally exclaimed.

Clark nodded. "Yeah." he replied. "Pa made me _swear_ never to tell _anyone_, not even you guys; if it ever got out, Ma and Pa were afraid that someone might come to take me away."

"Hey, you don't have to tell _us_, Clark." Arthur said.

Clark nodded. "So," he began, his expression lightening, "what about you guys?"

Lex chuckled. "Well, with me, there's not much to tell." he said. "Just the usual 'head of a multi-million-dollar corporation' headache."

"Same here." Oliver said. "Although I _do_ have a little...hobby on the side. I'll get to that later."

"Well, Clark, as far as I go, things in Atlantis are pretty much the same as always." Arthur added. "Between fighting off Attuma's raiders and making sure Namor stays cool, it's pretty much 'business as usual.'"

"You're from _Atlantis?_" Wally exclaimed. "_Cool!_"

Victor chuckled. "Well, for me, there's not a whole lot to tell." he said. "I've been traveling here and there, mostly, doing odd jobs to pay the bills, and helpin' out when I can. I do my traveling on foot, or by bus." He grinned. "With all the metal-detectors in airports, these days, if I so much as get within a _mile_ of 'em, I'll set off every alarm in the place!"

Wally grinned. "That would actually be pretty funny to watch!"

Victor half-scowled. "Yeah? Well, wait 'till some security guard tries to strip-search _you_, and _then_ tell me it's funny!"

That earned a small chuckle from the rest. "What about you, Wally?" Clark asked.

"Me? I attend Metropolis University, though I haven't declared a Major, yet." Wally answered. He grinned. "But I'm starting to get into the crime-fighting business..."

At that, Victor groaned. "_Please_ tell me you're not still going by that dumb nickname, 'The Blur'."

Wally frowned. "I am _not!_" he exclaimed. "It's 'The _Flash_'."

Oliver chuckled. "Oh, well, that's _so_ much better."

Clark grinned. "Hey, if an alien like _me_ can do it, Wally can do it!"

The group chuckled at that. "So, what's that Institute like?" Arthur asked.

Clark smiled. "It's great." he answered. "I think you guys would really like my friends there – the X-Men; they're pretty cool, and so are the New Mutants, the younger students."

Lex grinned. "So, Clark," he began, "did Ali tag along?"

Clark chuckled. "Yes, Lex, she did."

"'Ali'?" Vic repeated. "Wait..._little_ Ali?! The little kid that _always_ followed you around??"

"Oh, don't _tell_ me she's _still_ tagging along!" Oliver exclaimed.

Clark frowned. "_Watch_ it, Oliver." he said.

Lex chuckled. "Yeah, guys; don't insult Clark's girlfriend like that!"

"_Girlfriend?!_" Wally guffawed. "You're _dating_ her?"

Vic laughed. "_Man_, Clark, all that flying must have rattled your _brain_, or something! You're actually _dating_ Dorky Ali?"

"Who are you calling 'Dorky,' Stone?"

Clark managed to suppress a grin as Alison walked up into the attic, her cap and shades removed, and her ponytail undone. "Guys, you remember Ali, right?" he chuckled.

Lex was the only one who could keep the closest thing to a straight face, though he was chuckling; the other guys were utterly flabbergasted. "Glad you could make it, Ali." Lex said, between chuckles.

Alison nodded, and then turned to Clark, smiling. "Sorry I'm late, baby. I got sidetracked." She frowned. "Stupid Shaw actually followed me here!" She then lightly smiled. "But then, you probably heard us, didn't you?"

Clark nodded. "Are you okay, Ali?" he asked.

Alison nodded. "I'm fine...but Shinobi won't be coming on to any _other_ poor girl, anytime soon."

Clark grinned. "_That's_ my girl!" he said, causing Alison's smile to grow.

"Wait..._Shinobi_ Shaw?" Lex asked. "Sebastian Shaw's kid?"

"You know him?" Clark asked.

"Only in passing." Lex answered. He frowned. "Lionel Luthor was the biggest bastard on the planet, but Sebastian Shaw was a close _second_, with Junior being a runner-up. Shaw International has a reputation for dirty business almost as big as _my_ company did when Lionel was in charge."

Clark smiled wryly. "Hang on, Lex; I think _that_ title belongs to _Doom_."

"Well, okay; I never met the guy, so I wouldn't be a good judge." Lex admitted.

Alison nodded. "Well, you're certainly right about Shaw Junior; I hope he takes a _hint_, this time!" she exclaimed. She looked to Clark. "Anyway, baby, I'm just going to head inside, and see if your mom needs any help." She chuckled. "I know you still want to catch up with these goofballs, so I won't interrupt."

Clark smiled. "Thanks, _taushi_." he replied. With that, after giving him a friendly wave, Alison headed back down, before walking towards his Ma's house.

Wally blinked. "_Dude_...you're dating Alison Blaire..."

"_Damn!_" Vic chuckled. "Who'd've thought that dorky little Ali could turn into such a _babe!_"

"_Dude_...you're _dating_ Alison Blaire!"

Lex laughed. "Who _says_ nice guys finish last?"

"_Dude_...you're _dating_ Alison _Blaire!_"

"_Wally!_" Arthur laughed. "We _get_ it!"

Oliver chuckled. "Well, hats off to _you_, Clark." he said.

"Okay, okay!" Clark laughed. "Can we _please_ stop talking about my love-life?"

"_Love_-life?" Victor quipped. "Didn't know you two were _that_ serious!"

That evoked a chuckle from all; even Clark couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, who'd have thought?" he admitted. "I'd always thought I'd be stuck being a _single_ alien; if you'd have told me, even _one_ year ago, let alone _five_, that I'd find someone, I'd have called you _nuts_."

Lex nodded. "It honestly doesn't feel like it's been five years."

Arthur nodded. "We're only back together a few minutes, and it feels like nothing's changed."

"That's 'cause, when it comes down to it, nothing really _has_." Victor said. "We're still basically the same six kids that started hanging together, doing our own thing and taking care of business."

"Yeah." Wally agreed. "We always looked out for each other, and we always did the right thing."

Oliver chuckled. "Yeah, because Boy Scout here always managed to 'guilt' us all into doing good."

"Hey, a good number of those times were from Lex's pranks!" Clark chuckled. "If we _hadn't_ cleaned those messes up, it was _our_ butts in the barrel!"

Lex grinned sheepishly. "Hey, _when_ were they not fun?"

Vic chuckled. "Still, back then, it was always the six of us against the bad guys."

"Yep." Wally agreed. "Us against them."

"No matter who 'them' were, we were always 'us'." Arthur added.

Clark chuckled. "You guys realize that we sound like a bunch of old guys, right?"

That earned a laugh from everyone. "Yeah, I guess we do!" Lex agreed.

Oliver grinned knowingly. "Hey...are you guys up for one last caper?"

Clark arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Remember that 'hobby' I mentioned?" Oliver asked. "You guys ever heard of the Green Arrow?"

"The vigilante with the Robin-Hood-complex?" Wally asked. Oliver stayed silent. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

Victor chuckled. "I honestly never pegged you for the hero-type, rich boy."

"People never do." Oliver said, grinning. His tone turned serious. "A few nights ago, one of my contacts told me about a big illegal-arms shipment coming through Metropolis; I'd intended to take it down, myself, but from what I've heard, it'll be heavily guarded...too much for the Green Arrow to take on."

"You mean, too much to take on _alone_." Clark said.

Oliver lightly smiled. "What do you guys say?"

Clark smiled, nodding. "Count me in."

Victor grinned. "Me, too."

Arthur chuckled. "Just like the old days." he quipped. He laughed. "And we are _way_ too young to be saying that!"

Wally smiled. "An insane mission? Odds against us? Crazily high stakes? What are we _waiting_ for?"

Lex chuckled. "Well, it looks like the Six Musketeers _are_ up for one last caper." he quipped. "I suppose I _could_ provide a little on-the-site intel; keep you lunatics from making _complete_ asses of yourselves."

Clark smiled. "You're all heart, Lex." he joked.

Oliver grinned. "Well, guys, there's no time to lose!" he exclaimed. "Let's gear up and get going!" With that, the six of them headed out of the barn, to suit up for their newest mission.

After leaving Clark and his pals in the barn's attic, Alison headed back to the Kent household. Reaching it, she knocked on the door, before opening it a crack. "Mrs. Kent?" she called. "Can I come in?"

"Of course, Alison! I'm just in the kitchen!" came Mrs. Kent's voice from further in the house. With that invitation, Alison headed inside, coming into the kitchen, where she found Clark's mom washing dishes.

Alison smiled. "Need any help?"

"Oh, no, honey; I'm almost done, so you needn't worry!" Martha said, smiling back. Within a minute, true enough, Martha put the last dish away. "Now," Martha added, sitting down at the kitchen table, "what's been going on with you, lately?"

Alison lightly smiled, as she sat down next to Mrs. Kent. "Well..." she began, "...has Clark...told you about..._my_ family?"

Martha smiled. "You mean the fact that your ancestor was one of Clark's people?" she asked. "Oh, of _course_, Alison; why, when we talked, a while ago, that was practically the first thing he said to me!"

Alison gulped. "And you're...okay with that?"

"Why _wouldn't_ I be?" Martha chuckled. She smiled warmly. "It only _confirms_ what I've known all along; that you're a _perfect_ match for my boy."

Alison felt her eyes get a tiny bit misty, as she promptly hugged Martha. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent." she whispered. Martha Kent was _everything_ that Embeth Blaire was _not_; not for the first time, Alison was _immensely_ glad that it had been Jonathan and Martha Kent that had found Clark.

"Oh, you're very welcome, sweetie." Martha replied, returning the hug. "Was there anything else bothering you?"

Alison suppressed a giggle; when it came to sensing trouble, Martha had her son _beat_. '_Maybe that's __**part**__ of where Clark gets it from_.' she thought. "Well, Mrs. Kent...I have a bit of a problem with my Aunt."

"It's that Embeth woman, isn't it?" Martha said, frowning. "Bridget once told me about her."

Alison nodded. "She knows about our family's 'heritage,' as well as the fact that Clark's not from earth, though she doesn't know his _real_ name." she replied. "She _hates_ the fact that our family is...'impure,' and she blames _Clark_ for it! To say the _least_, she doesn't approve of our being together; why, just today, I found out that she'd told this _jerk_ I'd once dated, Shinobi Shaw, to 'try and talk some sense into me'! Can you _believe_ her?!"

Martha frowned. "That woman has a _problem_."

Alison nodded, and then she smiled slyly. "You know, just to spite her, Clark and I will have to stay together until the day we _die_."

Martha chuckled. "Well, Alison, I certainly hope that you have a _better_ reason for being together than just to spite your Aunt, but if you do, I have no objections."

Alison smiled wistfully. "_God_, Mrs. Kent, if Embeth was just one _hundredth_ of the parent you are, my one visit with her would have been _so_ different."

Martha blinked. "What do you mean?"

Alison froze; she hadn't meant to let that slip. "N-Nothing..." she stammered.

Martha's expression became grave. "Alison...what happened?"

Alison looked away.

Martha gasped. "She abused you, didn't she?"

Alison's flinch told all.

"Oh, sweetheart..." Martha whispered. "Did...did she hit you..?"

"No." Alison whimpered, shaking her head. "She didn't."

Martha nodded. "It was verbal, wasn't it?"

Alison felt her eyes start to water, as that visit flashed before her eyes...

_"Stand up straight, young lady..."_

_"You will speak __**only**__ when you are spoken to..."_

_"What is __**this?**__ I will __**not**__ tolerate this ridiculous music in my house..."_

_"A __**singer?**__ I have never heard of a more foolish thing in my life..."_

_"Young lady, you will never amount to __**anything**__ as long as you hold onto such __**idiotic**__ dreams..."_

Alison nodded, sniffling. "That was the only time I ever visited her." she whimpered. "When I got back home, I just cried and cried..."

Instantly, Martha hugged her close. "You poor thing..." she whispered soothingly, "...why didn't you tell us?"

"I...I _couldn't_; I was so _ashamed_." Alison said.

"Does Clark know..?"

Alison nodded. "I told him a while ago, the night we had dinner with my Dad...and _her_."

Martha nodded. "Well, sweetheart, your Aunt was _dead wrong_." she said, smiling. "You _followed_ your dreams, and you turned into a lovely, charming, successful young lady."

Alison smiled weakly, before hugging Martha back. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent." she whispered.

"Hey, Ma, we were just going to...what's going on?"

Alison briefly looked over her shoulder to see Clark standing there. "Hey, baby." Alison whispered.

"Ali?" Clark asked. "What's wrong?"

Martha smiled. "Oh, don't worry, honey." she assured him. "It's just a little girl-talk."

Alison smiled, and nodded, quickly wiping away her tears. "Yeah, I'm okay." she agreed. "Don't worry."

"Okay." Clark said. "Anyway, the guys and I were just going to step out for a little bit; we just need to change, though..."

"I understand, honey." Martha said. "You can use your room to change, and the bathroom and the spare room are available."

"Thanks, Ma!" Clark said, as he darted upstairs to his old room. Seconds later, he came back down, clad in his uniform. "See you later!"

Before either Martha or Alison could ask what was going on, a second blur raced by them. "Hi, Mrs. K!" Wally called, as he darted into the bathroom. After a few seconds, a red blur darted back down, zipping outside; Alison's super-vision allowed her to see Wally clearly: he was wearing a full, red bodysuit, with a red cowl over his face, leaving his mouth exposed, with twin lightning-bolts on the sides of the cowl, with the crest of a lightning bolt emblazoned on the chest. "Bye, Mrs. K!"

Shortly after Wally darted out, Oliver walked in, carrying a green duffel bag. "I'll only be a minute." he said, as he headed to the spare room. Sure enough, a minute or two later, Oliver walked out...clad in dark green tight pants, a kevlar-reinforced green vest, with a hood over his head, and a dark green eye-mask, with white lenses concealing his eyes. On his hands were green gauntlets, and he held a green, high-tech-looking long-bow, with a green quiver full of arrows strapped to his back, and around his waist was a green utility belt, with several, handgun-style mini-crossbows clipped to it. Oliver then simply pressed a button on his long-bow; the bowstring slackened, as the bow itself retracted in on itself, as Oliver simply clipped it to his right gauntlet, for easy storage.

Alison arched an eyebrow. "What's with the Robin-Hood getup, Ollie?"

Oliver chuckled. "That's 'Green Arrow' to you, missy." he quipped, before he stepped outside.

Martha sighed. "What are those boys up to, _now?_" she asked aloud. With that, she got up, and headed outside, and Alison promptly followed.

Outside, Superman and his pals were standing beside Lex's personal helicopter. "Okay, guys," Lex said, "this chopper can take those of us _not_ capable of flying to Metropolis..."

"And _what_ are you six up to, _this_ time?" Martha asked, amused suspicion in her voice.

"Oh, uh...h-hi, Ma, Ali!" Superman chuckled.

Alison smiled knowingly. "Leaving without me?" she teased.

"Oh, we're just...stepping out for a while." Arthur said.

"I see." Martha said, chuckling. "Well, I hope you six don't get into any mischief..."

"Why, Mrs. Kent, would _we_ get into mischief?" Lex joked.

Martha chuckled, folding her arms. "So says the little boy who brought laxative-flavored fudge to the local bake sale."

"Hey, _that_ was an _accident!_" Lex defended. "_That_ fudge was _supposed_ to be for the Luthor family reunion! I just took the wrong batch!"

"Yeah, and he cons _us_ into getting it all back before anyone _ate_ it!" Wally said.

"_After_ I actually _ate_ a piece, I might add!" Victor muttered. "I was stuck on the toilet for _hours_, Luthor!"

Martha chuckled. She turned to Oliver. "'Green Arrow,' was it?" she asked. She turned to Wally. "And what do _you_ call yourself, Wallace?"

Wally grinned. "The Flash: Fastest Man Alive." he chuckled.

"And you can call me the Cyborg, Mrs. K." Victor volunteered. "The name says it all!"

Arthur shrugged. "I'm still working on a name for myself." he admitted.

Martha shook her head, smiling to herself. "Well, then," she said, "I just hope you boys don't do anything _too_ foolish."

Victor – _Cyborg_ – grinned. "Hey, it's _us_, Mrs. K!"

"_That's_ what I'm afraid of." Martha replied, chuckling.

"We'll be careful, Ma." Superman said. To Alison, he added, "You don't mind us going, do you, _taushi?_"

Alison smiled coyly. "Do I _look_ like I mind?"

"Hey, Boy Scout, let's _go!_" Arthur called, as he, Cyborg, and Green Arrow all got into the helicopter, where Lex had gotten into the pilot's seat.

Superman smiled at Alison. "I'll see you real soon, okay, baby?"

Alison kept her coy smile. "Sure."

By then, the helicopter had taken to the air; only Wally – the Flash – remained on the ground next to Superman. Flash grinned. "Race ya!"

Superman chuckled. "You're _on_, West." he replied. And with that, the two of them darted off at incredible speed, until they were both two dots on the horizon, as the helicopter promptly followed them as fast as it could.

Martha chuckled. "You're annoyed with him, aren't you?"

"A little bit." Alison admitted with a smile. "But, unlike when we were all kids, I'm not _quite_ so easy to ditch, anymore."

Martha smiled. "Well, I certainly won't stop you." she said. "And I think Clark's friends still have a little bit of comeuppance in the works."

Smiling, Alison gave Mrs. Kent a quick, almost-daughterly peck on the cheek, before she darted inside, to don her new uniform.

She had a little bit of a surprise in store for Clark and his pals.

_Metropolis, New York_

As the sun began to set over the vast city of Metropolis, its rays turned everything – from the massive skyscrapers to the smallest bus-station – a gleaming golden-orange. New York City's twin was just as vast as it was, and with recent development projects underway, it had the promise to become even _larger_.

Superman and Flash both arrived at Metropolis' outskirts at the exact same time, far from prying eyes. Superman chuckled. "Looks like a tie."

"Hey, I wasn't going all-out, Smallville!" Flash replied, grinning.

"Neither was _I_."

About ten minutes after they arrived, Lex's helicopter caught up to them, touching down next to them. As the rotor-blades stopped spinning, the rest of their friends got out. Green Arrow pointed to the nearby harbor, and to a ship that was starting to dock. "There it is." he said. "That's the shipment."

Superman focused his vision on the ship, and nodded. "Looks heavily-guarded." he replied. "We'll need a plan."

"We're also going to need to co-ordinate." Lex added. He promptly held out six high-tech earpieces, before placing one of them in his own ear. "These will let us talk to each other without anyone picking up our transmissions."

Superman and the others each took an earpiece, placing them in their ears. "We're going to need proof of what's going on here." Superman said.

"There should be a cargo manifest and crew list on a computer in that ship." Green Arrow observed.

"If we can get our hands on that, we'll have the proof we need, plus, we'll know what we're up against: how many thugs, what they're armed with..."

"Leave that to me!" Flash said. "I can zip in there and grab that file before those chumps even _know_ it!"

"Flash and I are the fastest; we can get there first." Superman said. "He can zip in, and I can provide recon with my X-Ray vision."

"Good. That should give the rest of us time to set up." Lex said. "Once we've got the file, we'll need to lure the thugs in the ship outside before we can take 'em out."

Cyborg grinned. "I think I can provide a distraction."

Arthur nodded. "And I'm sure I can bring a...friend who'd be happy to help." he added. "Just drop me in the water; I'll do the rest."

"Okay." Superman said. "Once they're out, the rest of us will have to take those thugs out, and leave them for the police."

"I think I can provide a little...long-range cover." Green Arrow said.

"And I'll monitor things from the chopper." Lex added. "Just upload the file to me; once I've decrypted it, I'll send a copy to the police, with a silent alert."

"Okay, then." Superman said. "Let's get to it!" With that, he took to the air, as Flash zipped towards the dock, while the rest of them got back in the helicopter, to head to their various drop-points, so as not to alert the criminals guarding the shipment.

It was go-time for the Six Musketeers.

_Dock #34, Metropolis Harbor_

The waning sun cast a golden glow over the waters as the large cargo ship pulled into the dock. As the ship dropped anchor, numerous armed men got on board, while other thugs patrolled the loading area, making sure nothing went wrong.

This was the biggest shipment they'd ever handled, and they weren't _about_ to let anything screw up a job _this_ sweet.

As one guard circled around some crates before turning to head back towards the ship, he thought he heard something; it had sounded like a _whoosh_, like a gust of wind. Turning, he looked back to where he'd just been...and then shrugged, heading on his way.

"_The coast's clear, Flash. Move up._"

At Superman's prompting over the radio, Flash zipped out from behind the crates, darting towards another pile of boxes, and hid behind them, staying out of sight. Once the next guard had moved on, Flash zipped up the ramp leading onto the ship, before hiding behind an air exhaust-pipe on the deck. When the coast was clear, he darted into the ship, heading to the lower decks.

"Okay, Superman, I'm in." Flash whispered. "What's it look like, up ahead?"

"_Right now, that deck is clear; if you keep going straight, you'll reach a flight of stairs. Take them down two levels. Once you get off, you'll see a pile of crates to your right; hide behind them – there'll be a guard coming towards you. As soon as he goes up the stairs, head for the second door on your left; that's where the computer is._"

"Got it." Flash replied, and he zipped down the corridor ahead of him. Sure enough, there was a flight of stairs. He darted down two levels' worth of stairs, and emerged onto the next deck, where he found the pile of crates, just as Superman had said. He quickly ducked behind them, and not a moment too soon; just as he had done so, a guard rounded the corner, walking past the crates, and heading up the stairs.

Once the guard had left, Flash zipped out from behind the crates, and dashed down the corridor, stopping at the second door on his left...where he found the computer, completely unattended. "Okay, I found it!" he whispered, sitting at the terminal. "Now what?"

It was Lex who answered him. "_Open the main directory; the files we need should have titles like 'Crew Roster' and 'Cargo List'._"

Flash promptly opened the directory, and started scanning through the files at high speed. "_Got_ 'em!"

"_Now you have to upload those to my laptop._" Lex instructed. "_Right-click on the file, and select, 'Forward.' It will ask for the address that you want to Forward to; you know what my address is._"

The Flash's hands moved like lightning over the keyboard; in seconds, both files had been uploaded. "Okay, Lex; what have we got?"

"_Hmm...it looks like we've got a dozen thugs watching the dock, with another two dozen on board. To lure them up top, we'll need to do something drastic..._"

Cyborg's voice came in over the radio. "_I think I've got an idea._" he said. "_Just say the word, Boy Scout._"

"_It looks like Arty's in position._" Superman said over the radio. "_Arrow, you good to go?_"

Green Arrow chuckled. "_I was __**born**__ ready, Smallville._"

"_All right._" Superman said. "_Flash, as soon as Cyborg distracts the guards, you zip out and help me round up the thugs on deck._"

"Got it."

"_Cyborg?_" Superman said. "_You're good to go!_"

Cyborg chuckled. "_Music to my ears, Boy Scout!_"

His task complete, Flash darted away from the computer, and started to zip upstairs, to help his pals round these crooks up.

Outside the ship, the thugs had started to unload the crates of weapons using a crane; within an hour, all the armaments would be ready for transport. Suddenly, two guards noticed a single figure walking towards the dock. "Hey, pal, shove off." one guard warned...but the guy just kept walking towards them.

The second guard frowned. "Does it sound like we're joking, here?" he snarled. "Get _lost!_" The guy still kept coming...prompting the guard to draw his firearm. "You _want_ to die?!" he shouted. "Get out of here!!"

Finally, the guy stopped. The guards _froze_ as they saw the cybernetics seamlessly integrated with his arms.

Cyborg dropped his hood, chuckling. "You call that a gun?" he asked...as his right arm began to morph, shifting into an arm-cannon. "Now _that's_ a gun."

And with that, he took aim at the crates being unloaded, and fired.

Cyborg's cannon unleashed a massive blast of blue-white sonic force, shattering the crates and spilling their illegal contents into the water.

Shouting and cursing, the rest of the thugs started to swarm towards him, as those in the bowels of the ship started to spill onto the deck. Cyborg ducked under the punch of one thug, before grabbing him and tossing him into two more. As several crooks took aim at him, a whistling cut the air...seconds before an arrow hit the ground just in front of them, erupting in a modest-sized explosion, sending the crooks flying. Cyborg looked to where the arrow had flown in from...and grinned as he saw the shadowy form of Green arrow on a nearby rooftop, taking aim with his longbow.

Green Arrow's second shot took out the ramp that led onto the ship, dumping six crooks into the water. He took aim and fired again; his arrow struck a chain that held several crates suspended, snapping it and sending the crates crashing onto three crooks, knocking them out.

As two more thugs rushed him, Cyborg sent them flying with a haymaker. As he turned, he saw another crook take aim at him...and then the crook was sent flying by a blur. Cyborg chuckled to himself. '_Thanks, Boy Scout._' Turning back, he saw Superman once more, moving like lightning through the remaining thugs, sending them flying with the merest tap, moving too fast for them to even realize what was happening.

By then, the rest of the thugs in the ship had gathered on deck. Suddenly, the boat shifted, as a massive grey whale rose up from the water's surface...with Arthur standing on its back. Arthur smiled, and lightly tapped the whale; the whale let out a soft cry of acknowledgment, before it slipped back under the surface. The crooks all moved to the edge, to see what had just happened...

Seconds later, the mighty whale breached the surface, rising a good ten feet above the water...before slamming back into the water, creating a massive wave that washed over the ship, sweeping half of the thugs into the water.

As the remaining thugs struggled to their feet, a red blur shot out of the door leading into the ship, darting from one crook to the next, snatching their weapons as it went, and sending them flying with lightning-fast punches, only amplified by its incredible momentum.

As Flash disabled the crooks on deck, Superman spotted a massive length of chain, and got an idea; he grabbed the chain, tossed it over his shoulder, and flew onto the deck of the ship. By then, Flash had already knocked out the remaining crooks; touching down, Superman tossed the length of chain out, keeping hold of one end, as Flash took hold of the other end. At once, they began to run around the pile of unconscious crooks, until the chain was completely payed out, with the criminals tied up. When the chain was payed out, Superman took the other end from Flash, and welded the two ends together with his eye-rays, ensuring that the crooks did not escape. With that taken care of, Superman and Flash darted off the ship, to rejoin their comrades.

By then, the criminals that had been knocked into the water had dragged themselves back onto dry land, coughing and sputtering. They'd had enough; it was time to make a break for it...

Just then, Arthur leapt out of the water, somersaulting over the thugs, to land in front of them. "Leaving so soon?" Snarling, the crooks ran at him, getting their second wind.

Arthur easily dodged one crook's punch, and countered with a punch of his own, sending the thug flying back to crash into two more. He then whirled into a spin-kick, taking out another crook, before grabbing one more, and tossing him into three other goons. Turning, he saw one crook rush at him with a knife, and prepared to counter; it was going to be close...

Suddenly, a blur sent the blade-wielding thug flying, before darting to and from the remaining goons, taking them out with ease, and then zipping off. Arthur chuckled to himself. '_Not bad, Smallville._'

By then, they all could hear police sirens in the distance; Lex's silent police-alarm had done its job. Quickly, Superman and the others regrouped. "We'd better get out of here; we'll meet Lex and Ollie at the rendezvous point." Superman said. The others nodded, and the four of them darted into the shadows, leaving the crooks and their illegal cargo to the police.

Had they lingered a moment longer, they might have noticed a silver blur dart overhead, in the direction that they had just taken.

After their little caper, Superman and the rest of his pals all met up on top of a building a safe distance from the dock, though they could still see the police take the thugs into custody. Superman smiled to himself; they'd done good.

"All _right!_ We _rock!_" Flash exclaimed.

Green Arrow nodded. "That _was_ too big a job for one guy to handle alone." he said. "And it was nice to get the old crew back together."

Superman chuckled. "Just like old times." he joked. Still, it had been good to see everyone, again. They had used their abilities and skills to do _real_ good; they had stopped those weapons from reaching the streets.

This little excursion had just felt..._right_.

Cyborg grinned. "And, _man_, that whale-trick, Arthur? _Beautiful!_" he laughed. "Bro, when it comes to kickin' butt on the high seas, you are the _man!_"

Arthur nodded...and then he grinned. "The _name_," he said, "is _Aquaman!_"

Lex smiled. "'Aquaman'?" he repeated. "Hey, that's got a nice ring to it!"

Cyborg nodded, and then turned to Superman. "Hey, thanks for watchin' my back, Smallville."

Superman blinked. "What?"

"You know, after I blasted those crates." Cyborg explained. "One goon was sneakin' up on me, and you nailed him, before you took out a whole bunch of 'em."

"Cyborg...that wasn't me." Superman said. "Yes, I did take out a few goons, but I never got to the one sneaking up on you; I saw him, but then I had to make sure Flash didn't run into trouble – when I looked back, he was gone, so I'd assumed _you'd_ gotten him. I wasn't the one who did that."

"Well, sure it was!" Arthur – Aquaman – exclaimed. "You did the same for me, too!"

"No, he _couldn't_ have!" Flash piped up. "Supes was taking care of those goons on the ship; I was there helping him!"

"I would have helped." Superman said. "But someone must have gotten to them first."

"Well, it wasn't me." Flash said.

"Wasn't me." Green Arrow added.

Lex chuckled. "And it _definitely_ wasn't _me_."

"Well...then who was it??" Cyborg asked.

"Hi, guys!"

That voice took Superman completely by surprised, as the entire group turned to see..."_Ali??_"

Alison smiled at Superman. "I hope you don't mind me tagging along." she said coyly, as she stepped into view...revealing the new uniform she now wore.

Her new uniform resembled previous uniform, but with several elements from his own mixed in. Her uniform consisted of a silver-colored bodysuit, with the central vertical section missing, like her old one, which revealed her slender midriff, but now her ample curves were more covered, with no gap in between. On the uniform's chest was a white stylized 'P' – the crest of the House of Lir. The uniform left her shoulders bare, like the old one, and it also consisted of long, silver gloves with quartz stones in the backs of the hands, as well as silver leggings ending in not-too-high-heeled boots, like the old one. Now, however, a silvery cape trailed from the back of her uniform, extending from the silvery material that encircled her neck...and, emblazoned in the middle of the cape, was the House of Lir's crest.

"How'd _she_ get here??" Cyborg sputtered.

Dazzler smiled. "Like I said to Kal's mom, I'm not _quite_ so easy to ditch, anymore."

Superman managed a smile. "I forgot to tell you guys." he said. "Ali's part Kryptonian; she has some of the same powers that I do, though to a lesser extent."

Aquaman blinked. "So...she's descended from the guy who crashed that Speeder into the ocean, 500 years ago?"

"Yep."

Cyborg grimaced. "Aw, man, I don't _believe_ this...we got schooled by _Dorky Ali_..."

Superman chuckled. "I bet you're sorry you made fun of her, now." he joked.

"Well, this sure has been an eventful evening." Flash said.

"It's not over _yet_." Lex added, as he took out his laptop. "I've been poring over those files that Wally uploaded from the computer; there's one section that's heavily encrypted...and, boy, do I mean _heavily_."

At that, everyone moved in, peering over Lex's shoulder at the file. "What could it be?" Dazzler asked.

"Well, I can't say for sure," Lex said, "but it almost looks like a reference to another shipment coming in." He tapped a few keys...and groaned. "It's too heavily encrypted; I can't crack it."

Superman thought for a few seconds, and then smiled. "Don't give up just yet, Lex." he said. "I've got an idea..."

_Shaw International Metropolis Division Headquarters, Metropolis_

It was shortly after sunset by the time Shinobi and Emma reached Shaw International's HQ in Metropolis; as soon as they walked through the doors, Shinobi was ushered into his father's private office, with Emma following him closely. Shinobi smiled to himself as he sat in his father's desk; sitting there felt _right_. That seat – his father's position, wealth, and power – were practically _made_ for him...

"Getting a bit distracted, aren't we?"

Shinobi scowled at Emma, who was chuckling to herself, before her voice turned cold. "We don't have time for your daydreams, Shaw; we need to make sure that those operations are going smoothly."

Shinobi grumbled to himself as he switched on the office's internal communications system. "Report." he ordered. "What is the status on the first arms shipment? Did it arrive?"

"_Uh...yes, Mr. Shaw,_"came the reply, "_but there were a few...complications._"

Shinobi sighed to himself, as he took out a bottle of wine in one of the drawers in the desk, before pouring himself a glass. "What kind of complications?"

"_Uh...well, sir...the shipment was lost._"

Shinobi stopped in mid-pour. His face twisted in fury. "_WHAT?!!_"

"_Some costumed lunatics stopped us, sir!_" his employee stammered. "_We lost everything, and almost all the guys working that job were arrested! The only thing I managed to save were the video-feeds; I'm sending those to you, now, sir!_"

Promptly, Shinobi switched on the desk's computer, in time to see the surveillance video-files pop up on his screen.

His eyes widened as he saw the video-feed...and then narrowed in sheer, utter _rage_.

With a roar of fury, he flung the wine-glass across the room, where it shattered into pieces. The video showed Superman, and several other costumed do-gooders, breaking up the shipment and leaving all that incriminating evidence for the police. He managed to calm himself, and spoke into the communicator. "I'll have our lawyers handle it."

"_Thank you, sir, but that'll be difficult; they got the files on the computer, too._"

Shinobi managed to keep his rage under control. "I see." he said. "That will be all." With that, he switched off the communicator.

Emma smirked. "What did I tell you?" she said. "If you hadn't been lusting after that Blaire girl..."

Shinobi glared at her, about to fire off a retort...and then he smiled slyly. "Frost," he began, "is the team ready?"

Emma frowned. "_No_, Shaw. My students will _not_ be used for your petty vendettas."

"Oh, really? Well, how about to protect the Circle's investments?" Shinobi countered. "That's why we put that little squad together, isn't it? To ensure that Xavier's golden-boy didn't interfere with our business?"

Emma scowled. "I don't believe that includes getting rid of your competition."

"You heard what that peon said, Frost; they got the files on the shipment." Shinobi said. "That means that they could learn of the _second_ shipment – the _larger_ one – coming through, soon. I doubt that my father would be happy to see _that_ shipment ruined."

Emma glared at him...and then nodded. She reached for a communicator she'd been keeping in her coat pocket, before speaking into it. "Hellions," she said, "we have an assignment for you."

Within minutes, seven teenagers walked in, all clad in red-and-black bodysuits, with the exception of one; Frost's students. The tallest of the seven was Buford "Beef" Wilson, 17 years old; he was exactly what his name implied: a massive, hulking figure, over seven feet tall, and all muscle, with short blond hair and green eyes. His mutant ability, naturally, was superhuman strength...hopefully enough to give the alien trouble.

Next to him was Fabian "Bevatron" Marechal-Jublin, 16, and considerably shorter; he was of average height, and of lean frame, with short, sandy-blond hair and blue eyes. The French youth's mutant ability enabled him to generate bio-electrical blasts of considerable force.

Next was Sharon "Catseye" Smith, also 16; Sharon's hair was fairly long, and bright purple, a sharp contrast to her eyes, golden and slitted, like a cat's. Her suit accentuated her slender, feline frame; her ability enabled her to change into a half-feline form, with incredible speed, agility, and the heightened senses of a deadly wildcat.

Standing quietly to Sharon's right was Sooraya "Dust" Qadir; she was the only one not in the same uniform – the 15-year-old Afghani girl was wearing her traditional black robe and veil, leaving only her dark eyes and a part of her nose exposed. Her ability enabled her to become a living sandstorm of deadly force.

Standing to Beef's left was the second-tallest member of the team, John "Thunderbird" Proudstar. The 18-year-old Native American youth was six feet tall, and well-built, with long, black hair, and dark eyes. His mutant gift gave him great strength and stamina, which, when coupled with his initial training as a Marine, made him a formidable fighter.

To the far right of the group stood Angelica "Firestar" Jones, 16, with long, light-red hair, blue eyes, and a slender frame. Her ability enabled her to manipulate microwave radiation, to generate powerful heat-rays from her hands, among other things.

And finally, standing in the middle of the group, was the team's field-leader, Julian "Hellion" Keller. Julian was 18, fairly tall, and of athletic frame, with short, dark hair, and cold blue eyes. He was a telekinetic; the strongest that Frost had ever seen. He was also the biggest troublemaker that Emma had ever seen; he _lived_ to flout and undermine her authority over the rest of her students...which, coupled with his tactical abilities, made him _infuriating_.

Julian smirked as the team walked in. "Hey, teach." he said. "What's up?"

Emma frowned; Hellion's glib attitude was par for the course. "As I said," she answered, "I have a mission for all of you."

Fabian smiled coldly. "_Tres bien._" he said, in a cold French accent. "Our first assignment."

"You'll be protecting a shipment that the Circle is particularly interested in." Shinobi said. "We have reason to believe that it will be attacked."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "A _babysitting_ job?" she said. "That's _it?_"

Emma smiled slyly. "I had a feeling that you might feel that way." she said. She turned the computer screen around, and brought up the video feed.

The Hellions' eyes went wide. "Is...that..?" Angelica murmured.

"Hellions...meet Kal-El." Emma said.

"Wait..._he's_ the alien that you guys have been looking into?" John asked.

Buford smirked. "He don't look so tough."

"We already know that Kal-El is affiliated with Charles Xavier's Institute; we know about his students." Emma said. "These other four individuals, however, are completely new to us. When you encounter them, exercise caution."

"Um...Miss Frost?"

Emma looked up. "Yes, Sooraya?"

Sooraya looked nervous. "Why...why do we have to fight Superman?" she asked softly.

Emma arched an eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with that, Sooraya?" she asked gently; of all her students, Emma knew she had to be most careful with Sooraya – the girl had been sold into slavery at a very young age, and had only recently been liberated. They were lucky that Sooraya had accepted the invitation to join the team.

Sooraya lowered her eyes. "It...it's just that..." she stammered, in accented English, "...a year ago, when I had been rescued from..._that_ place, a relief ship carrying medical supplies was nearly shot down, but..._someone_ saved it; I had a very bad sickness at that time – I would have died without treatment." She looked imploringly at Emma. "He is not a bad person, Miss Frost; why must we fight him?"

Emma momentarily looked stricken; fragile or not, Sooraya was no fool. She thought quickly. "You're right, Sooraya; he isn't a bad person. He's just been blinded by Xavier's foolish ideas." she said, smiling. "Once he sees the truth, we won't _have_ to fight him."

Julian scowled. "He ain't takin' _my_ job." he muttered. "I'm _glad_ we're going up against him, guys; it's time to _really_ show what we can do."

Buford cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Fine with me."

"_Splendid._" Emma said, smiling. "I just _know_ you'll make me proud." Her expression turned stern. "We leave within the hour; get ready." With that, the Hellions all headed out of the office, to prepare for their mission.

Shinobi chuckled to himself. '_I'll win Father's respect and remove my rival all at once._' he thought to himself, hopefully quiet enough that Emma wouldn't notice.

It was turning out to be a good day, after all.

_Xavier Institute_

'_X-Men, report to my office._'

It was a few hours after sunset when Scott and the rest of the X-Men heard the Professor's telepathic summons. As soon as they had heard it, they – plus Krypto – hurried to their mentor's office. "What's wrong, Professor?" Scott asked.

The Professor looked grave. "Cerebro has just detected several mutant signatures in Metropolis." he answered. "They are heading towards an industrial district on Metropolis' sea-port."

"Okay." Rogue said. "So, what's the problem?"

"I have never been able to detect these mutants, before now." the Professor said. "Previously, they have been shielded from my scans. I have no idea what these mutants intend to do; it is imperative that we investigate."

Jean's eyes went wide. "Could Doom be involved?"

"Possibly." Professor Xavier replied. His expression became terribly haunted. "But I had also sensed – for one instant – a _familiar_ mutant signature."

"Whose?" Kurt inquired.

The Professor lowered his gaze. "I cannot say, yet; not until I am _certain._"

"Can't y' tell?" Remy asked.

"No." the Professor answered. "Even now, I am having great difficulty scanning these mutants; something – or _someone_ – is blocking me."

The X-Men were momentarily silent at that notion. "Have you heard from Clark or Ali?" Kitty finally asked.

"None yet." the Professor answered. He lightly smiled. "Although I have detected some activity in Metropolis; it seems that an arms shipment has been broken up, this evening."

Lance chuckled. "Looks like Clark and his pals were having a party."

Kitty knelt down to Krypto's level. "Krypto, we need you to find Clark and Ali." she said. "We have to let them know what's going on."

Scott nodded. "We'll leave our transponders on, so that you'll know where we are, Krypto." he added. "Bring Clark and Ali to where we are. Can you do that, boy?" At that, Krypto barked in agreement, before he scampered off, to find his master.

"Regardless of what you find, please, exercise _caution_." the Professor urged. "These mutants are quite powerful."

"We will." Scott promised. "Okay, X-Men, let's move out!" With that, the X-Men hurried off, to suit up, before heading to Metropolis.

_Metropolis_

After having Lex send the files to his belt-computer, it was easy for Superman to use his link to the Fortress' computer to decode the files. In less than a minute, the Fortress had chewed up the encryption and provided the clear-text files. "Got it." Superman reported.

Lex arched an eyebrow. "Your computer cracked that encryption in less than a _minute?_" he said. "What kind of a computer have you _got_, Smallville?"

Cyborg chuckled. "Man, what I wouldn't give to see the kind of games _that_ baby could run on it."

After Superman had sent the files back to Lex's laptop, Green Arrow peered over Lex's shoulder. "Well, well, well..." he said, "...looks like the shipment we busted up _was_ part of a _larger_ one, coming through tonight."

Lex nodded. "And there's _more_." he added. "From what I can tell...these shipments...came through _Shaw International._"

Dazzler's eyes narrowed. "_Figures_." she muttered.

"How can you tell?" Flash asked.

"I recognize some of the codes being used; they correspond to known suppliers of Shaw's company." Lex answered. He sighed. "Unfortunately, this kind of info won't stand up in court; all it proves is that this supplier purchased the weapons – Shaw Senior's smart enough to use them as a buffer, to insulate himself." His expression became graver. "I've been doing some digging – mostly tracing some of the transactions that Van Damme Industries has done in the past little while; recently, about half of them have been with Shaw's company."

Superman frowned. "Whatever Doom and Magneto are up to, Shaw may very well be in on it."

"Terrific." Aquaman muttered. "The Odd Couple of the organized crime world; there goes the neighborhood."

"So, where's this shipment headed?" Dazzler inquired.

"Looks like it's headed to an industrial sector near the sea-port, a few blocks from here." Lex reported.

Superman nodded. "We'd better get moving, before..."

"_Arf arf!!_"

The sudden barking surprised Superman as Krypto touched down next to him. "_Krypto??_" Superman exclaimed.

"Hey, Smallville, what's with the pooch?" Flash asked.

Superman smiled. "This is Krypto, my dog from...back home." he explained.

Aquaman chuckled. "Yeah, the flying was a bit of a giveaway."

Dazzler knelt to Krypto's level. "What's wrong, Krypto?" she asked. She chuckled. "You're not still upset because we said you couldn't come, are you?"

"_Arf!!_" Krypto barked.

Superman's expression became concerned. "No, Ali, I don't think that's it." he thought aloud. He knelt down to his pet. "Krypto...is everything okay, back home?"

"_Arf!!_"

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Superman said. "Is it about the others? Are they okay?"

"_Arf arf!!_" Krypto barked, before he started nudging Superman in one direction.

Lex frowned. "He's nudging you in the direction that the shipment is coming in."

"Looks like your pals are workin' the same case as us." Cyborg observed.

"Looks like it." Superman agreed. "Something's _definitely_ wrong." He stood up. "We'd better get a move on. Dazzler, you're with me in the air; Flash, you follow us on the ground, while the rest follow in the chopper."

"Got it." Dazzler agreed, as Flash nodded.

"Don't hog _all_ the action." Cyborg quipped.

Dazzler chuckled. "We'll try not to!"

Superman smiled, and looked to Krypto. "Lead the way, boy." he said. Krypto barked in agreement, and took to the air, followed by Superman and Dazzler, while Flash took off after them on the ground, the rest of their little band heading to the helicopter, to follow them.

Within the hour, the Blackbird had touched down in an empty lot, far from prying eyes, as the X-Men, in uniform, exited their craft, heading towards the warehouse where the Professor had detected the unknown mutant signatures. "Jean, are you getting anything?" Cyclops asked.

Jean closed her eyes, momentarily concentrating...and shook her head. "Nothing, Scott." she replied. "Something _is_ blocking me; I can't get a good read on anything in that warehouse."

"Gambit don' like dis." Gambit muttered. "Don' like it one _bit_."

"Join the club, Cajun." Rogue agreed.

Spyke warily popped out his forearm-spikes. "If _I_ was gonna set up an ambush, this is the kind of place I'd use to do it."

By then, they had entered the warehouse; the main storage area appeared to be empty...but further into the warehouse, they could hear noises, activity. "Stay alert." Cyclops instructed, as the entire group stealthily moved further into the warehouse, to investigate.

As they moved further in...Cyclops couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched...

At the back loading area of the warehouse, numerous workers were busily moving crates filled with high-tech weaponry into the backs of trucks, while Shinobi and Emma, clad in her Circle uniform – white, tight pants, a white tube-top, and a white cape – supervised. Shinobi smiled to himself; so far, so good. The shipment would be completely loaded in less than an hour, and there had been no sign of _any_ interference.

That last thought was somewhat bittersweet, Shinobi noted. Though he couldn't complain, since things were going so smoothly...part of him had been hoping to watch the Hellions _crush_ his rival...

"Don't get _too_ cocky, Shaw." Emma said, interrupting his thoughts. "We have company." Her eyes narrowed as she focused...before she smiled slyly. "My, my, my...what have we here?" she chuckled.

"What is it?" Shinobi asked. "Is that..._thing_ here?"

"No," Emma replied, "but his dear friends are." She suddenly laughed. "And is someone trying to detect us? Oh, no, no, no, that won't do at _all_..."

Emma then focused, reaching for her students' minds. '_Hellions,_' she instructed mentally, '_we have intruders. Engage them._'

Julian was the first to reply...to question her orders, as usual. '_But Blue-Boy and his sucker-squad aren't here, Miss F..._'

'_I am aware of that, Julian._' Emma thought. '_Slight change of plans._' Her thoughts turned firm. '_You have your orders._'

Julian sighed. '_Fine, fine..._' he thought grudgingly, before he broke away from the telepathic conversation, to do as his teacher had told him.

"What's going on, Frost?" Shinobi demanded.

Emma smiled slyly. "Just saying hello to an old friend..."

As the X-Men drew closer to the other end of the main storage area, closer to the noise, Cyclops still couldn't shake that terrible unease. "Are you getting anything yet, Jean?"

"No, still nothing..." Jean said...and then her eyes widened. "_DOWN!!_" she yelled; at once, everyone hit the deck, just as a bolt of electricity and a ray of superheated energy blazed over them, right where they had just been.

"So nice of you chumps to drop in; shame you won't be staying..."

At the sound of that voice, the X-Men got up, turning to their left, looking into the shadows, as three teenagers, all clad in red-and-black bodysuits, stepped into view. One was a fairly tall, lean young man with short, sandy-blond hair and blue eyes. Another was a young woman with fairly long reddish hair and blue eyes. The third was fairly tall, and well-built, with short, dark hair, and frosty blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Cyclops asked.

The dark-haired youth smirked. "Me? The name's Julian...though I prefer to go by 'Hellion'." he replied. He gestured to his comrades. "You've already met Bevatron and Firestar; it's only fair that you meet the rest of the gang."

At that, to the X-Men's left, another two teenagers stepped into view: a massively tall, muscular young man, and a slender young woman with long, violet hair...who instantly changed into a violet-furred, cat-like humanoid, complete with a long, feline tail. "Beef, Catseye, say hello." Hellion chuckled.

Beef grinned savagely. "Ain't what I wanted to crush, but it'll do."

"Good to hear, big guy." Hellion said. "And last, but not least, meet Thunderbird and Dust." At that, a tall, strongly-built Native American youth, and a young girl, clad in a full black robe, stepped into view.

"As a whole, we're known as te Hellions," Hellion finished, "and, tonight, we'll be kicking the collective asses of you X-Men geeks."

"How do you know about us?" Jean asked.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Catseye purred.

"Look," Cyclops began, "we didn't come here for trouble..."

Bevatron chuckled. "No-one ever does," he said, in a French accent, "but the truth is...trouble _always_ knows where to find _you_."

Hellion smirked. "You heard it here, first, X-Losers." he said. He then looked to his team. "_Get 'em_."

Roaring, the massive Beef charged at the X-Men. Quickly, Jean grabbed the charging titan with her TK, straining under his massive weight, but holding on long enough for Cyclops to send him flying with an optic-blast. Beef went flying back towards his teammates, but Hellion simply gestured; Beef stopped inches from Hellion's face.

Hellion smirked. "Nice idea, Carrot-Top." he mocked. With that, he sent Beef flying back towards Cyclops and Jean; the two X-Men promptly dove out of the way of the TK-powered living missile. As Cyclops came out of his roll, he aimed at Hellion, and fired, but his optic blast impacted off a TK-barrier that Hellion had generated...seconds before he had to dodge a flying crate that Hellion had grasped with his telekinesis.

Taking aim at Shadowcat, Firestar promptly fired a heat-ray from her hands, but Avalanche summoned a tremor, causing a stone pillar to shoot up in front of Firestar, spoiling her aim. Shadowcat took advantage of her teammate's attack; she promptly phased through the stone, grabbed Firestar's hands, and phased back in, trapping Firestar's hands in the stone. "Try heat-blasting your way out of _that!_" Shadowcat declared.

Avalanche grinned...and then froze. "Kitty, _duck!!_"

Instantly, Kitty ducked under a high-voltage blast from Bevatron's hands, as Firestar turned up the heat, blasting the rock apart, freeing her hands. Smirking, Bevatron started to charge up another blast, taking aim at the two...oblivious to Rogue sneaking up behind him, removing her gloves. Quickly, she tapped her bare finger to the base of Bevatron's neck.

The combination of Bevatron's high voltage and Rogue's absorption power was enough to send _both_ of them flying, both equally dazed. Avalanche took advantage of Rogue's tactic, and summoned a tremor _right_ beneath Firestar's feet, sending the pyro-technic girl flying...but Firestar did a mid-air flip, before firing a heat-ray at Avalanche and Shadowcat, forcing them to dodge, spoiling their plans to press the attack.

By then, Beef had recovered from his leader's tactic, and had chosen a new target. Roaring, he ran at Gambit, swinging at him with his massive fists., but Gambit easily dodged every punch. "Sorry, _mon ami_, but y' got t' do bett'r den _dat_ t' get de better o' a form'r memb'r o' de T'ieves Guild." Gambit quipped, as he drew his bo-staff, and unleashed a precision strike to Beef's knee-cap; Beef roared in pain, before Gambit slammed him with a hit to his jaw, knocking him out.

Before Gambit could even blink, Thunderbird darted behind him and grabbed the ends of his bo-staff, pulling it against his throat, starting to choke him. "What about a former U.S. Marine?"

Gambit managed a chuckle. "_Dat...might do it...if Gambit was sleepin'..._"

With that, gambit pushed off the floor, reverse-somersaulting over Thunderbird, breaking the choke. Spyke took that opportunity, firing a salvo of bone-spikes. Thunderbird moved with an agility that belied his stature, easily evading every single spike, before catching the last one, and throwing it at Spyke.

Instantly, Nightcrawler 'ported in, kicking the spike away. He was about to 'port behind Thunderbird and attack...when a distinctly feline growl made him freeze, as Catseye pounced at him. Nightcrawler 'ported away, causing Catseye to miss, but the feline mutant recovered her balance, sniffed the air, and pounced towards an empty space...just as Nightcrawler reappeared. The German youth yelped, and 'ported away, just before Catseye reached him. Catseye growled to herself, before pouncing at the reappearing Nightcrawler again, eager to catch her new prey...

Suddenly, Catseye stopped in mid-air, inches from the reappearing Nightcrawler, as Jean grabbed the feline mutant with her TK, before throwing her a good twenty feet.

"_Sharon!!_" Thunderbird yelled, as he ran after Catseye, catching her in his arms. "Are you okay?"

Catseye smiled. "I'm just _purrrrfect_." she purred, as Thunderbird set her down.

Suddenly, a massive sandstorm filled the air, blowing up from seemingly nowhere, pinning all the X-Men down. "Where'd _this_ come from?!" Shadowcat cried.

"It's that girl Dust! I'm sensing her right in the middle of it!" Jean exclaimed. She reached for Scott's mind. "Cyclops, she's twenty degrees to your left, and elevated forty-five degrees! You should be able to get her with your optic-blasts!"

"Got it!" Cyclops said, as he aimed to the left twenty degrees, aimed up, forty-five, and fired.

Jean's targeting had been dead-on; his blast sent Dust flying, stopping her sandstorm _cold_. As Cyclops stood up, he saw _two_ crates come flying at him, guided by an unseen force; quickly, Jean raised a TK-bubble, deflecting the crates that Hellion had thrown.

Hellion chuckled as his team re-grouped. "Not bad!" he said. "I hate to admit it, but you X-Men aren't too shabby; with any other group of chumps, we'd have been _gone_, by now!" He sighed. "But, sadly, all good things must come to an end." With that, he closed his eyes, concentrating...

Suddenly, a large fork-lift suddenly lifted off the ground, hovering before them, guided by Hellion's will. Hellion grinned savagely. "What I wouldn't _give_ to see the look on Super-Loser's face when he finds out how we utterly _trashed_ his friends!" With that, he pulled back, preparing to throw...

The X-Men braced themselves, ready to evade. This would be close...

Within minutes, Superman had sighted the warehouse where the shipment was being moved, and his hearing detected the UHF transponders that the X-Men were using to signal Krypto; Krypto _was_ leading them here.

As he and Dazzler flew closer, Superman's hearing started picking up fragments of what was going on inside...including that "Hellion"'s threat. His eyes narrowed in determination. "We're going in." he said to Dazzler, before he accelerated, heading straight for the warehouse.

Like lightning, Superman burst through the metal roof, before flying to intercept the thrown fork-lift, sending it flying to the side with one punch. "There's a very old saying, 'Hellion'." he said, his eyes narrowed. "_Be careful what you wish for._"

Cyclops grinned. "Great timing, Big Blue."

Superman smiled back. "Sorry I'm late, guys; hope I'm not interrupting."

Hellion snarled in fury, before he raised his hands, to telekinetically grab a crate to throw, but a golden eye-ray lanced towards him, forcing him to raise a barrier, as Dazzler flew in, followed by Krypto. "Starting without me _again?_" Dazzler lightly teased, as she touched down next to Superman. "_Shame_ on you!"

As Bevatron started to gather energy for another blast, a red blur darted into the warehouse, heading straight for the electricity-wielding mutant. When Bevatron was right in front of him, Flash leapt towards him, flipping in mid-air, slamming Bevatron with a flying double-heel kick right in the face, sending him flying a good thirty feet. Flash easily regained his balance, landing on his feet. "Well, you know _that_ had to hurt." he quipped.

Jean chuckled. "Friend of yours?"

Superman grinned. "Yep."

Just then, a single arrow shot through the skylight above, striking the ground near Thunderbird and Catseye, erupting in a fair-sized explosion, driving them back. Seconds later, a blue-white sonic pulse shot through the skylight, driving back Firestar, Beef, and Dust, as Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Cyborg dropped in through the skylight. "Hope you guys don't mind us dropping in." Green Arrow quipped.

Gambit grinned. "'ey, de more, de merrier, _mon ami_."

By then, Hellion had recovered. "So," he snarled, "the sucker-squad's all here."

Cyclops grinned. "You creeps ready for Round _Two?_"

Hellion's eyes narrowed. "Hellions," he ordered, "_attack!!_"

And with that order, a fair approximation of all hell broke loose.

As Hellion sent a half-dozen crates flying at him and his teammates, Superman quickly knocked the flying boxes aside...before he turned to see the roaring Beef charge at him. Superman met his charge head-on, as he dug in his heels; Beef's momentum forced him back a few feet, until he stopped. Beef's expression was almost comical as he tried to push Superman back, but could not. He pulled his arm back to punch...but Superman was faster.

_WHAM!!!!_

Superman's fist slammed into Beef's abdomen, sending him flying a good forty feet, cratering the wall. Beef was momentarily dazed, but quickly recovered, snarling. Quickly, Flash and Gambit darted over. Flash grinned. "You know, I've always considered myself a fast hand at poker..."

Gambit chuckled. "Dat so?" he asked, as he took out and charged a handful of cards. "In dat case, be Gambit's guest." Quickly, Flash took the cards, and darted over to Beef, circling him at high speeds...moving too fast for _anyone_ to tell that he was sticking the cards all over Beef, before he zipped away, _just_ as the cards detonated, sending Beef flying once more, to land hard, out cold.

As Dust started to whirl into her sandstorm, Dazzler took a deep breath, and blew into the sandstorm; her breath unleashed winds of impressive force, blowing away much of the sand, and revealing Dust at the center. Quickly, Jean telekinetically grabbed Dust, stopping her from spinning, as Dazzler darted over, and lightly _tapped_ the girl with her finger, sending her flying, and knocking her out.

By then, Bevatron had recovered, and was starting to build up another charge, but Green Arrow took aim at him, and fired; his arrow exploded a few feet in front of Bevatron, coating him in a non-conductive haze. Bevatron coughed as his powers fizzled out, and then he caught the scent of brimstone...seconds before Nightcrawler 'ported in and booted him out of the haze, right into Green Arrow's range. Green Arrow promptly retracted his longbow, before slamming Bevatron's face with a punch, following with an uppercut, and whirling into a back-kick, sending him stumbling into Rogue's waiting hand; without a charge built up, Rogue's powers drained him easily, without harming her.

With a feral snarl, Catseye pounced at Rogue...only to slam into a hard-light barrier that Dazzler had generated. Getting back up, Catseye turned to snarl at Dazzler, who only smiled, and gestured behind Catseye. Catseye blinked, confused...

...and the _froze_, as her cat-ears flattened against her head, as she heard a sound that _every_ domesticated feline feared on pure _instinct_. Slowly, she turned around...to see Krypto the Superdog behind her, growling at her, his teeth bared.

Krypto let out a bark that shook the room, causing Catseye to scamper away on all fours, howling in terror, but Krypto was faster; in seconds he had closed on her, and grabbed her tail in his teeth, causing Catseye to wail in pain. Krypto then lifted her up and slammed her to the floor, before floating up a few inches, to spin the howling feline around and around, and then letting go, sending Catseye flying a good thirty feet, to land flat on her face, before automatically resuming her human form, out cold.

Rogue chuckled. "So much for cats landin' on their _feet_."

As Thunderbird closed on him, Spyke unleashed a bone-spike salvo, which Thunderbird evaded, but it _did_ distract him long enough for Cyborg to tackle him with a haymaker, knocking him back. As Thunderbird recovered, he started to close on them again, but suddenly stopped, as he looked down...to see his feet _stuck in the floor_...

Smiling, Shadowcat phased out of the floor. "All yours, guys!"

Grinning, Spyke popped out a fresh batch of spikes as Cyborg readied his sonic cannon, before firing as one; the sonic pulse accelerated the spikes, as both attacks sent Thunderbird flying, bruised and unconscious.

"All _right!_" Spyke exclaimed. "We _rock!_"

Cyborg grinned. "One word says it all, bro." he said. His grin grew. "_Booyah._"

Firestar unleashed a heat-beam at Aquaman, who darted out of the way, as Avalanche summoned a tremor, knocking Firestar into the air with a pillar of earth, before slamming her with a second pillar, knocking her out. As Aquaman regained his balance, the recovered Beef charged at him, catching him in his arms; Aquaman tried to break his grip, but couldn't – he'd been out of water for a while, and not at 100 percent...

"_Hey, Arty?_" came Lex's voice over his communicator. "_Hang on; I'll see if I can get that big lug's attention with that conveyor belt._"

At that, the conveyor belt nearby suddenly activated, whirring to life at impressive speeds, sending crates flying at Beef, distracting him enough for Aquaman to break free. Darting away, Aquaman exclaimed, "Hey, Shakey! Mind triggering the sprinklers?"

"No problem!" Avalanche replied, as he summoned a pillar of earth, which shot up to the control box of the sprinkler system and triggered it; instantly, a refreshing shower washed over Aquaman, restoring him to full strength.

As Beef came at him again, Aquaman easily stopped his charge, before slamming him with a punch to the gut, a headbutt, and then sent him flying with a back-kick, knocking him out.

As Superman and Cyclops closed on Hellion, the telekinetic youth sent all kinds of objects flying at them; crates, heavy machinery...everything he could see, his expression becoming more and more desperate as his attacks were countered by either Cyclops' optic-blasts or Superman's punches. When Hellion finally tired, Superman and Cyclops simply looked to each other, and nodded in wordless understanding.

Superman fired his eye-rays at the exact same time that Cyclops unleashed his blasts; their combined force easily _shattered_ the TK-barrier that Hellion tried frantically to raise, sending a bruised, somewhat-singed Julian flying, to land hard, out cold.

Cyclops smiled. "Well, that takes care of that."

"Not yet." Superman said. "We still have to take out that shipment." He looked to his pals. "Cyborg, Green Arrow, you guys check the east side; Flash Aquaman, you take the west; Dazzler, you and Krypto help me check out the north wing." All his friends nodded in agreement.

"We can handle things here." Jean said. "Don't worry." Superman nodded, before he hurried further into the warehouse, followed by Dazzler and Krypto, as his friends headed in other directions, to find that arms shipment.

After watching the video-feed, Shinobi felt his blood start to _boil_. He'd expected his team to claim _victory_...

"Damn it, Frost, can't your brats do _anything_ right?!" he snarled, before he walked over to one crate, opened it, and took out a high-caliber laser rifle.

"Shaw, what are you doing?" Emma demanded.

"What my father _should_ have done _long_ ago!!" Shinobi snarled, before he stormed into the warehouse, to get rid of his hated rival once and for _all_.

As Superman walked through the warehouse's north wing, he listened carefully, trying to hear any indication of crates being moved. Finally, his hearing picked something up, dead ahead of him. He headed towards the noise...

...and stopped, as his hearing picked up another sound; a laser-rifle powering up. Seconds later, a laser beam shot towards him, but Superman easily leaned out of its path. It was a high-powered beam, but nothing he really had to worry about.

"You seem to _delight_ in ruining my plans, _bastard_."

Superman arched an eyebrow as he recognized the voice echoing from the shadows. "Shinobi Shaw." he called, listening for Shinobi's reply, trying to pinpoint him. "So your dad _is_ involved with this. Should've known."

Another laser beam shot at him, from a different angle; Superman let it hit him, hardly feeling it at all. "So confident." Shinobi sneered from the shadows; he was moving now, to his left...and he was phasing through the machinery. He was a mutant, too; intangibility. "You're so confident with all that power, _aren't_ you?"

"It comes in handy."

"All the unnatural power you have doesn't change _anything_..._Kal-El_." Shinobi mocked. "I _know_ what you are, _bastard!!_ I knew what you were when I first saw you!!"

"Is that so?" Superman replied; Shaw was to his right, now. "When I first met _you_, all I thought you were was a spoiled little rich boy." He chuckled. "Can't say I'm surprised, though."

Another laser-blast seared the air, and Superman dodged it easily. "You think I haven't heard of that fool Destiny's babblings?!" Shinobi shouted, getting angrier. "You will _never_ rule this world, you filthy space-born _bastard!!_ This world is _mine!!_ _I_ will be the next Lord Imperial, do you hear me, bastard?! _I_ will rule the Inner Circle, _not you!!_"

By then, Superman had located Shaw – a few meters to his left – but kept still; Shaw seemed to be in a talkative mood. "'Inner Circle'?" he repeated. "Can't say I've heard of it."

"The Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club will rule _all_, bastard, and _I_ will rule _it!_" Shinobi snarled. "You will _never_ have what is _mine_ by right, bastard!! You have no _home_, no _heritage_, and no claim to this world!! This world will be _mine_, and so will Alison Blaire!!"

Superman's eyes narrowed; the crass mention of his _taushi_ was going too far. "Is that so."

Shinobi took a few steps closer, and took aim. "You are _nothing_, bastard!! _NOTHING!!_ And you'll never be more!!" He prepared to fire...

Superman simply turned towards him, his eyes glowing red, as his invisible heat-rays made the rifle glow red-hot. Shinobi screamed in agony as he dropped the weapon. "Next time you want to sneak up on someone, Shaw, you may want to avoid ranting." Superman said, his eyes losing their glow.

Shinobi's face twisted in fury. "I will _never_ bow to you, bastard!!" he roared. "It is _my_ destiny to rule, _not YOURS!!_ And none of your stupid, Boy-Scout, country-bumpkin politeness will change that!!" With that, he ran at Superman, fist ready to strike, as he used his powers; his particular kind of intangibility also enabled him to disrupt the molecules of anyone he touched in that phased state. Shinobi was trying to disable him.

Too bad for him.

Superman effortlessly caught Shinobi's fist, completely unaffected by Shinobi's powers. Shinobi's eyes went wide. "What..?"

"Sorry, Shaw; your tricks don't work on me." Superman said, his eyes narrowing as he released Shinobi's hand with a flick, causing Shaw to stumble backwards a few feet. "And as for that 'Boy-Scout, politeness' crack...that's a bit of a misconception, Shaw."

Shinobi's expression became fearful. "W-What do you mean?" he stammered.

"_Sure_, I'm polite to people." Superman continued. "_Good_ people." His eyes narrowed into a _glare_, causing Shinobi to cringe. "But people like _you_, Shaw? People who think they can just take what they want, and do what they want, and to _hell_ with everyone else?"

"Well...that's a _different_ story." Superman added. "People like you _irritate_ me. Now, I'm all for restraint, but when push comes to shove, in dealing with people like _you_...I have _no_ problem in doing _this!!_"

_**CRACK!!!!**_

Superman's punch echoed like a _thunderclap_, as his fist slammed into Shinobi's face, sending the spoiled, arrogant young mutant flying a good _sixty_ feet, to crash into a boiler pipe, cratering it, leaving Shinobi coughing, gasping for breath, blood dripping from his mouth, but otherwise in one piece.

Superman didn't normally hit that hard, but the little creep had it coming after the way he'd mistreated Alison, in the past _and_ recently, in addition to being an all-around _jerk_; besides, he hadn't hit hard enough to do any _serious_ damage – a wound to Shaw's pride was good enough. With Shinobi dispatched, Superman continued on his way, to find that shipment.

Within minutes, Superman emerged in the loading area...filled with numerous crates of weapons, as well as several trucks filled with similar crates. As soon as he had stepped into view, the workers loading the trucks screamed, before fleeing in terror. Superman's eyes narrowed in determination, ready to melt those weapons into _slag_...

...but he stopped, as a soft sound filled his ears. Superman turned towards the sound, as a young woman, about the same age as him, with long, blond hair, cold blue eyes, and ample curves, clad in white tight pants, a white tube-top, and a white cape, stepped into view, her hands lightly clapping, producing the sound. "Very impressive." she cooed.

Superman frowned. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled. "Who do you want me to be?" she purred.

Superman's eyes narrowed, as he folded his arms. "_Yourself._"

The woman lightly laughed. "Well, I don't hear _that_ reply very often." she said. She lightly curtsied. "Emma Frost, White Queen of the Inner Circle." She sighed. "You've already met our Black Rook, Shinobi Shaw."

Superman arched an eyebrow. "You name yourselves after chess pieces?"

Emma nodded. "Truthfully, after this little debacle, Shaw will likely be demoted to Black Pawn, if he isn't kicked out of the Circle completely." she said. "Shinobi has _many_ faults...including being a blabbermouth." She smiled slyly. "I am sorry, dearie, but we simply _can't_ have you walking around, knowing what you know about us; I'm afraid that I'll have to erase those memories." She giggled. "And while I'm at it, why don't I have a look inside that _fascinating_ alien mind of yours."

Superman chuckled. "Knock yourself out."

Emma smiled, as she put her hands to her head...and then frowned. She narrowed her eyes, focusing. She focused _harder_...and _harder_, until a small bead of sweat formed on her forehead.

Superman chuckled, before tapping the side of his head. "My Mom always said I had a thick skull; looks like she was right." he quipped. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're a telepath." He chuckled. "That, or you're _seriously_ constipated."

Emma's eyes widened, before she frowned at the shot. "Well, I've never heard _that_, before..." she muttered. She smiled. "Well, Kal-El, I may not be able to peek at your thoughts, but I _can_ signal Hellion to, _literally_, bring the house down." she added. "Which is more important: stopping us, or saving your friends?"

Superman frowned...and then he smiled. "I may not be able to stop you from escaping," he admitted, "but I _can_ make sure you leave _empty-handed_." He glanced behind Emma. "Right, _taushi?_"

At that signal, Dazzler darted towards the surprised Emma and slammed into her, sending the shrieking White Queen flying too fast for her to even _react_, as she slammed into a truck, knocking her out. "You called?" Dazzler asked, smiling.

Superman smiled back. "Let's take out the trash, Ali." he said. With that, the two darted in and out of the trucks, unloading every single crate of weapons in record time. When all the crates were outside, Superman and Dazzler fired their eye-rays, incinerating the crates and melting the weapons inside into slag. Their task complete, they turned to go...

...only to find Shinobi standing there, brandishing his rifle. "You won't be making a fool out of me, bastard!!" he snarled. "I'll get you for – _YEEEEAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!_"

Superman suppressed a chuckle. "Good boy, Krypto."

While Shinobi had been ranting, Krypto had crept up on him...until he was close enough to _bite_ Shinobi right in the _rear_.

As Krypto let go, Dazzler glared at Shinobi. "I _heard_ what you said about my _tausha_, Shaw." she snapped. "Kal is a hundred _times_ the man you'll _ever_ be, and his people were probably one of the greatest civilizations in _history_." She pulled back her fist. "Oh, and F.Y.I? _I'm_ one, _too_." And with that, she sent Shinobi flying with a punch.

Superman chuckled. "You enjoyed that."

Dazzler smiled. "Oh, like you _didn't?_" Just then, the entire warehouse began to shake; Emma had likely told Hellion to collapse the warehouse if he stopped hearing from her.

"We'd better get out of here!" Superman exclaimed. Dazzler nodded, and they darted back inside, to get their friends and get out, with Krypto following.

After meeting up inside the warehouse, the entire group quickly fled, as the Hellions mysteriously slipped away. By the time they had gathered next to the Blackbird, the warehouse had already collapsed. Seconds later, Lex's helicopter touched down next to the Blackbird, as Lex hopped out. "Quite the evening." Lex said.

"Yep." Superman agreed. "But for us – _all_ of us – it's just business as usual."

"I _hear_ you, Smallville." Cyborg agreed.

Jean smiled. "So, Kal, are you going to introduce us?"

Superman chuckled. "Well, you've already met Lex." he said. He gestured to Flash. "This is Wally 'The Flash' West."

"No applause." Flash quipped.

Superman gestured to Cyborg. "This is Victor 'Cyborg' Stone."

"Name says it all."

Grinning, Superman then gestured to Green Arrow and Aquaman. "And these are Oliver 'Green Arrow' Queen and His Royal Highness, Prince Arthur 'Aquaman' Curry of Atlantis."

Arthur chuckled. "Feel free to drop the 'Prince' part of that."

Smiling, Superman then gestured to the X-Men. "Guys, these are my friends from the Institute, the X-Men: Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, Evan, Lance, and Remy."

Walking towards Green Arrow, Cyclops extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Smiling, Green Arrow shook it. "Likewise."

"Anyone that Smallville hangs with is okay by us." Cyborg agreed, grinning.

Shadowcat then glanced to Dazzler. "Oh my _gosh_, Ali, I _love_ your new uniform! It's even cooler than your _old_ one!"

"Thanks!" Dazzler replied. "I figured that, if I'm part-Kryptonian, I might as well _look_ it!"

Lex chuckled. "For a dorky little kid, that girl packs some serious power."

Dazzler half-frowned. "You sure know how to compliment a girl, Lex." she quipped back.

"Well, we'd better get going." Cyclops said. "Hey, do you guys want to drop by the Institute?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Cool by me."

"Okay." Flash agreed.

"Sure." Lex said.

"No problem." Green Arrow said.

"Fine." Aquaman added. With that, the entire group headed into the Blackbird, while Lex got into his chopper. In minutes, both vehicles were airborne, heading for the Institute, while Superman, Dazzler, and Krypto took to the air, flying home.

_Shaw International Metropolis Division HQ, Metropolis_

Sebastian Shaw was sitting in his desk in his personal office when his son and Emma Frost returned. Shinobi's eyes went wide. "_F-Father..!_"

"I am given to understand," Sebastian began, "that both shipments were lost, tonight."

Shinobi gulped. "Father, I-I can explain..."

Sebastian ignored his son, and turned to Emma. "Well?"

"We did lose the first shipment, sir." Emma said. "We attempted to protect the second..."

"...against Kal-El, his associates, and Xavier's students, using this new strike-force you have assembled...without my permission."

Emma slowly nodded. "We had assembled the Hellions for the purpose of protecting the Club's interests, my Lord."

"Indeed." Sebastian said. "I feel so much safer, now."

Emma remained calm – a trait he had long appreciated in the White Queen. "I admit, Lord Imperial, there is much room for improvement, but I do not believe that tonight was a _complete_ failure. We tested our new strike-force against a team consisting of numerous Alpha-Class mutants – _and_ one _Omega_-Class alien – and withdrew in one piece. _That_, Lord Imperial, is a victory, albeit a small one."

Sebastian considered Emma's words...and nodded. "I suppose it is." he agreed. "Very well, Emma; I approve of the creation of this team, but I strongly suggest you step up your training regimen of your students."

"Of course, my Lord." Emma replied, bowing. "I assure you, the Academy of Tomorrow does _not_ tolerate failure."

"Good." Sebastian said. "You are dismissed." With that, Emma and Shinobi turned to leave...

"_Not_ you, boy."

Shinobi froze as Emma left, turning back to Sebastian. "F-Father, I...that is, I _did_ assist Frost in assembling the Hellions..."

"I'm sure." Sebastian said, getting up and walking over to his son. "My main concern, Black Rook, is that this entire debacle _might_ have been avoided...if _someone_ had been monitoring things more closely, rather than gallivanting around Kansas."

Shinobi gulped. "I...I assure you, it will not happen again, my Lord."

"Which brings us to your brief encounter with Kal-El." Sebastian continued. "Emma reports that she was unable to read his thoughts. Do you understand me, boy? That means she _cannot_ erase his memory; whatever he knows about us cannot be erased!" His eyes narrowed. "Tell me, boy: what _exactly_ were you doing running your mouth about the Circle?!"

Shinobi's eyes narrowed in a rare bout of defiance. "Before now, that space-bastard thought he had everything under control; that he had nothing to worry about!" he shot back. "Now he _knows_ that we know of him, and have the ability to _attack_ him! He and the others will be looking over their shoulders with _fear_, now that they know what we can do!"

"_Yes!_" Sebastian agreed sarcastically. "Now they _know!_"

Sebastian backhanded his son, striking with enough force to only turn his head; he did not need to prove himself the better – this was a reprimand, nothing more. "_Idiot_ child!" Sebastian snarled. "The Circle's best tactic has always been to remain a _secret_; Kal-El _knows_ of us, now! He'll be listening for your voice at every turn! You may have very well jeopardized _everything!!_" Sebastian calmed. "You will return home, boy, and pray that I can salvage what your _stupidity_ has bungled...Black _Pawn_."

Shinobi's eyes went wide. "_Pawn?!_" he cried. "But...but Pawns are..!"

"...the lowest level of the Circle; they are not allowed to have a say in the business of the Circle – they follow orders, nothing more." Sebastian finished. He glared at his son. "Since you have proven yourself unable to think for yourself to even a _small_ degree, boy, the rest of the Circle will do the thinking _for_ you."

"You can't _do_ this!!"

"_Watch_ yourself, boy." Sebastian growled. "Be thankful that this demotion is the _only_ punishment I'm giving for a failure of this magnitude." He turned his back on Shinobi. "Now..._go_." Scowling, Shinobi stalked away.

Sighing to himself, Sebastian sat back down in his desk, just as his phone rang. He picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Shaw._"

Sebastian wryly smiled; there was no mistaking that metallic voice. "Victor, how good of you to call." he greeted. "I presume you're calling about the shipments you had asked me to handle?"

"_You presume correctly._"

Sebastian sighed. "I am terribly sorry, my friend, but there have been some...problems." he said. "The weapons were lost; I made the mistake of assuming my son could handle them. Tragically, _my_ ward is not as obedient _or_ as competent as yours."

"_I see._" Dr. Doom replied. "_That is disappointing, Shaw...but ultimately irrelevant; my sources tell me that the humans have successfully tested the meteor-element weapon in their prototype. The weapons we would have supplied will make no difference._"

"Good." Sebastian said, smiling. "You were, of course, referring to the element that Kal-El has an adverse reaction to? What did you call it? '_Kryptonite_'?"

"_Correct._" Doom answered.

"I see." Sebastian said. Smiling, he added, "As an apology, I would like to pass on an interesting bit of information; it seems that the young Miss Blaire has a bit more in common with Kal-El than most. From what my son reported, her ancestors must have hailed from Kal-El's home planet."

Doom was silent for a moment. "_I had a suspicion that might be the case._" he said. "_Anita once told me that the Blaire girl was exhibiting additional powers, similar to those Kal-El possessed. Furthermore, several months ago, Kal-El once engaged in a deep-sea salvage operation with Richards and his family; further research showed that, 500 years ago, an unknown object crashed into the ocean...from the sky._"

"And there lies the missing puzzle-piece." Sebastian said. "Glad I could be of some assistance."

"_Indeed._" Doom replied. "_We will further discuss matters at a later date._"

"Of course." Sebastian agreed. "Good-bye, Victor."

"_Good-bye._" Doom replied, before he ended the call. Alone again, Sebastian simply poured himself a glass of wine, as he considered what had taken place, tonight.

_Xavier Institute_

Fairly late in the evening, the X-Men returned to the Institute, to Charles' relief, along with Clark, Alison, and Clark's old friends. After a few introductions – and a few humorous exclamations, like Jamie's "_Wow, Robin Hood __**is**__ real!_" reaction to Green Arrow – the entire group met Charles in the meeting room...where Charles heard a name that made his blood run _cold_.

"You're..._certain_, Clark?" Charles asked. "She called herself...Emma _Frost?_"

"That's right, Professor." Clark answered.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Jean asked. "Do you know this 'Frost' lady?"

Charles lowered his eyes. "Jean, you and Scott were the first students of the Institute," he began, "but you _weren't_ my first students _ever_." He took a deep breath. "Emma Frostwas the very first mutant I ever tried to help; I encountered her sixteen years ago, when she was only four. Even at that age, her powers were obvious; she was a _very_ powerful telepath, almost as powerful as you are, now, Jean." Charles closed his eyes. "For several years, I instructed her in the use of her powers, in the hopes that she might one day join the Institute."

His expression became terribly haunted. "But Emma wanted none of it; she rejected the very idea of human-mutant coexistence...and she shut herself off from me." he finished. "Her parents refused to let me continue instructing her...and that was the last I ever heard from her...until now."

"Well, it doesn't sound like she's changed her mind." Alison said.

"And she's clearly behind those 'Hellions' we encountered." Scott added.

Charles' expression became truly grave. "Then it's safe to assume that this is not the last time we'll hear from Emma _or_ the Hellions."

"Hey, if you need to, you can always call _us_ for backup." Flash said.

"Yeah; any friend of Smallville's is a friend of _ours_." Cyborg agreed.

Clark smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"Well, we'd better get going." Arthur said. "If I'm not back soon, Cousin Namor's probably going to be even _more_ ticked than usual."

"Nice to see you again, Clark." Oliver said.

"Same here, Ollie." Clark said. "Don't be strangers, guys!"

"Don't worry, we won't!" Lex laughed, as he and the rest of Clark's old friends headed out. Shortly after that, Clark, the X-Men, and Krypto all left the meeting room.

Only Charles stayed behind, as he closed his eyes, concentrating, reaching into the psychic plane. '_Emma Frost._'

'_Why, hello, Charles._' came Emma's reply. '_I had a feeling you'd come calling, after tonight._'

'_Emma, what are you doing?_' Charles asked.

'_Securing our kind's future._'

'_Emma...this is not the way..._' Charles pleaded.

'_You mean, it's not __**your**__ way._' Emma snapped. '_That's always been the problem, Xavier. That's __**your**__ way, not __**mine**__. You never respected me enough to let me consider my own philosophies; you were trying to indoctrinate me into your own pacifist idiocy._'

Charles refused to rise to the bait. '_Emma, you know that isn't true..._'

'_You're right; that's not entirely true._' Emma agreed. '_You were afraid of me._'

'_I was afraid __**for**__ you, Emma._' Charles countered. He remembered how much power he'd sensed in Emma, back then; he'd been so afraid for her, that it would adversely affect her psyche...

...as it apparently had.

'_How sweet of you._' Emma mocked. '_Well, I'm not a little girl, anymore, Charles; I don't need you to hold my hand – I never __**did**__. You have your way, and I have mine; you have your own school, and so do I; we'll see who wins, in the end._'

And with that, Emma snapped down her mental shields, cutting Charles off, leaving him alone with his thoughts, his regrets; he'd tried so hard to reach her, to get through to her...

Now, he could only wonder if he had inadvertently guided the very thing that would destroy his hopes.

_New York City_

In her hotel room, Anita, in her green bathrobe, sat on her bed, absently going over her notes for her final exams. She didn't see the need, really; she was just studying subjects that her father had already taught her.

But she would succeed; she wasn't _about_ to bring shame to her Papa.

Suddenly, her cell phone started to ring. Anita promptly picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Hello, my dear girl._"

Anita smiled. "Hello, Emma. How are you?"

Several years ago, when Anita had started to enter adolescence, her father had told her that there were some things that she, as a lady, needed to learn, which could only be taught by another lady; namely, that she needed a _female_ role-model...and Emma Frost – the then-White Bishop of the Inner Circle, and now White _Queen_ – had happily accepted Doom's offer to become Anita's tutor.

Shortly after meeting her, Anita had formed a kinship with the slightly older Emma; where Anita used her _voice_ to control others, Emma used her _mind_.

"_Oh, I'm fine, how sweet of you to inquire!_" Emma replied. "_I know your Daddy Dearest will likely tell you this, anyway, but I thought I should tell you first; I had an encounter with your reluctant husband-to-be, tonight._"

Anita smiled. "And..?" she asked hopefully; if Emma had read his mind, she would know who he was..!

Emma sighed. "_I am sorry, Anita; I couldn't get through._" she answered. "_Good __**grief**__, that man has a thick skull!_"

Anita sighed. "Don't I know it."

Emma chuckled. "_I __**did**__ learn something interesting, though; your father once theorized that a spacecraft crashed to earth, 500 years ago, correct?_"

"Well...yes."

"_It must have been a Kryptonian craft, my dear...because the Blaire girl is Kryptonian._"

Anita's eyes widened...and then narrowed in utter _fury_. "_WHAT?!_"

"_There's no need to shout, my dear girl._"

"Sorry." Anita said. She frowned to herself. "But I will be _dead_ before I let that little _half-breed_ twit get the better of me!!"

"_I hope not._" Emma said. "_I trust things are going well for you, otherwise..?_"

"They are." Anita replied. "We should be ready to move in a few weeks."

"_Very good, my dear Anita; I hope you finally get through that dashing alien's thick skull. Take care!_"

"Thanks!" Anita replied, smiling. "Hopefully, when I finally get through to him, we can _both_ join your Academy!"

"_Nothing would make me happier, my dear; we certainly could use the two of you. Good-bye!_"

"Good-bye, Emma!" Anita said, before ending the call. After putting her cell phone away, she resumed her studies...though her thoughts started to drift.

Soon, she would be _rid_ of that little half-breed...and Kal-El would be _hers_.

_Xavier Institute_

After meeting with the Professor, Alison, in her regular clothes, returned to her room, to resume her studying. After a few minutes, she heard a knock at her door. "Come in."

Clark slowly opened the door. "Hey." he greeted.

Alison smiled. "Hey."

Clark smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Listen...about earlier today...are you...mad because I went off with the guys without you?"

Alison lightly chuckled. "Well, maybe I was a little annoyed, but not really _mad_." she said. "Besides, you _did_ stick up for me...and you decking Shaw was _priceless!_"

Clark smiled. "_Nobody_ mistreats my _taushi_ and gets away with it."

Alison smiled. "My hero." she teased.

"So...are we okay?" Clark asked.

Chuckling, Alison nodded. "We're okay...although being extra-nice to me for a few days wouldn't _hurt_..."

Clark chuckled. "Good to know." he said. His expression turned serious. "But...what were you and Ma talking about, today?" he asked. Then, he looked away. "Of course, if you really don't want to tell me, that's okay..."

Alison took a deep breath. "Clark...I was telling her about...my one visit to Aunt Embeth's."

Clark froze. "Oh." he replied. "Are...you okay?"

Alison weakly smiled. "As much as I can be." she answered. Her smile grew. "And being with you helps."

Clark smiled, and lovingly enfolded her in his embrace. "I love you, _Alia._" he said, using the name he had given her. "Don't ever forget that."

Alison smiled. "I love you, too, _Kal_." she replied. Smiling, she added, "And I won't forget...although being reminded every so often doesn't hurt."

Clark smiled...and then he froze. "_Uh-oh._"

Alison could hear it, too. "You've got to go." she said.

Clark nodded, standing up and turning to go...before looking back. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

Alison smiled radiantly, her powers causing her to literally _glow_. "_R-Really?_"

"Really, Ali." Clark answered. "You've proven yourself many times over. I want you with me, out there." His smile grew. "Let's go, Dazzler."

Smiling, Alison stood up. "You got it, Superman!" she replied. Her smile grew, as she recalled Lex's half-joking words. "One thing, though: call me..._Power Girl_."

Clark's smile grew. "Okay, then, Power Girl," he said, "let's go!" And with that, Clark darted out, to suit up, as Alison promptly changed into her own uniform at top speeds, before they both darted out towards the nearby window, opened it, and took to the sky.

They were both needed.

_Author's Note: I am SO, SO sorry about the delay; I have had the absolute WORST case of writer's block in HISTORY. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!_

_Coming Soon:_

_The Kree-Skrull War._

_It's been going on for millennia._

_Once, the Kryptonian people tried to negotiate a peaceful end…_

…_but they had no choice but to defend themselves from both sides, earning the everlasting hatred of the Kree._

_One of the hardest days of the Man of Steel's life gets even worse, as his people's old foes come back with a vengeance._

_Can our hero triumph alone?_

_Or will a galactic guardian get the green light to assist him?_

_Find out in "Accused," coming to your computer soon…_


	27. Accused

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: ACCUSED

_Xavier Institute, Bayville, New York, June 25, 2008_

It was a pleasant June morning when Scott and the rest of the X-Men returned to the Institute, in good spirits. Final exams had ended a few days ago, and today, their term grades had been released.

"All _right!_" Evan declared, as he got out from the back seat of Scott's car. "Now our vacation can get _really_ started!"

Scott chuckled as he looked to Jean, sitting next to him in the front seat. "So, how'd you do, beautiful?"

Jean smiled. "Oh, I did fairly well." she replied. "You?"

"The same."

By then, Kitty and Lance had stepped out of Lance's jeep, and walked over. "I take it that everyone did well?" Kitty asked.

"I have to go call _Mutter_; I promised zat I'd call und tell her if I did vell!" Kurt exclaimed, before he _bamfed_ away, leaving a cloud of sulfur in his wake.

Lance chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."

"That's _great!_" Kitty exclaimed. Then, she paused. "Hey, where's Ali?"

"After she got her grades, Ali had to go help Clark with a few things over in Asia; apparently, there was an earthquake in Vietnam." Scott answered.

Jean smiled. "I guess having _two_ super-heroes around will take a bit of getting used to."

Just then, Remy pulled up on his motorcycle, and he and Rogue hopped off. "What about you guys?" Kitty called to them. "How'd you do?"

Rogue sighed. "Solid B+ average, fer both of us." she replied. She half-glared at Remy. "Maybe if _someone_ hadn't been flirtin' every other minute during study time, we _maht've_ done better!"

Remy chuckled. "Y' invite Remy t' de candy store, an' den say, 'Don' touch'? Y' so _cruel_ t' Remy, chere." he quipped. His grin grew. "'Sides, Remy didn' recall 'earin' y' complain, at de time."

Rogue lightly blushed. "Aw, shut up, Cajun."

Just then, a sonic boom echoed overhead; _this_ sonic boom wasn't _quite_ as loud as the ones they were used to, as what had made it wasn't capable of flying _too_ much faster than sound. Seconds later, Power Girl, in her uniform, slowly descended from the sky, touching down noiselessly next to them. "Hi, guys." she greeted. "I take it everyone else did well?"

"Yep." Lance replied. "You?"

Power Girl sighed. "A- average." she replied. "I'm still working on juggling super-hero work, my career, and school; I don't know how Clarkie does it."

"Hey, better than a _B_-, PG." Evan said.

Then, Kitty blinked. "Where's Clark?" she inquired. "Wasn't he with you?"

"Clark said he was going to drop by his Mom's after 'work'." Power Girl replied. "Apparently, Mrs. Kent needs a bit of help around the farm. Clark told me to go on ahead; he said he could handle things." She smiled. "I didn't want to intrude; they haven't really had a chance to talk since Mrs. Kent visited for Clark's birthday."

By then, Professor Xavier, Logan, Ororo, and Hank had walked outside to greet them. The Professor smiled. "Judging from all of your expressions, I trust that you all did well." he said.

Scott nodded, grinning. "We did okay."

Ororo smiled. "Well done, all of you."

"Not bad." Logan said. "Just don't expect Danger Room sessions to slack off over the summer."

Scott and Jean shared a smile; Logan was just being Logan.

As they all started to head inside, Scott felt a strange sense of unease fall over him. Jean quickly noticed. "What's wrong, Scott?"

"I don't know. It's probably nothing," Scott admitted, "but I'm just getting the _strangest_ feeling that we're being watched, somehow."

Jean lightly smiled. "It's probably just your imagination, Slim."

Scott smiled back. "Yeah, you're probably right." he agreed. With that, he and Jean followed the rest of their friends inside...

...but still...some tiny part of Scott felt that Jean was wrong...

_Deep Space_

In the middle of the solar system, far from any deep-space Earth probes, a single, spherical automaton floated in the black of space, watching the bright blue planet from unimaginably vast distances, at the very outermost limits of its scanners...but it was the only safe distance to scan from, now that it had confirmed its masters' worst fears.

Kree Sentry 469725 continued scanning the Earth facility – the 'Xavier Institute,' as it was called – as it had been doing for the past several Earth-days, constantly broadcasting its data-feed back to its masters, while waiting for further instruction.

And even further out, at the very edges of the solar system, the massive Kree _Fra-Kesh_-Class Heavy Cruiser loomed, waiting like a predator for its tiny prey to dart out of its hole.

Aboard the bridge of the Cruiser, Supreme Public Accuser Ronan looked over the bridge-crew from his command-chair, waiting.

Finally, they were here. After dispatching a Sentry to scan Earth from a distance – and waiting for the data-stream to reach them – he had confirmed his suspicions. There _was_ a Kryptonian power-signature coming from Earth; it was emanating from a Kryptonian outpost at the planet's north magnetic pole. After that discovery, the Sentry had held its position and commenced with remote scanning; hopefully, the Sentry gave off too little of a power-signature for the outpost's scanners to pick it up at that distance.

Once he had confirmed it, Ronan had sent word to the rest of the Empire, top priority. The response had been swift: one of the Kree people's most hated enemies had survived. Within hours of sending that message, a massive Colosseum-ship had jumped within range of his own ship; from that ship, once they had captured the Kryptonian scum, Ronan could judge him, and that glorious moment would be broadcasted all over the Empire. His family's honor would be forever restored.

All they had to do now was locate him...

"Lord Accuser, sir! We're getting a data-feed from the Sentry!"

Ronan instantly rose from his seat. "Report." he ordered.

The communications officer gulped. "Well, my Lord, we _have_ determined where the Kryptonian most likely calls home: it is a facility on the Earth-continent North America."

Ronan frowned. "_And..?_"

"W-Well, my Lord...it appears that...that the legends about the Kryptonian people are _true_."

Ronan's frown grew into a snarl. "_What?_"

"It's true, my Lord! See for yourself!" the officer exclaimed, gesturing to the screen. Ronan walked over, and looked; the screen showed a map of the planet...and a single red dot moving back and forth all over the planet, at incredible speeds.

"So...the tales _are_ true." Ronan muttered. "Under the light of a yellow sun, those scum gained unnatural power."

"Y-Yes, sir." the officer said. He gulped. "We...we were fortunate to have never engaged them on a planet with a yellow star."

Ronan's glare made the officer reconsider that statement, before the Supreme Public Accuser returned to his thoughts. "Would our Power-Suppression Collars have any effect?"

"It's unlikely, my Lord; the Collars act to suppress any abilities that the average genome of the target-species do _not_ grant. For a Kryptonian, that kind of power _is_ natural – at least, under yellow sunlight."

"The sun is his strength." Ronan thought. "If we remove him from it, then he is powerless." He started to smile. "Order several of our fighters to enter Earth's atmosphere; we'll capture him with our teleporters, and take him to the Colosseum..."

"Again, my Lord, that is not likely to work." the officer said. "The Kryptonian moves _much_ too swiftly in the atmosphere for our fighters to catch him."

Ronan scowled. "Then we attack." he snarled. "We'll move the ship into bombardment range, and we won't stop until he surrenders."

"Um...my Lord?" the officer piped up. "Are you certain that such an action is wise..?"

Instantly, Ronan had grabbed the officer by the throat, and pulled him up to his eye-level. "You _dare_ question my orders?!" he roared.

"_P-Please_, forgive me, my Lord!!" the officer stammered. "I d-do not mean to question you...but...it is m-my duty to at least _raise_ these concerns, for your sake, my Lord!"

The officer's apparently heartfelt loyalty calmed Ronan's rage enough to put him down. "Explain."

The comms officer took a deep breath. "Lord Accuser, the last encounter we had with a Kryptonian was 500 years ago; a single, light-armed Kryptonian vessel strayed into a battle between our forces and the Skrulls. At once, both sides turned to annihilate the ship; the Skrulls hated the Kryptonians almost as much as _we_ do."

Ronan chuckled. "Likely their _only_ redeeming quality."

The entire bridge crew softly chuckled at that. Only the officer remained calm. "My Lord, it took _both_ sides to bring that ship down, and in that time, that single ship – that single _light-armed_ ship – inflicted untold damage to both battle-groups." The officer looked grave. "In the 500 years since, Lord Accuser, our own technology is virtually unchanged; the same could be said for the Skrulls. Not only _that_, the Kryptonians have had _five centuries_ to innovate and improve...which they are well-known for doing."

Ronan's teeth clenched. "Insufferable Kryptonian cleverness...the meddlers of the universe." he growled. "They _dared_ to think we would actually lay down our arms and talk of peace to the _Skrulls?!_" At that, murmurs of agreement filled the air. Calming, Ronan added, "But I understand your point, Officer. Tell me...what would _you_ recommend?"

The officer gulped. "Well, my Lord...based on his activities, it seems that the Kryptonian has befriended the humans dwelling at this 'Institute.'" he said. "One detail of note is that all these humans possess a distinct genetic mutation – one which they have termed the 'X-Gene,' my Lord. If we use the Sentry as a _distraction_...it _may_ be possible for several fighters to slip in."

Ronan smiled as he understood. "We take his friends...and _lure_ him to us." he finished. He placed his hand on the smaller Kree's shoulder. "Well done."

The officer smiled, overjoyed. "_Th-Thank you, my Lord!_" he exclaimed. Then, his expression turned grave. "There...there _is_ another thing you should see, my Lord." he added. "We have managed to identify the Kryptonian." With that, he tapped a few keys, bringing up an image.

It always repulsed Ronan how much the humans and Kryptonians looked alike; it made him sick to even _look_ at the people of Earth. The image was of the Kryptonian – a male youth, actually flying from the unnatural powers the sun gave him – clad in a red-and-blue variant of the Kryptonian military uniform...

...but what utterly _infuriated_ Ronan was the crest upon the Kryptonian's chest.

Ronan let out a roar of sheer _rage_, as his Universal Weapon crackled with energy as his grip on it tightened. "_AN __**EL**_" he roared. As if having a survivor of Krypton was not insult enough, the survivor was from the very _family_ that had designed and built the accursed Sentrius, the very thing that had disgraced his family..!!

"There's _more_, my Lord." the officer finished, as he brought up another image. _This_ image was of a flying female, in early adulthood, close to the same age as the Kryptonian, and clad in a silver uniform, similar in design to the Kryptonian's...with the crest of the House of _Lir – _the cohorts to the House of El in building Sentrius – upon the uniform's chest.

Ronan's eyes narrowed. "_Another_ one..."

"_Almost_, my Lord." the officer said. "She appears to be a part-human descendant of the Kryptonian that crashed on Earth, 500 years ago."

"Send out the fighters." Ronan ordered, his fists shaking. "Capture those humans – every last _one_ of them. And deploy several ground troops at the Pole; capture or destroy that structure; we will either possess their technology at long last, or ensure that it _never_ falls into Skrull hands." He could barely contain his rage.

At the same time, he couldn't believe it; he would have his revenge on the descendants of Sentrius' _creators_. The gods were smiling on him. His revenge would be _perfect_...

...and he would wait no longer to have it.

_Kent Farm, Smallville, Kansas_

The afternoon sun shone over the small Kent farm as Martha Kent, in her work overalls and flannel shirt, emerged from her barn. "You can just toss those bales up into the hay-loft, Clark." she called, smiling.

At his Ma's request, Clark walked out of the barn, clad in a white t-shirt and blue jeans, carrying two large bales of hay. "Sure thing, Ma!" he exclaimed, smiling. Then, with perfect accuracy, he tossed the hay-bales up into the barn's hay-loft. "Anything else you needed help with?"

"Well, there is a bit of ploughing that needs doing," Martha said, "but we can work on that after lunch." She smiled. "I'll just fix us some sandwiches." With that, she headed towards the house, and Clark promptly followed.

Within minutes of stepping inside, Martha had fixed them both some sandwiches, and they had sat down to a nice, quiet lunch. Clark smiled; even after being gone for so long, this place still felt like home.

Before long, they had finished their meal, and simply sat there, as Clark's Ma calmly sipped her tea. "So," Martha said, "you said that your friends got their grades, today?"

Clark nodded. "They all passed, with flying colors."

"That's wonderful, Clark." Martha said, smiling. "And how is everyone at the Institute?"

"They're all fine, Ma." Clark said, smiling. "Some of the New Mutants are still trying to prank me, but I think they're getting the message."

Martha chuckled. "Well, your father and I certainly didn't raise any fools." she said. Her smile grew. "And how are you and Alison doing?"

Clark grinned. "We're both fine, Ma." he said. "She's really been a great help during 'work'."

"Yes, I had thought so; apparently, there have been a few sightings of _another_ flying person, helping Superman on a few occasions." Martha said, chuckling. "I hope you've _told_ her how much you appreciate her helping you."

"Of _course_, Ma!" Clark said, smiling.

"That's good, honey." Martha said softly, her smile becoming a bit wistful. "I'm so glad to know that you're doing fine."

His mother's tone of voice put Clark on edge. "Ma...what's wrong?"

Martha lightly flinched, before smiling weakly. "Jonathan and I always _did_ have such a hard time of putting one over on you." she murmured. "We always had to write out our Christmas shopping lists, so that you couldn't hear us..."

"_Ma..._" Clark said.

Martha took a deep breath. "Clark..." she said softly, "...I have something to tell you..." Suddenly, she erupted into a fit of coughing.

"_Ma!!_" Clark cried, bolting to his feet. "Ma, what's wrong?!" Martha couldn't reply, since she was coughing so much, but she managed to point to a nearby cupboard. Clark's eyes flashed electric-blue as he used his X-Ray vision...spotting a jar of medication. He darted over to it and took out the jar, before handing it to his Ma. Martha promptly took out one pill, put it in her mouth, and swallowed.

As soon as she had done so, the coughing started to subside; within seconds, it was gone. Martha looked at her son heartbrokenly. "I'm...I'm so sorry you had to see that, Clark..."

Clark felt his head start to spin as he started to put things together. His Ma needing his help...the cough he'd heard when he' called her before Christmas...even _now_, she looked thinner, and much frailer than usual...it all came to one horrifying conclusion. "Ma...you're very sick..."

Martha smiled weakly. "I had thought about telling you at either Christmas or your birthday...but I just _couldn't_; those were supposed to be _happy_ days, sweetheart." she murmured. "I'm not sick, Clark. I'm _dying._"

Clark felt as though someone had just stabbed him in the heart with a Kryptonite dagger. "_D-Dying?!_"

Martha nodded. "I have Van Braun's Syndrome, Clark; it's a genetic disease – I've had it ever since I was born. My DNA is gradually losing its ability to repair itself." she continued. "I got a report from the doctor a few days after Jonathan and I found you. Apparently, there are three possible stages to it – three levels of affliction. Stage One – the kind I have – is the slowest progression, giving the patient _some_ chance for longevity. Stage Two is much more severe, and as for Stage _Three_...well, Stage Threes are lucky to make it out of childbirth." She weakly smiled. "It's the reason why I could never have a child of my own; it started in my ovaries, and has been spreading slowly ever since."

Clark's scientific mind processed this, while the rest of his psyche was reeling in shock; proper DNA repair was critical in meiosis, which generated gametes – if repair was missing, mutations could accumulate, causing meiosis to stall completely. And if repair-capability was lost _altogether_...

"How...long..?" Clark finally managed to choke out.

Martha sighed. "The doctors say that I have two years, at most." she replied. "In fact, they're confident that I'll make it to two years, since I take care of myself."

Clark felt his eyes start to sting. "There...there must be something we can do..."

Martha smiled sadly, and shook her head. "It's incurable, honey." she answered.

"Well...w-what about gene therapy?" Clark said. "That should get things back to normal, and I'm sure that the Professor would _gladly_ pay for it..."

"No, Clark, that won't work; they still haven't located the exact genes that cause this. Gene therapy can't help...at least, not yet."

Clark suppressed a sob. "Well...well, fine, I'll just look through the medical archives in the Fortress. Kryptonian medicine is _eons_ ahead of Earth medicine; my people could have _easily_ fixed something like this!"

Martha slowly stood up. "Clark..."

"There _has_ to be a cure, Ma!" Clark continued, fighting tears. "I'll find it! If there's a procedure, I'll _learn_ it, and I'll..!"

Martha placed a fingertip on Clark's mouth, shushing him. "No, Clark." she said simply. "I don't want you to do that."

Clark's eyes went wide. "_But...but Ma..._" he whimpered, his eyes watering, "_...I can save you..._"

Martha instantly hugged her son, holding him close. "Oh, sweetie," she cooed, "I _know_ you can." She moved back, to look him in the eyes, smiling through tears. "But don't you see? This is _natural._ This is how I'm _supposed_ to die."

Clark fought hard to keep from sobbing. "Don't...d-don't say that, Ma..."

"Honey, I've known this was coming ever since we adopted you." Martha said. "For a while, I didn't want to believe it, either." She smiled as tears started to fall from her eyes. "But do you know what? I understood _why_ I had it; I couldn't have a child of my own because God was giving me a beautiful little baby boy that He wanted me to look after."

Clark felt tears start to run down his face. "_Ma..._"

"I've had a good life, Clark." Martha continued. "I had the child I'd always wanted; I got to see my beautiful baby grow up; I got to see him leave the nest...and find his way back; I got to see him find a new family, and meet someone special; and I got to see him become the amazing man he is today." Her smile grew. "I have no regrets." She chuckled. "Well, _maybe_ just _one_: that I never got to see my grandchildren, but I'll be okay with that."

Clark felt the tears speed up. "_But Ma..._"

"I know this is hard, honey," Martha said, hugging him, "but this is what's supposed to be...just like with your father..."

"_No_, Ma!" Clark cried. "Pa died because I _just wasn't fast enough!!!_"

Martha hugged him tighter. "Oh, _no_, sweetheart." she cooed. "It was _not_ your fault, do you hear me?" She held her son close. "Ever since you left, I couldn't understand why your father had to leave us...until I first saw you start to do what you do...and I just _knew_: _that_ was why Jonathan had to leave. God had given us the task of raising you; He decided that Jonathan's task was finished, and He called him home." She smiled tearfully. "And it's the same thing with me, sweetie; God thinks I've done what He wanted me to do...and now He wants me to come home."

"_But...but I don't want you to go, Ma..._" Clark whimpered, hugging his Ma closer.

Martha smiled. "Sweetheart," she cooed, "no matter _what_ happens to me, I'll always be with you, looking down on you, with your father; we'll be the proudest parents in Heaven." She smiled. "Well...maybe the _second_-proudest."

Clark said nothing; he only hugged his mother closer, crying silently. Martha remained silent as well, as mother and son just held each other for a little while longer.

_Deep Space, several hours earlier_

In the vast emptiness of space, just beyond the solar system that the planet Earth called home, a single green light moved through the unending vacuum, illuminating the infinite blackness.

At the heart of that light, within its protective force-field, was a 22-year-old African-American man, tall and athletically built, with dark eyes, which now had a green glow from the use of his powers, and a bald head, with a thin beard framing his mouth, clad in a black bodysuit with the shoulders trimmed in green, and with the crest of a single green lantern emblazoned on his suit's chest, within a white circle. Around his right wrist was a high-tech communicator, which relayed critical messages from his home base, and upon his right ring-finger was a single, green ring, with the same crest as that of his suit. Around his body was a green glow, emanating from the ring.

Green Lantern Corpsman John Stewart smiled to himself as he prepared to finish up his patrol before returning to the home base of the Green Lantern Corps. As he flew, propelled by the energy of his power-ring, he reflected on the past two years, the two years since he'd joined the Green Lantern Corps, the elite galactic peacekeeping force that kept things from getting out-of-hand across the universe.

It had all started two years ago, during his last tour of duty as a U.S. Marine; he'd been assigned to Iraq, and was just a few days away from completion of his mission, due for an honorable discharge, when he'd seen _something_ fall from the sky. Luckily, it had been fairly close to base, and it was during off-hours, so he'd been able to go and check it out without anyone noticing.

What he had found had changed _everything._

The object had been a spaceship, and its sole inhabitant – a tiny little grey-skinned, white-haired, robe-clad man – was severely injured. He'd managed to "borrow" a few medical supplies from base and patch the little guy up...just in time for a man in the same uniform he now wore to show up.

Apparently, the injured alien was one of the wise Guardians of the planet Oa, and the guy in green – Hal Jordan – was a member of the Green Lantern Corps, and, right then and there, the Guardian offered John a chance to join up.

John had always wanted to be part of something bigger, _greater_ than himself; it was why he'd joined the Marines. And he'd just been offered that chance again.

After being discharged and stopping by his old loft in the States just long enough to catch his breath, John had met up with Hal again, and been officially inducted into the Green Lantern Corps.

And for the past two years, John had been a Green Lantern. He had his complaints; _every_ Lantern did, at times. Still, he _enjoyed_ the challenge of keeping the peace throughout the known galaxies...and slowly, he was being regarded as _more_ than just a rookie from Earth.

He could live with that.

Suddenly, his wrist-communicator started to beep, snapping John out of his recollection. Promptly, he switched it on. "Lantern Stewart reporting."

"_We need you, Lantern._"

At once, John's eyes went wide at who it was. "Guardian Krallen!" he exclaimed, automatically saluting one of the wise founders of the Corps.

"_At ease, Lantern Stewart._" Guardian Krallen replied. "_I trust your sector is quiet?_"

John nodded. "Nothing's going on out here, sir. I was just about to head back."

"_Good; then I caught you in time._" Krallen said. "_Lantern, the Galactic Confederacy has just informed us of something...disturbing._"

John nodded; the Confederacy was a loosely-knit alliance of space-faring worlds. It had begun several millennia ago, when the Kryptonian people – God rest their souls – had constructed their massive World-Gate network. At the time, the Kryptonians had not started to encode their technology, which allowed many other races – having just discovered space-travel – to travel from one galaxy to the next. At first, Krypton had been hesitant to allow such use of their technology, due to their ancient law of noninterference, but after much debate, Krypton's wise Council of Twelve ruled that, since these other races were _already_ capable of space-travel, they would be exploring the rest of the universe, anyway, so allowing them to use the Gates would cause no harm. The development and fostering of trade and galactic commerce had commenced, which very soon led to the birth of the Confederacy. Though Krypton had never joined the Confederacy, it had retained some friendly relations with it, as well as the Corps, after asking them to help enforce their ruling to keep the Gates from being used in war or conquest.

And then, they had encountered the Kree and the Skrulls – two of the big powers in the cosmos. After _that_ little meeting, the Kryptonians had promptly shut down the network, to prevent those two war-mongers from using it, with some help from the Corps. Fortunately, most of the member-worlds in the Confederacy had developed step-through, by then. Ever since, the Confederacy and the Corps had formed something of a forced alliance, as they were only strong enough to really oppose either the Kree or Skrulls _together_.

"What's the problem?" John asked.

"_I received a communique from Head Councillor Wazzo of the Galactic Council._" Krallen replied. "_She had recently intercepted a transmission from the ship of Kree Accuser Ronan._"

John scowled. "And what's _that_ bastard up to, I wonder?"

"_The Accuser's transmission was meant for the Kree Supreme Intelligence; he was boasting that he would 'at long last put an end to our most hated enemy'._"

John arched an eyebrow. "Sounds like a new campaign against the Skrulls; we can't get involved in that."

"_I said the same to Councillor Wazzo, but she was adamantly of the opinion that Ronan was __**not**__ referring to the Skrulls._" Krallen replied. "_She went on to say that Ronan was following a power-signature; one that suggested trans-light-speed travel._"

"'Trans-Warp'??" John exclaimed. "The Skrulls aren't even _close_ to developing that! Neither are the Kree, or anyone _else_, for that matter!"

Guardian Krallen's expression turned grave, and John knew he was about to drop his bomb...and _boy_, was he right. "_The Councillor had a detailed analysis of the signature done; the power-signature is half-__**Kryptonian**__ – a conclusion that I and the other Guardians agree with._"

John's eyes nearly bugged out of his _head_. "_What?!_" he exclaimed. "But Krypton exploded, thirty years ago! There were no survivors!"

"_Apparently, that is not the case._" Krallen replied. "_There must have been a survivor...and the Kree have found out about it._"

John's expression hardened. "Where?"

"_On your birth-world, Earth._" Krallen said. "_Earth and its solar system are part of the Neutral Planets Treaty...though I am certain that fact is of little concern to Ronan; we both know of his family's personal vendetta against Krypton. Your orders, Lantern Stewart, are to head to Earth, and find the survivor of Krypton before the Kree do. I will contact the Councillor; she will send a contingent to support you – knowing her, she will likely come, herself . I need not tell you of the significance of this discovery; Krypton's people were one of the greatest civilizations in the known cosmos – it would be a tragedy if that survivor were lost._"

"Understood, Guardian Krallen. I'm on my way." John replied. "Lantern Stewart out." With that, John switched off his communicator.

Earth was only a few hours away...but his ring didn't have enough energy to get him there, let alone take on the Kree; he had to recharge, first.

His brow furrowing, John scanned the endless black horizon, before he spotted a planet nearby...with pockets of _oxygen_ in its upper atmosphere. Quickly, John flew towards it, entering the atmosphere, before touching down on a mountaintop, within one of those precious pockets, and lowered his field.

John winced as soon as the air filled his nostrils; the air was damn pungent, but it was breathable. Luckily, he wouldn't be here long. Concentrating, he held his ring-bearing hand into the air, and began to speak the Lantern's Oath:

"_In brightest day, in blackest night,_

_no evil shall escape my sight._

_Let all who worship evil's might_

_beware my power...Green Lantern's light!_"

As he spoke the oath that every Lantern had taken, his ring started to glow, as his words caused it to access the sub-dimensional link to his Power-Lantern, which drew energy directly from Oa's Lantern Core, fueling his powers. Instantly, a beam of green energy shone from the emerald-colored, glowing torch into his ring, refueling it in seconds.

John smiled to himself as he raised his field, again, before rising out of the atmosphere, into space, and flying off towards Earth, considerably faster than he had flown before.

He had a mission to carry out.

_Kent Farm, Smallville_

Shortly after lunch, Clark had gone back out into the field, to start ploughing. He had hoped that the work would keep his mind off of things...but his thoughts just kept drifting.

"_I'm not sick...I'm dying..._"

_Dying._

Ma was dying.

Clark could only grimace to himself as that terribly familiar, heart-wrenching helplessness filled him. It had been six years since he'd felt that...six years since his Pa had...

Suddenly, the familiar beeping of his belt-computer shook him out of his grim thoughts. Quickly, Clark took it out, and opened it.

His eyes went wide as he saw what the Fortress' sensors were picking up.

At once, Clark darted away from the plough, before zipping by his Ma as she was preparing the seed for planting. "I'm sorry, Ma, but I've got to go!" he called back. "It's an emergency!!"

"Okay, Clark!" his Ma called after him. "I'll be fine!"

But Clark was already in the house, donning his uniform at incredible speeds, even for _him_. His change complete, Superman darted out of the house and took to the air, flying across the planet at top speed, flying high into the atmosphere...where his eyes confirmed what the Fortress had detected.

There, in the very edges of the atmosphere, was a fairly small, gleaming metal sphere, with numerous metal instruments jutting from its surface...both for the purposes of scanning...and _combat_.

A Kree Sentry.

It was so small, the Fortress hadn't been able to detect it until it was this close, not with all the background cosmic radiation. From a distance, the Sentry could only perform the most basic of surface scans; it was possible that it hadn't detected him yet...

Suddenly, the Sentry turned towards him, firing a high-powered laser. Superman easily evaded it, as his eyes glowed blazing red, before his eye-rays lanced towards the Sentry, piercing its transmitter, hopefully before it had a chance to broadcast to any nearby Kree vessels...

Instantly, the Sentry dropped like a stone, falling towards the Earth, but Superman quickly caught it. As he lifted it up to his face, he managed to catch a quick glimpse of its screen before it went dead. The message was in Kree, but he easily understood it.

_Kryptonian engaged...commence with operation._

Superman's eyes widened. '_The Kree __**know**__ about me??_' he thought, with dawning horror. '_But...why haven't they..?_'

Just then, his belt-computer beeped again, and Superman checked it. The Fortress was now detecting _two_ Kree _Ral-Mahk_ Fighters entering Earth atmosphere over the Fortress...

..._heading for the Institute!!!_

This had just been a _diversion!!!_

Horror gripping his heart even tighter, Superman turned and flew for the Institute with all that he had, hoping against hope that he wasn't too late...

_Xavier Institute, a few minutes earlier_

In her room, Alison, after changing back to her regular clothes, had sat down on her bed, her pencil and paper in hand, and had started to work on the new song she was planning to sing on her upcoming concert, next month. At the foot of her bed, Krypto sat by her feet; earlier today, while she and Clark had been helping in Vietnam during the earthquake, Krypto had been escorting a plane carrying relief supplies through a tropical storm.

Alison sighed to herself, as she absently nibbled on the end of her pencil, trying to overcome the intense bout of songwriter's block she was having...the one that was only _worsened_ by the fact that _this_ concert would be the biggest one of her life...

'_Okay, I'm only psyching myself out._' Alison thought. She glanced at the lyrics that she had come up with so far...outlined by several Kryptonian characters at the edges of the paper. Alison smiled to herself; when exams had finished, Clark had taken it upon himself to start to teach her the Kryptonian language, to Alison's delight. So far, it had been hard going, since Kryptonian was governed by an entirely different set of rules than English – or any _other_ Earth-based language – but she was _starting_ to grasp a few of its rules.

After a few minutes, Alison checked her watch. '_It's time, already? Darn..._' she thought, as she got up to change. Today, they were doing an outdoor field-skills drill, since it was a fairly nice day. Within minutes, she had donned her uniform and had headed out of her room, letting Krypto snooze.

As she walked down the corridor, she spotted Mark heading back to his own room, and she smiled. "Hey, Mark." she greeted.

"_Greetings, Alison._" Mark replied.

Alison chuckled. "No offence, Mark, but you need to update your language program."

Mark blinked. "_My wireless system has already provided me with the most up-to-date encyclopedia programs._"

"That wasn't what I meant, Mark." Alison said, smiling. "It isn't _what_ you say, it's just...the _way_ you talk."

"_My choice of words is selected for clear and efficient communication._" Mark reasoned. "_I was unaware that it presented a problem..._"

"It's _not_ a problem!" Alison said quickly. "We don't have any problem with the way you talk, Mark. It's just that...if you want to attend school, this coming year, you might want to re-evaluate your choice of words. Almost _nobody_ talks like you do."

Mark blinked, and then nodded. "_Understood._"

Alison smiled. "So, what are you up to?"

Mark smiled. "_I have recently come to understand part of the mechanism of telepathy from my discussions with Professor Xavier; it appears that telepathy is merely the reading of electrical activity in the brain, and the translation of that activity into recognizable form._" he answered. "_My sensors are capable of scanning brain activity; therefore, if I can develop an algorithm that successfully and consistently translates scanned electrical impulses into comprehensible language, it is possible to duplicate the telepathic phenomenon._"

Alison smiled. "A mind-reading machine, huh, Mark?" she asked. "Well, good luck with that!"

"_Thank you._" Mark replied. "_Good luck with your training session._"

"Thanks!" Alison said, before she headed outside, as Mark proceeded to his room.

As Alison stepped outside, she found the rest of the X-Men, as well as Logan and Ororo, already there, in uniform. "You're late, Diva." Wolverine said.

Power Girl smiled. "Sorry. I just bumped into Mark, for a minute."

"So, what's on the schedule for today?" Shadowcat inquired.

Suddenly, before anyone could answer, Power Girl's eyes widened, as her hearing started picking up a sound...a sound unlike any she had heard, before...

Jean noticed her expression. "What's wrong?"

Before Power Girl could reply, two large aircraft darted into the sky above the Institute, moving so fast as to seem that they had come from nowhere. They were larger than fighter jets, made of blue-black metal, with two large, curved-back wings, a single fin extending back over the single exhaust, and tapering to a point at the front, with various markings along their hulls...

...markings that no human hand had ever made.

As the two alien craft hovered overhead, one emitted a single beam of white light, aiming it down...at _Shadowcat_; the instant the beam touched her, she _vanished_.

"_KITTY!!!_" Avalanche cried.

The other ship emitted a similar beam on the Institute itself, while the first ship began to aim its beam towards the rest of them. "_Scatter!!_" Cyclops ordered, and the entire team split up, but the beam was too fast; in seconds, it had touched every single one of the X-Men, including Storm and Wolverine, until only Power Girl remained. Power Girl tried to fly above the two ships, out of reach of their beams...but she simply wasn't fast enough; the beam shone on her...and then...

..._blackout_.

By the time Superman had reached the Institute, the two Kree Fighters had already reached it, and were using their teleporter beams to abduct his friends..._and Ali_...

Superman's eyes narrowed in sheer, righteous _fury_, as he flew at the Fighters, full speed.

By then, Krypto had emerged from the Institute, realizing that something was wrong. He snarled at the two Fighters, and flew at them, teeth bared...only to smack into their shields with a yelp, sending him falling, to land on the ground, dazed, but unhurt.

As the Fighters' teleporter beams shut off, Superman flew at one Fighter and _slammed_ it with a punch, sending it flying to the side, taking a considerable chunk out of its shield-strength. By then, both Fighters had had enough, and took off, into the sky, making for open space. Superman flew after them, at top speed; in the atmosphere, he was faster – if he overtook them before they broke orbit, he had a chance.

Superman closed on the Fighters as he chased them into the stratosphere, firing his eye-rays at both ships, trying to slow them down. He could see their shields start to buckle; a few more seconds, and he'd break them, and then he could force them to land...

They were just breaking orbit, now. The Fighters' shields were starting to buckle, growing thinner, unable to repel the constant stream of nova-hot energy from his eyes...

...and then, the Fighters' engines flared to life, as space rippled around them, before they seemingly _winked_ away.

Step-through. They were gone.

Superman nearly let out a cry of despair. He'd failed them. If he'd just gotten there, sooner...he _just wasn't fast enough_...

...but the _Argo was._

Superman instantly put his despair aside, as he scanned the horizon...and found an ion-trail. His eye-rays must have just _started_ to get through the Fighters' shields; he must have hit one – not enough to stop it, but enough to leave a trail that the _Argo_ could follow.

'_Hang on, guys..._' Superman thought, '_...I'm coming for you._' With that, he flew back down towards Earth, to quickly check on the Institute, before heading to the Fortress.

Had he stayed a second longer, he might have noticed a green light on the horizon, steadily growing closer.

When Superman reached the Institute, he smiled as he saw the New Mutants emerge from the building; he must have interrupted the Fighters before they could start abducting the New Mutants. As he touched down, the New Mutants gathered around him. "Clark, what's going on?" Bobby asked.

"What the _heck_ were those...those _things?!_" Ray exclaimed.

Mark's eyes narrowed worriedly. "_My brief sensor scans indicate that they were Kree Ral-Mahk Fighter-craft._"

Superman nodded. "They _were_."

Jamie looked ready to _cry_. "D-Did...did those ships..._take_ everyone?!"

"I'm afraid so, Jamie." Superman replied. "That's why I'm going after them."

"Not alone!" Jubilee declared.

Roberto nodded. "We're with you, Big Blue! Let's _stick_ it to those..!"

"_No._" Superman said firmly. "Absolutely not. The Kree are completely ruthless; I will _not_ put all of you in this much danger. From what I can tell, it's _me_ they're really after."

"But..._why??_" Amara asked.

"No time to explain." Superman said. "I want all of you to get back inside and head to the Danger Room; if the Kree come back, their scanners shouldn't detect you _that_ far underground." He turned to Mark. "Mark, your database should contain schematics on Kree technology; I want you to work on jamming their scanners, in case they _do_ come back."

Mark nodded. "_Affirmative._"

Superman then knelt to Krypto. "Krypto, I want you to stay here, with the others." he said. Krypto started to whine. "I know, boy, I know, but I _need_ you here, in case the Kree come back – I need you to help protect them." Krypto let out a little whine, before giving Superman's face a quick lick, indicating that he understood.

Superman then stood up. "I'll be back as soon as I can..._with_ the others." he said.

Bobby nodded. "Good luck." he said.

"Thanks." Superman replied, and with that, he flew off, heading north, towards the Fortress.

Superman's thoughts were grim as he flew; chances were, the Kree were expecting him to follow, and had likely taken his friends to a system without a yellow sun. His expression became firm.

He'd lost his Pa.

He was _going_ to lose his Ma.

But he'd be _damned_ before he lost the _rest_ of his family.

He would _not_ fail again, yellow sun or not.

Suddenly, his belt-computer began to beep, and he quickly checked it; the Fortress was showing four bio-signs approaching it.

His eyes narrowed; apparently, the Kree Fighters had left a few visitors behind.

Well, that was fine with him.

Within minutes, Superman had reached the Fortress; as he'd expected, his sanctuary had automatically raised its defense-shield...and the four Kree soldiers, in full armor, were blasting it with their laser-rifles, to no avail.

His eyes narrowed in fury, Superman _dove_ at the attacking Kree, tackling one Kree at Mach Three as he decelerated, sending him flying to slam into the shield, out cold. Kree were, physically, stronger and more durable than humans were...which meant that he could smack these bullies around a bit.

Turning, the remaining Kree snarled at him, and started to open fire; Superman shrugged off their shots easily, before he zipped over to two of the Kree, grabbed their weapons, and bent them in half. He then grabbed the two soldiers, lifted them up with barely any effort, and tossed them into the third, knocking all three out.

Turning, Superman spotted the first Kree, as he got up, holding a disc-like device: an explosive. "_Kryptonian scum!!!_" he snarled, in the Kree language. "_We came here to seize this crystal monstrosity...but now we'll destroy it, along with any last trace of your filthy..!_"

But he was cut off, as a green beam of energy lanced down from the sky, engulfing the Kree and making him drop the explosive...as a tall, well-built, African-American man, a few years older than he was, clad in a black-and-green bodysuit, descended from the clouds, his body surrounded by a green glow.

'_A Green Lantern Corpsman..._' Superman thought. For a moment, he wondered why the Fortress hadn't detected him...and then he remembered: Krypton and the Corps had always been on friendly terms, in the past. The Fortress only alerted him of danger; it would have recognized the Corpsman's power-signature, and promptly dismissed it. It made sense that this Lantern was here; Earth was part of the Neutral Planets Treaty, which the Corps enforced.

"_Kree soldiers,_" the Green Lantern said, in Kree, "_you are all under arrest for the violation of Section Fifteen of the Neutral Planets Treaty._" And with that, he slammed the soldier against the frozen ice, knocking him out, before tossing him with the others, and then taking a small, electronic disc from his arm-band, and tossing it at the Kree; instantly, the disc expanded into an energy-dome, containing the Kree soldiers.

While the Lantern worked, Superman darted to the dropped explosive, and disarmed it. He then took a closer look at it. "A _Kuramach_ High Explosive." he said. He chuckled. "It just might have damaged the Fortress...5000 years ago."

The Green Lantern smiled. "Good to hear." he said. He chuckled. "A real, live Kryptonian...as I live and breathe!"

Superman grinned. "The rumors of our extinction were slightly exaggerated." He frowned. "Only _slightly_."

The Lantern nodded, and then extended his hand. "John Stewart."

"Kal-El." Superman replied. He lightly chuckled. "Although, most call me 'Superman,' these days."

Green Lantern arched an eyebrow. "I'm guessing there's a story, here." he said. "Jesus, you step off of Earth for a couple of years, the whole planet goes nuts."

"I'm sure you have catching up to do," Superman quipped, "but I'm afraid I don't have time to help."

"Neither do I." Green Lantern said, his tone serious, as well. "I'm here on behalf of the Galactic Confederacy, to offer you citizenship with the Confederacy, as well as protection from the Kree Empire."

"A generous offer," Superman admitted, "but I can't accept." His tone turned grave. "Regardless, the Kree have captured several of my friends, and I intend to rescue them."

John's eyes widened, and then narrowed. "I figured that bastard Ronan was up to something...should've known he wouldn't fight you near a yellow sun."

"Ronan?"

"The Empire's current Supreme Public Accuser." John explained. "Bastard's got a real hate for you Kryptonians..._especially_ your family, since his family had led basically every raid to try and take Krypton..."

"...and always got decimated by the Sentrius Battlestation." Superman finished.

"_Bingo_." Green Lantern replied. "The Guardians intercepted a transmission he sent; we can tell that he'll be heading for the Kren-Ziar System."

"One of the Empire's most heavily defended territories." Superman replied. He remembered that much from his studies on the Kree during his years in the Fortress; the planets in that system were rich in mineral deposits, and the Kree had enslaved the entire indigenous population to work their mines.

His fury only _grew_ at that thought.

"Confederacy ships will be in this system within a few hours." John said. "We can help you get your friends back..."

"We can't wait that long." Superman said.

"Look, even a _big_ Kree ship won't be able to step-through again until it recharges for several hours. Your friends aren't going anywhere." John said. "I'll contact the Guardians, and we can coordinate..."

"Kren-Ziar is only fifteen minutes away by Trans-Warp."

John's eyes widened. "You...you guys have Trans-Warp?"

"It's how I was planning on going after them."

John chuckled. "Well, that system doesn't have a yellow sun; be an awful shame if you got yourself killed..._especially_ while I'm supposed to watch your back." he said. "Need any backup?"

Superman smiled. "I suppose having a Lantern around might come in handy." he quipped. "Why not?" With that, he tapped his belt-computer, shutting off the Fortress' shield, before walking to the door and opening the lock, allowing himself and Green Lantern to step through.

As they stepped inside the Fortress, John whistled. "No matter how much you hear about something, _seeing_ it for real always gets you."

"Fortress: initiate navigational assist program: Vehicle Bay." Superman instructed. At once, a glowing path became illuminated down one corridor. "That path will take you to my ship, the _Argo_. I'll follow shortly." Green Lantern nodded, and headed down the path.

Alone, Superman said aloud, "Fortress: bring up all data regarding the Solara Project." Instantly, a holographic computer screen popped up in front of him, displaying the information.

In the Kren-Ziar System, he would have been at a disadvantage...but recalling it from his studies had made him think of something else...one of his family's old research projects...

After he had finished reading, Superman nodded to himself. "Fortress," he instructed, "based on Solara Project data, construct one single-use Solara Cell, ten percent charge."

Within minutes, the Fortress had assembled the Cell, as well as a case to carry it in. Superman promptly took the rectangular, hand-sized case, and clipped it to his belt, before heading to the Vehicle Bay.

Soon, he had reached the Bay, where Green Lantern was standing next to the _Argo_, scanning it with his arm-band. John grinned as Superman walked in. "Nice little rig you've got here!" he exclaimed. "Most ships this class would have a little trouble taking on a Kree Cruiser...but with the stuff you've loaded on here, this baby could probably take on at least _half_ of the entire Kree fleet!"

Superman smiled. "Hey, she might not look like much, but she's got it where it counts!" he joked. His smile became a bit forced. "Even though I've finished installing the Trans-Warp Drive...I haven't tested it, yet."

"No time like the present."

"True." Superman agreed. "Well, let's go!" With that, he tapped his belt-computer, activating the _Argo_'s teleportation system, 'porting them both inside.

Within the ship's cockpit, Superman sat at the pilot seat, while John sat at the co-pilot's seat, as the ship automatically strapped them in. Superman quickly tapped a few keys, and the _Argo_ whirred to life, extending its engine-pods. After typing a few more commands, the Bay's doors opened, and the _Argo_ flew out, heading straight up, out into space.

Once they had cleared Earth's atmosphere, Superman took a deep breath. "Okay...here we go..." he warned. With that, he began tapping keys, bringing the Trans-Warp Drive online, and entering the calculations for a Trans-Warp burn to the Kren-Ziar System.

Outside, two pylons began to extend behind the _Argo_, extending back from its engine-pods. Seconds later, two graceful short wings extended out from the pods. The _Argo_ was ready for Trans-Warp.

Inside the ship, Superman had finished the calculations; he needed only to enter them. He took a deep breath. '_So long, Kansas..._' he thought, as he and John braced themselves...as he entered the commands.

Outside, the _Argo_'s engines flared to life, as the ship streaked away into space, at speeds _hundreds_ of times the speed of light.

When Power Girl came to, the first thing she noticed was that she had a _monster_ headache. Slowly, she stood up, and looked around; she was standing in the middle of a spotlight, the entire surrounding area completely dark...and the rest of the X-Men, plus Wolverine, Storm, Beast, and even Professor Xavier, were lying in the spotlighted circle, out cold...with strange-looking metal collars around their necks...

...like the one around _hers_.

"Guys?" Power Girl asked, as she quickly shook the others, waking them.

"Ugh...what happened?" Cyclops muttered.

"The last thing I remember...was those ships over us..." Jean murmured.

"_Merde_...either Remy needs t' stop eatin' dose triple-spicy tacos," Gambit said, "or we jus' been abduct'd by aliens."

"And what is with these collars?" Shadowcat exclaimed.

"I don't know," Power Girl said, her eyes narrowing, "but they're coming _off!_" With that, she grabbed hers and _pulled_...

...but the collar refused to budge. Power Girl pulled with every ounce of strength she had – _zip_. Taking a deep breath, she reached to her belt, and switched on her music, to form a cutting beam on her fingertip...but nothing happened.

A horrifying realization came over her. "Scott," Power Girl said, "take off your visor."

Slowly, Cyclops did so, keeping his eyes closed...and then slowly opening them; no deadly red rays emerged. "What..?"

"These collars," Professor Xavier said, pulling himself back into his wheelchair, "are suppressing our mutant powers."

Cyclops then turned to Jean...and smiled, as he took in all her technicolor glory. "Hey, right now, I'm not complaining." At that, Jean lightly blushed.

"But vat's going on? Vhy are ve here?" Nightcrawler asked.

Hank nodded. "As much as I can appreciate the advanced science behind these devices," he mused, "I'm also curious as to the extent to which they suppress our mutations. Kurt's mutation, as well as mine, also affect our appearances, yet we are, physically, unchanged."

"Simple-minded Earthling."

At that deep voice, the entire group turned, to see a very tall, powerfully built humanoid being, clad in dark green robes, with only his human-like face visible...revealing his light-blue skin and his glowing blue eyes. In his hand was a large, mallet-like metal staff.

"Our Power-Suppression Collars only suppress your _active_ mutant-related abilities." the massive alien said, his voice laced with condescension. "Your appearances were affected by your mutations long ago."

"Who are you?" Cyclops asked, putting his visor back on. "And where are we?"

The alien chuckled, and simply tapped his staff to the ground; instantly, the entire area lit up. They were in the middle of a massive amphitheater, with the seats filled to the brim with blue-skinned aliens, with white hair, clad in variations of blue robes, seemingly everyday citizens, all shouting at them angrily, and a thick dome above them, with star-filled space beyond it.

"Amazing..." Beast murmured. "This place...it is incredibly reminiscent of the Circus of ancient Imperial Rome..."

"It is good that you appreciate it, human," the alien said, "for it is very likely the _last_ thing you will ever see." His eyes narrowed. "I am Ronan, Supreme Public Accuser of the Kree Empire, and this is one of our Colosseum ships, where, among other things...criminals are sentenced."

Power Girl's eyes went wide. A _Kree_...but then that would mean...

..._he knew about Clark!!_

"I see." the Professor said calmly. "You say you are an Accuser...are you part of the...Kree Empire's legal system?"

Ronan chuckled mirthlessly. "Human," he said coldly, "I _am_ the Kree legal system." His face twisted in rage, as he pointed his staff at them. "And _you_ – _all_ of you – are here to answer for your crimes against the Kree Empire!!"

"_What?!_" Avalanche exclaimed.

"Oh, _Hell_, no!" Rogue shouted. "We didn't do _anything_ wrong, pal! So go find someone _else's_ butt to probe!"

"_SILENCE!!!_" Ronan roared, as the crowd shouted in support of the Accuser.

Slowly, Beast stepped forward. "Accuser, you say we are here to 'answer for our crimes.'" he said calmly. "_What_ crimes?"

At that, Ronan stopped, raising his hands for silence. "'What crimes'?" he repeated. His eyes narrowed. "_What CRIMES?!_ You are all guilty of one of the most heinous crimes ever committed against the Empire! You gave _refuge_ to one of the Kree people's _most hated enemies!!_ You sheltered a fugitive from Kree law!!"

"_What_ fugitive?" Storm shouted. "There are no fugitives in our home!"

Ronan smirked, as he simply tapped his staff against the ground. Instantly, a holographic screen popped into view above the Colosseum, which began to show a scene that surprised the entire group...

_The screen showed the Professor, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, and Jean, sitting in the Fortress of Solitude, talking with Clark. The Professor smiled, and said, "But the far north isn't much of a home, even with technology as amazing as that of your Fortress. Would you like to join the Institute?"_

_Clark smiled. "You want me around, even though I'm something of a risk to your secret?"_

_"Ours is the cause of peace, my Kryptonian friend." Xavier replied. "In time, mutants will be revealed to the public eye...and when that time comes, mutants will need shining examples, both to aspire to, and for the public to see that we are not a threat to them."_

The screen promptly dissipated. The Professor was astonished. "How..?"

"Our technology allows us to pluck evidence from your human minds, 'mutant.' You cannot hide from your misdeeds." Ronan sneered. "You are guilty of not _one_, but _two_ counts of this heinous crime!! The evidence of _that_ stands among you!!!"

"But _why?_" Shadowcat asked. "Why do you hate Kal's people so much? What did they ever do to you?"

Ronan laughed. "Do you _hear_, my friends?" he shouted to the crowd. "The Earthling wants to know _why!_" At that, the crowd erupted in another wave of shouting and curses, until Ronan raised his hand for silence. "Let me tell you all a story, humans; one which every Kree child knows." he growled. "For countless millennia, before your pitiful race could even _crawl_, our people have fought tooth and nail against the vile Skrulls; it cannot be _counted_ how many of my people fell against those soulless, shape-shifting _vermin_. But then, just a few millennia ago, my people chanced upon another race, one with technology that could, at long last, make the Skrulls _tremble_. We rejoiced at the arrival of our saviors, and praised the gods that victory was at hand."

Ronan's face twisted in rage. "But it was not to be, for the Kryptonian race, cowardly and arrogant, refused to fight against the Skrulls; instead, they fled back through their network of World-Gates, locking it behind them, so that we could not use it. My people searched the cosmos high and low, hoping against hope to find them, and _beg_ them to help us. After many years, we at last located the galaxy they called home, and our entire fleet jumped within one galaxy of it; one jump more, and we could plead with them, to end the war forever."

"But, again, we were denied." Ronan growled. "For the crafty Kryptonians had foreseen our actions...and left a massive, crystal monstrosity in that galaxy; a titanic Battlestation – Sentrius, we later learned it was called – designed with only one purpose: to keep us out of their galaxy." His teeth clenched. "And it succeeded...all too well. My people were defenseless against the weapons of that..._thing_; it kept firing and firing, no matter how many times my people _begged_ for mercy! In less than two minutes, our fleet was _decimated_; only a handful of ships escaped, and they were _fortunate!_"

The X-Men were silent for a moment...until Wolverine spoke up. "Buster, you're _full_ of it!" he snapped. "You actually expect us to _believe_ that?!"

"You _DARE?!_" Ronan roared. "This is the sacred history of the Kree people! The hated Kryptonians cost us victory against the Skrulls! The use of their World-Gates _alone_ would have been a strategic advantage! And then, a scant thirty years ago, word spread that the Kryptonian home-world had been destroyed; every Kree rejoiced at the knowledge that those foul scum had at long last received justice!"

His eyes narrowed. "Until we learned that _you_ were harboring the last survivor of that hated people! Now, you will face Kree justice!" he roared. "And your mutant powers will _not_ avail you!!"

Wolverine snarled. "Well, bub, you're plumb out of luck," he growled, "'cause there ain't _nothin'_ 'mutant' about _these!!_" And with that, he popped out his claws with a short grunt of pain, as his healing factor could not repair the damage, before he charged at Ronan...

...only to crash into a glowing blue force-field around Ronan.

The Kree Accuser sneered as his weapon crackled with energy. "The Supreme Public Accuser is the embodiment of the Kree state. You may not _touch_ me." He raised his staff.

_CRACKLE-ZAP!!!_

A blast of blue-white energy shot from Ronan's staff, sending a slightly singed Wolverine flying back towards the rest of them.

"It is _sacrilege._" Ronan finished. "For such an act of contempt, I should destroy you all...but it will _never_ be said that Kree justice is unfair." At that, the crowd erupted in cheers, which, of course, Ronan ate up. "The evidence will be heard, and the sentence delivered, as it has been done for countless centuries." Ronan then slammed his staff against the ground. "Let the trail begin!!"

"Kree justice? Unfair?" Rogue muttered sarcastically. "_Nevah!_"

"Logan, are you alright?" the Professor asked.

"Ugh...yeah, I'm fine." Wolverine grumbled, sitting up. "Bastard just got a lucky shot in..."

"Why do I get the feeling that we aren't going to get a fair trial, 'Kree justice,' or not?" Cyclops muttered.

Power Girl nodded in agreement. Things did _not_ look good...

_Kren-Ziar System, Deep Space_

At the very edges of the Kree-controlled Kren-Ziar System, all was quiet. Nothing was happening to alert the Kree Sentries that patrolled the system...

Suddenly, space seemed to ripple, as the _Argo_ emerged from Trans-Warp, flying into the System, its pylons and wings retracting, as its Trans-Warp Drive started to power-down.

Inside the cockpit, Superman breathed a sigh of relief. '_Thank God that Jor-El left detailed notes._' he thought.

"Well, _that_ was a rush." Green Lantern quipped.

Superman chuckled. "It's good to know I didn't do _too_ bad of a job of installing the Trans-Warp Drive."

Green Lantern frowned, as he checked his arm-band. "Looks like Ronan isn't wasting time."

Superman nodded, frowning as the _Argo_'s sensors picked up the galaxy-wide transmission coming from within this system; Ronan was broadcasting this 'trial' to the entire Kree Empire. "His Colosseum-ship is in orbit around Ziar IV."

Green Lantern nodded. "We'll have to get around that mine-field." he agreed. The Kree had built a field of spatial mines around Ziar IV, the largest and richest mineral-deposit in the system, to ensure that, if all else failed, that their slaves on the planet could not flee. The mines couldn't really harm the _Argo_ – especially with Superman's recent enhancements – but triggering one could alert Ronan, prompting him to flee, or _worse_...

"I'm also getting two Kree Sentries ahead of us; we'll be in their sensor-range in three minutes." Superman said. "_Argo_: deploy cloaking field."

Outside, the _Argo_ began to fade, as it raised its cloaking field, disappearing completely, both to the naked eye, and to any sensors.

Inside, seconds after raising the field, a beeping came from the control console. Superman checked it...and frowned. "The Trans-Warp Drive is having trouble cooling down; I was afraid of that. It's not a major problem...but it means that the Sentries might detect us through the cloak."

"We'll have to power-down a few other systems, to make up the difference." Green Lantern said.

"I agree," Superman replied, "but the systems we don't need won't cut our power-signature down enough, and the ones that _might_ do the job are ones that we _do_..." But he suddenly paused. "Hang on...if we instruct the engines to conduct a ten second burst at maximum burn, we can cut the engines entirely and let momentum carry us in! _That_ should drop our power-signature enough!"

"And the burst will draw the Sentries to our present location...and ignore _us_ as we slip by! _Brilliant!_" Green Lantern exclaimed. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Superman nodded, as he began to enter the commands into the console.

Outside, within the cloaking field, the _Argo_'s engines flared to life, engaging a short burst at its top speed...before powering down completely, its engine-pods retracting. Ahead, the two Kree Sentries perked up, and flew towards the _Argo_...

...before passing the cloaked ship by completely, ignoring the lowered energy-signature, dismissing it as background radiation, in favor of the energy spike a few clicks ahead.

Once the _Argo_ was out of the Sentries' sensor-range, its engine-pods extended, its engines powering up, as it continued further into the system.

After a few minutes of travel, the _Argo_'s radar-screen began to beep. "I've got Ronan's ship on radar." Superman reported. He looked closer...and frowned. "And I've got the mine field on radar, too. Those mines are packed pretty close together, and they look like they're pressure-sensitive; if they get too close, they might bump against the _Argo_'s shields, and detonate, tipping Ronan off."

Green Lantern smiled. "Leave that to _me_." he said, powering up, a green glow surrounding him. "I'll just use my power-ring to nudge some of those mines out of our way; I'll just need to keep back, so they don't detect me."

"I think I've got that covered." Superman said. "I should be able to re-route the cloaking system through the shield-generator, and use it to project the cloaking field with a wider radius; as long as you stay within the field, the mines won't see you."

"Sounds like a plan." Green Lantern agreed. "Let's do it."

Outside, the _Argo_ slowed considerably, before the slight ripple of its cloaking field expanded to a much wider radius around the ship. Seconds later, the _Argo_'s teleporter deposited Green Lantern outside, within the field, just as the ship was approaching the vast field of spherical, spiked spatial mines. Taking aim, Green Lantern fired an energy beam, engulfing one mine, and guiding it away from the _Argo_, getting it out of the ship's path. As two more mines glided close, Green Lantern nudged them away, before pushing away several mines that were getting close to the ship's port side. Finally, as they neared the end of the mine field, only three mines were blocking their path. With one last push, Green Lantern guided them clear, as the _Argo_ cleared the field.

As Superman 'ported Green Lantern back inside, he said, "It's smooth sailing, now." His eyes narrowed as he increased speed. "Looks like we aren't a moment too soon; Ronan looks like he's about to pass sentence." He smiled as he saw his friends stall the Kree Accuser. '_Hang on, guys...we're almost there..._'

"So, how are you feeling?" Green Lantern asked.

Superman frowned. "I've been better." Ever since arriving in the system, he'd keenly felt the absence of a yellow sun. So far, his powers were running on the 'reserve' solar energy his body was storing; he was going strong, since he wasn't using his powers, keeping energy consumption low. He wouldn't run into trouble until he actually _faced_ Ronan. He hoped he had enough power, but he _did_ have an ace in the hole.

He only hoped it was enough...

"We've no time to lose." Superman said, as he punched up a maximum burn, heading towards Ronan's ship. He _had_ to be in time. He _had_ to be. Otherwise...

There _was_ no otherwise.

_Kree Colosseum Ship_

For the past fifteen or twenty minutes, Ronan had been yanking memories from their heads, presenting them as 'evidence' to their 'crime,' Cyclops thought angrily. '_Some trial __**this**__ is._'

"You see, my friends?" Ronan declared, as the latest 'evidence' vanished. "For the past two years, these humans not only gave refuge to the Kryptonian, they actually _accepted_ him as part of their family, knowing full well what he was! They actually made use of his perverse power, even granted him a position of _leadership!_" At that, the crowd booed, and cursed at the X-Men...while Ronan looked to a device on his belt, before quickly putting it back.

"I don't get it." Shadowcat whispered. "It sounds like this jerk's already made up his mind; what's he waiting for?"

"Probably whatever he's checking that gizmo for." Spyke muttered. "That's probably the _fifth_ time he's done that."

"Accuser Ronan," the Professor said calmly, "you stand ready to condemn us, yet you have not heard _our_ side of the story. How can we possibly defend ourselves against your accusations..?"

"_There IS no defense!!_" Ronan roared. "You humans condemned yourselves the very _second_ that you welcomed the Kryptonian into your home!!!"

"Then _why_ are we even _here?!!_" Cyclops shouted.

"_SILENCE!!!_"

"_No_, Accuser!" Cyclops yelled back. "This isn't a trial! It's nothing but a _farce!_ You'd made up your mind before we'd even _gotten_ here! Why _bother_ with this stupid kangaroo-court?!"

"How _DARE_ you?!!" Ronan roared. "You _dare_ mock the Kree legal system; the system which has brought order to the Empire before your pitiful race could even _speak?!_ If you speak _one more time_, human..!"

"You don't care."

The X-Men all turned to Power Girl, who had just spoken. Ronan's face twisted in rage. "_**You WILL be silent, Kryptonian FILTH!!!!**_"

Power Girl completely ignored him. "You don't care at _all_ what happens to us!" she accused. "We're just _bait!_ You're _really_ after _Kal!_ _That's_ why you captured us! You _knew_ you couldn't beat him on Earth, so you took us to make him come after you!"

The crowd went silent at that revelation. "Oh, and for the _record_, Ronan, your story's a little _off_." Power Girl continued. "Our people didn't find just _you_; they just happened into a battle between you guys and the Skrulls! And the _reason_ we didn't help you was because we were _trying_ to bring a _peaceful_ end to your war, one that _would_ have been good for _both_ sides, but you _wouldn't listen!!_ We locked out the Gates so that _neither_ of you could use them to conquer and enslave even _more_ of the universe! Oh, and one last thing: both you _and_ the Skrulls came after our people, not to 'beg,' but to do to us what you'd done to so many _other_ worlds! We just _defended_ ourselves, Ronan! So the _next_ time you decide to get all high-and-mighty..._get your facts straight!!!_"

At those revelations, the crowd began to murmur, considering them. It sounded like the exact details of the Empire's defeat at Krypton's hands hadn't been made public, Cyclops thought. "Quiet, all of you!" Ronan ordered the crowd. "Don't listen; it's nothing but Kryptonian _lies!!_"

Ronan glared at Power Girl. "So...that insufferable cleverness exists in even _diluted_ blood." he sneered. "But you're _wrong_, filth; while I _do_ hope for the Kryptonian to come after you...you are all guilty of crimes against the Empire, and you _will_ be judged! Your sentence will serve as an example to _all_ who oppose the Kree Empire!" He raised his staff. "The evidence has been heard! Now the accused will face sentence!" He pointed his staff at them. "For the crime of harboring fugitives from Kree law...I find the accused..!"

Suddenly, a bright beam of blue light shone through the dome above, between Ronan and the X-Men...depositing Superman and a black-and-green-clad, African-American man there.

Superman glared at Ronan. "I declare this trial _invalid_, Accuser!!" he yelled.

The crowd gasped as Ronan's eyes widened in surprise...and then _narrowed_. "You _DARE?!!_" he bellowed. "_YOU?!_ A filthy _Kryptonian?!_ You _dare_ to interfere in the hallowed duties of the Supreme Public Accuser?!!"

"You're not much of one to talk about 'interfering,' Ronan!" Superman's comrade declared. "Do you have any _idea_ of how many parts of the Neutral Planets Treaty you violated?! When this gets back to Oa – and _believe_ me, it _will_ – I _guarantee_ that the Guardians will _ream you out_ something _fierce!!_"

"Be silent, Green Lantern! You have _no_ authority, here!" Ronan bellowed. "This is _Kree_ business, and you will not..!"

"Your _business_ is with _ME_, Kree!!" Superman roared, stepping forward. "But let's _talk_ about your 'business,' shall we? Did you _tell_ them that they had the right to representation? Did you _tell_ them that they had the right to _two_ witnesses for their defense?! Did you even _tell_ them that they had the right to have this trial conducted on their _home planet?!_"

Ronan snarled.

"Uh, _no!_" Shadowcat exclaimed.

"_Ah_ don't recall bein' told anything." Rogue said. "You guys?"

"Nope." Avalanche said.

"Nor do I." Beast said.

"We were told nothing." Storm agreed.

"Thought so." Superman said. "Well, Accuser, there are two explanations: either you _willfully_ refused to inform them of their legal rights...or you're _massively_ incompetent."

"You _dare_ mock me?!" Ronan exploded. "I am the greatest Accuser in the Empire's _history!!_"

"So it was _willful_, then." Superman said. "I wonder what your Supreme Intelligence would think of _that_."

"Good question." Green Lantern said. "You want to tell him?"

"That depends on the good Accuser." Superman replied. He walked up to Ronan, looking him right in the eye. "If you have business with me, Kree, then _take it up with me_, and leave my friends _out_ of it, you _coward_."

Ronan looked ready to _explode_, but he remained calm. "If you wish to stand trial," he snarled, "then I will _gladly_ judge you!!" He smiled cruelly, and shouted, "Let the trial of the Kryptonian..!"

"I'll save you the trouble, Ronan!" Superman declared. "Am I a Kryptonian? Am I the sole survivor of Krypton? Am I descended from the family that supervised the construction of the Sentrius Battlestation?"

His eyes narrowed. "_Yes._"

Ronan's eyes widened in surprise...and then he smiled with wicked glee. "_You all heard him!!_" he shouted to the crowd. "_There's no need for trial! GUILTY BY HIS OWN ADMISSION!!!_"

"_Exactly_, Accuser." Superman said. "And, as such, I claim the right of Appeal by Combat."

Ronan's smirk instantly vanished. "You...you _cannot!_" he stammered. "You have no right..!"

"Kree Imperial Year 567,843." Superman quoted. "On that date, in this very system, a non-Kree citizen accused of a crime, upon admission of his guilt, was granted the right to an Appeal, with the motion being seconded by an impartial third party."

"The Green Lantern Corps have always stayed neutral in your affairs, Accuser; sounds like _I_ fit the bill." Green Lantern said. "I _second_ the motion."

At that, Ronan was shocked to silence...and then his teeth gritted. "If you are so eager to die..._far_ be it from me to stand in your way!" he sneered. He pointed to the other end of the arena, where the X-Men were, as a rack filled with weapons rose out of the ground. "Choose your weapon, filth," he sneered, "and pray to whatever gods your kind pray to that they shall have mercy on your soul, for _I_ will _NOT!!_"

Superman refused to respond; he simply turned, and walked towards the weapons-rack, followed by Green Lantern. "You _sure_ you're up to this?" Green Lantern asked.

"I _have_ to be." Superman answered.

Cyclops felt sick to his stomach as he saw their teammate calmly walk to the weapons rack, and take a pair of slim, slightly curved swords, briefly spin them to check their balance, and nod to himself. "Kal, what are you _doing?_" Cyclops asked.

"You don't have to do this!" Jean added.

"Yes. I _do_." Superman replied.

"But...but without yellow sunlight, you don't have a _chance!_" Shadowcat cried.

"I have a bit of power left over; hopefully, it's enough."

"Kal...there _must_ be another way..." Beast said.

"There _isn't_." Superman said firmly. "I'm _not_ letting you all die; _not_ for me."

"Kal..." Storm began.

"No. He's right." Green Lantern interrupted. "If you all just leave now, Ronan can just bring you all back here, only he won't make the same mistakes as before. If Superman wins this, the 'charges' are permanently _dropped_."

As Superman passed by, Power Girl stopped him. "_Tausha_...are you _sure_ you know what you're doing?"

Superman smiled, and gently glided his finger along her cheek. "I'm sure, _taushi._ I'll be fine."

Power Girl smiled. "Okay." she replied. "Go _get_ him."

Superman smiled, and with that, he turned, and headed back out to face Ronan, alone. As their friend, went Cyclops could only hope that he knew what he was doing...

As he walked back out into the arena, the twin swords resting against his arms, Superman calmed his mind, focusing on the task at hand.

As he looked ahead, he noticed that Ronan, as he'd expected, had kept his Universal Weapon; currently, the Kree Accuser was waving to the cheering crowd, expecting an easy victory.

'_Hate to disappoint you, pal._' Superman thought. He'd meant what he'd said; his friends were _not_ going to die for him.

Still, he was going to have to be careful, to use his remaining power wisely. He still had the Solara Cell, but he _had_ to keep that until he _absolutely_ needed it.

Once he'd finished playing to the crowd, Ronan turned to glare at Superman. "Well, Kryptonian, are you ready to _die?!_"

Superman matched the Accuser's glare. "I don't know; I wasn't planning on dying, anytime soon."

Ronan's teeth clenched, as he raised his staff high, speaking the words of this ritual: "_Let justice be done!!!_" And with that, he pointed his Weapon at Superman, firing a blast of blue-white energy at him.

Tapping the absolute _tiniest_ fraction of his remaining energy, Superman darted aside, just _barely_ evading the blast, before recovering, his blades held at the ready, as Ronan charged at him, head-on. Superman held his ground, and blocked Ronan's staff high, forcing Ronan to move _past_ him, so that he would be in range for close combat, where Ronan couldn't use his Universal Weapon as effectively...a tactic that the Accuser had anticipated; Ronan unleashed a savage knee-kick to Superman's abdomen, sending him flying...but Superman did a mid-air flip, landing on his feet a few meters away.

Superman lightly winced; that knee-kick had _smarted_. Shaking it off, Superman assumed the fighting-stance of the graceful _ataru_ Kryptonian fighting style, which he had studied in the Fortress, a style reminiscent of the ancient _samurai_ of earth. As Ronan came at him again, Superman blocked high, and then forced Ronan's staff low along the ground, so that he was on the _opposite_ side of Ronan, where his kicks couldn't reach without him shifting his balance. As Ronan tried to pull back, to get Superman into his attack-range, Superman saw his chance; he released the block, and stepped forward, not letting Ronan get any distance between them, before he flipped his hands around, and slammed his clenched fists into Ronan's gut, tapping the tiniest fraction of his strength.

That hit knocked Ronan off-balance, causing him to stumble. Superman moved his right leg behind Ronan's, and struck with his right heel, hitting the inside of Ronan's right knee; Ronan cried out in pain as Superman's hit forced his knee to bend, causing him to start falling. Superman then whirled the motion into a step behind the Accuser, striking him straight between the shoulder blades with his right elbow, sending him falling face-down in the dirt.

Roaring in fury, Ronan got back on his feet and blasted Superman with his Weapon, sending him flying, to land hard on the ground, but Superman promptly did a hand-spring, easily recovering. He'd have a nasty bruise on his chest, until he got some sunlight...

Roaring again, Ronan slammed his staff into the ground, sending a ripple through the ground towards him. As the mini-quake came at him, Superman did a short somersault, leaping over it, and landing on his feet; he was starting to get low – he couldn't keep this up _too_ much longer. Just then, Ronan closed on him, unleashing a vertical smash, which Superman just _barely_ had time to block, though he couldn't push Ronan away...not without completely depleting his reserves...

"Interesting little yarn you told about our peoples' history," Superman muttered, "but I think you left out a few of the details."

Ronan grinned savagely. "You're _right_, filth; I _did_ leave something out." he sneered. "I left out the fact that it was _my_ family that always led the charge against that monstrosity! Your people, your very _family_ destroyed my honor...and _today_, on this _glorious_ day...we will at long _last_ be _avenged!!_"

And he punctuated the sentence by head-butting Superman mercilessly, knocking him back a few feet, before charging at him. With all the strength he could afford, Superman knocking Ronan's staff to the side with a quick block, before turning his blades to slash Ronan's side as the Accuser rushed past. Ronan howled in pain, as blue blood dripped from the tips of Superman's swords. Before Ronan could recover, Superman quickly turned and slammed Ronan with a kick, knocking him back a good twenty feet.

A bead of sweat dripped from Superman's forehead. He was starting to run low; he had to end this _now_. Then, as Ronan roared in rage, and came at him again...he got an idea.

Superman concentrated, watching his foe's charge carefully, trying to guess where Ronan's center of gravity was; if he had it too low, this technique wouldn't work. He watched Ronan's charge, as the large Kree grew closer...and then, Superman was fully in the moment.

He held his blades in front of him, and was perfectly still, perfectly fluid, completely ready...and then, as Ronan was less than a meter away, Superman crouched low, evading Ronan's attack, before he _slammed_ his fists, as well as the pommels of his blades, right into Ronan's gut, with as much strength as possible.

Ronan wheezed at the strike, stopping dead in his tracks, stumbling back.

This was his chance.

Before Ronan could recover, Superman darted towards him, and _leapt_ with a fraction of his remaining energy, somersaulting _directly_ over Ronan. As he flipped, Superman brought his two swords together, to slash Ronan's shoulder as he passed over the Accuser, before landing behind him.

Ronan snarled as he turned, ready to attack...but stopped as one of Superman's blades rested against his throat, right above his jugular vein. Superman needed only to flick his wrist to send Ronan's head rolling across the floor.

Superman's eyes narrowed, as he breathed slowly, with exertion, his energy nearly _gone_. To his surprise, he heard the crowd actually _cheering_, applauding the skill of his technique, but right now, all he cared about was _ending_ this. "_Yield._" he ordered.

Ronan's expression was one of utter incredulity; he couldn't _believe_ that he'd been beaten, or that his own _people_ were cheering for his enemy. His expression twisted. "_NEVER!!_" he roared, and he promptly tapped a button on his staff.

Instantly, four panels in the arena wall opened, releasing four blue-maned, lion-like beasts, which instantly began to circle Superman, while Ronan backed away. The nearest beast roared, before swiping at Superman, who darted aside, before pausing to catch his breath...where a second tackled into him, sending him flying. As Superman fell to the ground, a third beast leapt at him, pinning him, and trying to bite him; Superman managed to keep the beast back with his blades, before he got his foot on the beast's belly, and kicked it away, slamming it against the wall, dazing it. As a winded Superman got to his feet, the remaining beasts started to close on him. Superman tapped the energy that he had left, inhaled, and _blew_; his gale-breath was only half as strong as normal, but it was more than enough to send the beasts flying, stunning them.

Before Superman could turn, a blast from Ronan's Universal Weapon sent him sprawling, to land hard on his back, his swords clattering away. "What's wrong, Kryptonian?" Ronan sneered, as he stalked towards Superman. "No yellow sun to hide behind?" He stood over the fallen Superman. "Your kind got what they _deserved_." he spat. "And now..._KRYPTON ENDS __**HERE!!!**_" And with that, he raised his Weapon, and brought it down...

...and with the very _last_ ounce of his strength, Superman caught the crackling Weapon just below its head, inches from his face. He knew he was too weak to push Ronan back.

And so he didn't try.

With his last energy, Superman _pulled_ the surprised Ronan in, making the Accuser lose his balance, where Superman put his foot on Ronan's stomach...and rolled back, _throwing_ Ronan across the arena, to land ingloriously on his face thirty feet away.

"That's _always_ been your people's problem, Ronan." Superman panted, as he struggled to his feet. "All you can see is the _obvious_. Even back _before_ your Empire started, you had that problem. Did you ever wonder _why_ the Skrulls chose to trade with that _other_ species on your birth-planet? The Cotati?" His eyes narrowed. "_No._ All you cared about was the _easy_ way; you killed the Cotati and took the Skrull technology for yourselves. Your entire Empire is just based on _Skrull_ tech; _nothing_ of the Kree Empire came from _yourselves._ _That's_ why we defeated you; _that's_ why you haven't advanced any in the past few millennia; _that's_ why your people, your Empire are utterly _stagnant_: you have _no imagination._"

Superman grinned. "I _knew_ you would try to lure me away from the yellow sun, Ronan," he added, as he took out the spherical, white crystalline Solara Cell, "so I decided to bring the sun _with_ me!" And with that, he pressed his thumb to the Cell, expanding it, and clipping it over his belt...where it began to glow a _bright yellow_.

Ronan's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. '_WHAT?!_"

"Yellow sunlight, Accuser." Superman said, smiling as he felt the light energize him, his exhaustion vanishing, his minor wounds instantly starting to heal, and his power returning. "It's a little something we came up with, a few centuries ago, with a little imagination. You know, if you Kree had just been willing to develop in your own time, you could have _really_ made something of yourselves." He sighed. "But now...now it's just too late for you."

Ronan snarled. "_No_, Kryptonian _**FILTH!!!**_" he roared. "It's too late for _**YOU!!!!**_" With that, he raised his Weapon to fire...

In less than a second, Superman had closed on Ronan, grabbed the handle of his staff, and _slammed_ the arrogant Accuser with a punch, sending him flying, and leaving the Weapon in Superman's hand. "_Brother_, you'd think you Kree would have at _least_ thought to encode _your_ technology!" Superman quipped. "If you _had_, I wouldn't be able to do _this!_" At that, he tapped a key on the staff, and tapped it to the ground, before _throwing_ the Weapon away, where it struck the wall, sticking into the stone.

Instantly, the Power Suppression Collars around his friends' necks popped right off.

Wolverine grinned. "Well, whaddya know! Flyboy had this thing in the bag, the whole time!"

Superman smiled. "Sorry if I worried you."

Cyclops grinned, as he and the rest of the X-Men walked over. "No problem, Big Blue."

By then, the four beasts had recovered, and had started to circle them. "Why don't we save the thank-you's until _after_ we get out of here?" Green Lantern suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Superman agreed.

"I agree." Professor Xavier said.

"Cool by us." Cyclops added. With that, the entire group assumed a circle formation, ready for the beasts' charges.

As one beast leapt at Professor Xavier, sensing an easy target, Jean promptly raised a TK-barrier, knocking it back, where Avalanche knocked it into the air with a tremor, letting it plummet back to the ground with a _thud_. As the groggy animal tried to recover, Shadowcat promptly phased its feet into the ground, trapping it.

Roaring, Wolverine charged at the second beast, driving it back with swipes from his claws, distracting it enough for Hank to tackle it, knocking it to the side. As the feral animal tried to recover, Rogue tried to drain it with a touch, but its fur was too thick to get through. Before the creature could attack her, Storm swept Rogue safely to the side with a gust of wind, before unleashing a lightning bolt, shocking it into unconsciousness.

The third beast pounced on Spyke, who instantly generated a coating of spikes, driving the beast back, where Cyclops slammed it with an optic-blast. As the beast recovered, Green Lantern pinned it with a beam from his power-ring, giving Gambit the chance to charge a handful of cards, and hand them to Nightcrawler, who 'ported over to the beast, placing the cards around it, and 'porting away. The beast stopped snarling, and let out a soft whine...seconds before the cards detonated, sending the unconscious, slightly singed animal flying.

As the last beast pounced at them, Power Girl switched on her music, and knocked it back with a hand-laser, as Superman darted behind the beast, grabbed its tail, and spun it around and around, before letting it go, to slam into the wall.

"_ENOUGH!!_"

Superman and the others turned to see the enraged Ronan, holding his Weapon. "You – _all_ of you – are enemies of the Kree people, and you _will_ be judged!!!" And with that, he fired a blast from his Weapon, but Superman and the others promptly dodged it, as the blast struck the walls of the arena...causing them to crumble, as the damage traveled all the way up to the benches. The Kree audience fled in terror from the collapsing area...all but one little Kree girl, who was crying her eyes out in utter terror, as two Kree adults, a man and a woman – presumably her parents – ran towards her, trying to reach her...but they weren't going to make it...

Superman's eyes narrowed in determination, as he darted towards the collapsing section at full speed, reaching it just as it started to collapse...

As the dust settled, the X-Men and Green Lantern were silent, as they saw no-one there, amongst the rubble. The Kree parents noticed this, as well; the mother started to sob, burying her face in her hands, as the father simply held his wife...

Suddenly, the rubble started to shake, as Superman pushed one massive block of stone aside, standing up, before he lifted the little Kree child out of the rubble, and set her down on the ground, where she hurried over to her parents. The crisis averted, Superman turned back to the arena...and _glared_ at Ronan.

In a fraction of a second, Superman flew at the Kree Accuser, and sent him sprawling with a single punch, before picking up his two swords. As Ronan tried to get up, reaching for his weapon, Superman closed on him and kicked it away, before crossing the two blades to form an 'X' shape, with Ronan's neck in the upper 'crook' of the X.

Ronan scowled. "Well, filth...go on! _Finish_ it!"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "For what you've done...and what you _would_ have done...I should just _rid_ the universe of you, here and _now!!_" He pulled his arms back for the strike...

Ronan shut his eyes tight.

_SHING!!!_

Ronan opened his eyes.

Superman hadn't even _touched_ Ronan; he had thrown the two blades wide, burying them in the ground at his sides. Superman then grabbed Ronan by the collar, lifting him up. "Surprised? _Don't_ be, Ronan." he said coldly. "Because you aren't _worth_ it. I am _nothing_ like you, and I never _will_ be. I came here to get my family back...and that's what I intend to _do_."

His eyes narrowed, before starting to glow _red_. "But I don't _ever_ want to see your face ever _again_, Accuser." he snarled. "Because if I _ever_ see you again – if you even come _near_ any _one_ of my friends – I'll come back here...and I _won't_ be as _nice_ as I was, today." And with that, he tossed Ronan onto his rear, before turning, and walking back to the others, just as his Solara Cell ran out of power, turning black.

Ronan scowled, struggling to his feet, as he grasped his Weapon. "_You think this is over?!_" he roared. "Do you think you can just _leave?!_ I am the embodiment of the Kree Empire, and I will _not..!_"

"_**HOLD!!!**_"

Ronan froze in utter _terror_, as a massive, holographic green head appeared behind him. It was the Kree Supreme Intelligence, the massive organic computer, linked to the greatest Kree minds, which ruled the entire Empire. "_**You forget yourself, Accuser.**_**"** the Supreme Intelligence said coldly. "_**This Appeal has been won; the Kryptonian and his companions may go free.**_"

"But...b-but Supreme One!" Ronan protested. "These humans...these X-Men have _insulted_ me! They harbored the Kryptonian! They are _enemies_ of the Empire!" He pointed to Superman. "And _him!_ His kind deserve nothing but _death!_"

"_**His kind have already received death, Accuser.**_" the Intelligence replied. "_**Our quarrels with Krypton should have ended when their planet did.**_"

"Supreme One, you _cannot_ be serious!" Ronan cried. "For what he has done..!"

"_**What has he done, Accuser? This Appeal was decided before it even began; the Kryptonian's technology could have let him ANNIHILATE you at any moment, yet he spared your life...TWICE, if I am not mistaken. Furthermore, he saved the life of a Kree citizen.**_" the Intelligence countered. "_**Accuser...these are NOT the actions of an enemy.**_"

Ronan face twisted. "But Supreme One..."

"_**What is even more disturbing,**_" the Intelligence continued, "_**is that you have displayed behavior unbecoming the Supreme Public Accuser...so much so that disciplinary action is needed. For now, you will return to your ship.**_"

At that, Ronan began to vanish; the Intelligence was teleporting him away. "_NO!!_ You _cannot_ do this..!!" he yelled...and then he was gone.

"_**Green Lantern Corpsman John Stewart.**_" the Intelligence said. "_**Return to Oa, with the Empire's apologies to the Guardians. This 'trial' should never have taken place.**_"

At that, Green Lantern bowed. "Thank you, Supreme Intelligence."

"_**X-Men of Earth.**_" the Intelligence added. "_**Return home, also with our apologies; today, there has been a gross miscarriage of Kree justice, one that never should have involved you.**_"

Professor Xavier lightly bowed. "We will, Supreme Intelligence. Thank you."

The Intelligence seemed to turn to Superman. "_**Child of Krypton...what is your name?**_"

"I am Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara, born from the House of Lo to the House of El." Superman answered, using his full, formal name.

"_**On this day, Kal-El of Krypton, you are cleared of all charges the Kree held against you and your people.**_" the Intelligence said. "_**However, whether or not you pose a threat to the Empire remains to be seen; much uncertainty lies with your presence...yet such thoughts are best left for another day. For now, Last Son of Krypton...go in peace.**_"

Superman bowed in response...and then paused. "There is one other thing I must say, Supreme Intelligence." For peace's sake...he _had_ to at least _try_...

The Intelligence sounded surprised. "_**Your charges have been absolved. What more could you need to say?**_"

"It has nothing to do with your quarrel with my people, Supreme One," Superman said, "but with your quarrel with the Skrulls."

"_**Oh?**_"

"Supreme One, you and the Skrulls have been fighting for the past countless eons." Superman continued. "But do any of your people remember _why?_"

The crowd lightly murmured at that.

"Supreme One, this war has gone on for so long, ultimately, it does not _matter_ why; whatever your initial grievances were with each other, you have _both_ paid for them countless times over in the blood of your people."

"Furthermore, Supreme One, how many of your people have died in this war?" Superman asked. "How many of the Skrulls have died, for that matter?"

The Intelligence was silent for a moment. "_**They cannot be counted.**_"

"Supreme Intelligence, one of my people's deepest beliefs was that _every_ life – be it Kryptonian, human, Kree, Skrull, or otherwise – is precious, unique, fragile...and _irreplaceable_." Superman said. "Supreme One, for the sake of your people, if none other, I implore you...no, I _beg_ you...let this war end. _Talk_ to the Skrulls; surely, they are _just_ as weary of it as you. No victory you gain could _possibly_ be worth the price you have paid."

The Intelligence paused, considering Superman's words, before speaking. "_**Your argument is both wise and moving, Kal-El of Krypton; for that, the Empire is grateful.**_" The Intelligence's eyes lightly narrowed. "_**However, the hard truth remains that, even if we were willing to lay down our arms, there is no guarantee that the Skrulls would do the same. Indeed, if we attempted to make peace, they would surely see it as weakness; they would play along, while secretly planning to attack. They are shape-shifters; duplicity is as natural to them as breathing. We are truly sorry, Kal-El...but the Empire cannot lay down its arms.**_"

Sighing sadly, Superman bowed. "I understand, Supreme One." With that, the holographic image of the Supreme Intelligence vanished.

"Well, _this_ sure has been an interestin' day." Wolverine said, retracting his claws.

"Yeah," Cyclops agreed, "but why don't we just get out of here...before the Big Giant Head there decides to change his mind."

Superman smiled. "I guess we _have_ worn out our welcome." he said, and he tapped a button on his belt-computer; instantly, the _Argo_ de-cloaked just outside the dome, as its teleporter beam shone down through the glass. Slowly, each of his friends began to step into the beam, letting the ship 'port them away.

"_Bye!_"

Superman heard that call just as he was about to board the _Argo_, and he turned, mildly surprised. There, on the edge of the bench-area, was the little Kree girl he'd saved, smiling and waving at him, while her parents stood behind her, lightly smiling.

Superman smiled back, and waved, before he stepped into the beam, following his friends back to the _Argo_.

After a brief but humiliating reprimand, the Supreme Intelligence 'ported Ronan back to his own battleship, leaving Ronan to seethe. As he walked to the view-screen, his rage only _grew_ as he saw the Kryptonian's tiny ship – a _fly_ compared to his own – start to fly away from the Colosseum-ship, towards the edge of the galaxy...where _his_ ship was...

Ronan smiled slyly to himself; he knew for a fact that two Cruisers from his family's personal fleet were patrolling the system adjacent to this one. If he contacted them, they could arrive in minutes, once the Colosseum-ship moved out of range. The Supreme Intelligence was blinded by logic; it could _never_ understand how _necessary_ the Kryptonian's death was.

Once it left, he could simply say that the Kryptonian's ship had suddenly exploded, despite his efforts. No-one would be the wiser, not with three ships loyal to _him_...

"Contact the _Veramach_ and the _Wrialak!_" Ronan thundered. "Tell them to jump to our coordinates!"

"My Lord??" the comms. Officer asked.

"_Just __**do**__ it!!_" Ronan bellowed. To the rest of the crew, he ordered. "As soon as the Colosseum leaves, deploy Fighter squadrons and man battle-stations!"

The tactical officer walked up to him. "My Lord...I must inform you..."

Ronan glared at him. "Where do you stand, Officer?"

The officer met his gaze solemnly. "I stand with you, my Lord; we _all_ do." he said. "But it is my _duty_ to point out that the Kryptonian vessel is of the same class that our forces and the Skrulls encountered, 500 years ago..."

"Your point is noted." Ronan said. His expression hardened. "And _ignored_. You will carry out my orders, Lieutenant."

As the officer saluted and hurried away, Ronan glared out through the view-screen. '_You will not get away...not __**this**__ time..._'

As the Colosseum-ship turned and jumped away, the _Argo_ flew off in the other direction, as Superman piloted it towards the edge of the Kren-Ziar System, where he could calculate Earth's location, and initiate Trans-Warp, to take them home.

"As much as I wasn't fussy about that Ronan guy just yanking us off of Earth, like that," Spyke said, "watching Big Blue beat the _snot_ out of him was _priceless!_"

"Well, yeah," Shadowcat agreed, "but..._God_, Kal! Did you _have_ to cut things so _close??_"

"Sorry about that, guys," Superman replied, "but if I'd used the Solara Cell any earlier, Ronan might have just taken you guys and fled."

Storm blinked. "The..._what?_"

"Yeah, you kinda lost us there, big guy." Avalanche said.

"Join the club." Green Lantern agreed, chuckling.

Superman chuckled. "The Solara Cell; basically, it's a miniature star." he explained. "It's one of the technologies that came out of the Solara Project, led by my grandfather, Saer-El. Initially, the Solara Project was intended to reignite Krypton's sun, should the time come for it to start to die out. After a few years of research, however, Saer-El abandoned the Project."

"Why?" Jean asked.

"Reigniting the sun meant that it would become yellow, again...giving my people back their powers." Superman said. "Saer-El feared that the return of our powers could bring back the terrible wars that were all too common before the Council of Twelve; he felt it was better for our people not to tempt ourselves with too much power. The Council agreed, and the Project was abandoned, and its resulting technologies kept under safe guard by my family."

Power Girl lightly giggled. "Our people certainly were full of surprises, weren't they?"

"_I'll_ say!" Nightcrawler exclaimed. "Zhose _moves_...vat _vere_ zhey?"

Superman smiled. "It was the _ataru_ style of swordsmanship, one of my people's fighting styles...and a personal favorite of my ancient ancestor, Von-El."

"Hang on." Wolverine said. "Wasn't he one of those Twelve Wise Guys?"

"That he was." Superman agreed. "But _before_ that, he was the greatest warrior Krypton had ever seen, as well as a leader of great courage, and greater integrity."

Rogue chuckled. "Sounds lahke yer a regular chip off the old block, Wonder-Boy!"

Superman grinned. "Thanks!"

The Professor smiled. "I must say, this ship is quite a smooth ride." he said.

"I agree." Hank added. "It's amazing that a 500-year-old vessel as this is still cutting-edge!"

The Professor turned to Green Lantern. "We should also thank you, Green Lantern, for assisting us." he said, and he extended his hand.

Green Lantern smiled. "My friends call me John." he replied, and he shook it. "Once we arrive in Earth's system, we just need to touch base with the Guardians and the Confederacy's Head Councillor."

"Now _that_ is something we can look forward to!" Hank exclaimed. "Who is this Councillor?"

"Winema Wazzo, Head Councillor of the Galactic Confederacy." Green Lantern explained. "She's from the planet Bgztl, one of the founding planets of the Confederacy. Bgztl exists in the 4th dimension, as well as the three that all other planets exist in; as a result, its people have several unique abilities...including intangibility. She was the one who alerted the Lantern Corps to Ronan's scheme."

Shadowcat brightened. "You mean there's a whole _planet_ of people with powers like mine?" she exclaimed. "_Awesome!_"

"Soun's like dis Councillor lady be a whole lot nicer den de good 'ccuser Ronan was." Gambit said.

"Councillor Wazzo's one of the better leaders the Confederacy's had in the last little while." Green Lantern agreed. "She's always taken a firm stand against the Kree and Skrull Empires; both races _hate_ her."

Superman chuckled. "I look forward to meeting her."

Suddenly, the _Argo_'s radar screen started to beep, as three red blips appeared on it. "Uh-oh." Superman muttered. "I'm picking up three Heavy Cruisers on an intercept course; they're between us and the system's edge."

Green Lantern's eyes narrowed. "I _knew_ that bastard wouldn't give up that easily." he muttered.

Just then, dozens of smaller red blips appeared. "They're launching fighters!" Superman exclaimed.

"What do we do?!" Shadowcat cried.

Superman's eyes narrowed in determination; truthfully, he'd been half-expecting the Accuser to try a dirty trick like this, as well. '_I __**hate**__ being right._' "_Argo_: deploy armor!" he ordered. "Arm Disruptor and Positron Cannons!"

"You'll need backup, out there." Green Lantern said, as he powered up. "I'll see if I can keep a few of those Fighters off your back!" Superman nodded, before 'porting Green Lantern outside.

If Ronan wanted to play rough...well, that was just _fine_ with him.

Outside, Green Lantern raised a full protective barrier around himself, as the _Argo_'s shields seemed to solidify to an almost _metallic_ state, before condensing around the ship, altering its appearance; the off-white hull turned a bright shiny silver color, as its stern became sleeker, its engine-pods gaining forward-curving spikes, as its weaponry extended out from inside the ship, and its bow more tapered.

As one fighter closed on it and fired, the _Argo_ easily darted out of the way, as Green Lantern fired an energy-beam at the fighter, piercing its engines, rendering it powerless. The _Argo_ gracefully turned, settling into attack position, before firing several electrostatic blasts from its Polaron Disruptor; the blasts exploded in powerful, wide-field bursts of blue-white energy, utterly devastating a dozen Kree fighters, turning them into nothing but _paperweights_.

By then, the fighters had opened fire on the _Argo_, but the ship's new armor easily shrugged off the lasers without even a _dent_. Taking aim, Green Lantern unleashed a green energy-wave, sweeping all the fighters away.

Aboard the lead Kree Cruiser, Ronan snarled in fury as his forces were being obliterated. "All Cruisers, open fire!!! _Bring them down!!!_"

At that command, all three Heavy Cruisers opened fire with their massive laser cannons, before launching numerous missiles, of equally massive size.

The _Argo_' armor easily repelled the lasers, and Green Lantern concentrated, strengthening his shield enough to repel the shots...though he _knew_ he would have a hard time with those missiles...

Inside the _Argo_, Superman quickly brought up the ship's Countermeasures screen, and selected Radar Ghosts. Instantly, the _Argo_ hacked into the missiles' guidance system, and made it look like there were enemy ships all _around_ them; the missiles promptly adjusted their target-locks, veering away, to detonate harmlessly.

Superman's eyes narrowed. Enough was enough; it was time to _end_ this.

And he knew _just_ how to do it.

The _Argo_ flew right at the Kree Cruisers, its armor shrugging off their lasers, while Green Lantern's beams destroyed their missiles. Once he was in range, Superman brought up the _Argo_'s automatic sensor-sweep of the vessels, targeted their shields' weak spots...and fired.

The _Argo_'s twin Positron Cannons fired several potent bursts of short-range, high-powered energy at each Kree Cruiser; aboard the lead Cruiser, the bridge shook with each impact.

"_Shields down to 70 percent, Lord Accuser!_" one officer cried. Another impact shook the bridge...and then _another_. "_40...no, __**10**__ percent!! My Lord, we can't take much more!!_"

"What weaponry is that Kryptonian _using?!_" Ronan roared.

"He appears to be firing anti-electron bursts at us, my Lord; they're disrupting our shields at the subatomic level!!" one officer cried.

Another explosion shook the bridge, sending sparks flying. "_Shields are __**DOWN**__, my Lord!! We're defenseless!!!_"

"Fire _everything_ we have!!" Ronan bellowed. "We can still..!"

"_My Lord, it's too late!!_" an officer cried. "_He's going to fire!!_"

Inside the _Argo_, Superman locked onto Ronan's ship. "Arm one Viral Torpedo." he ordered. In seconds, it was ready, and he fired.

Outside, the _Argo_ launched a single spherical torpedo at the exposed lead Cruiser...where it attached to the ship's hull for but a moment...and then detonated, doing minimal damage.

Aboard the Cruiser, Ronan blinked...and _laughed_. "_That's IT?!_" he crowed. "Ready a full spread, men! It's time to..!"

But he stopped, as the lights on the bridge began to blink, the screens flickering, becoming corrupted with meaningless bits of data. "_WHAT?!_" Ronan roared.

"My Lord, that torpedo was carrying a _virus!_ It's infecting the entire ship!" one officer cried. "Every system we have is going down!! It's even cracking into our comms systems, and transmitting itself to the _other_ ships!!"

"Engage redundant systems!" Ronan ordered.

"We _can't_, my Lord! This virus is spreading into the redundant systems faster than we can engage them! It's a _MONSTER_, my Lord! Our ships are _dead!_"

At that, Ronan was shocked to incredulous silence...before he _roared_ in sheer, undiluted _rage_, terrifying the bridge officers, as they worked frantically, trying to repair their dying vessel.

Outside, the _Argo_ glided away from the dying Kree Cruisers, slowing to teleport Green Lantern back inside, before lowering its armor, powering down its weapons. Inside, Superman let out a tired sigh, as he looked upon Ronan's vessel. It was over.

"_Whoa_, Big Blue! You guys _really_ stuck it to Ronan!" Spyke exclaimed. "This ship _rocks!_"

Superman chuckled. "We aim to please." he quipped. "Hang on, guys; we're going _home_." With that, he started to power up the Trans-Warp Drive, calculating the burn home.

Outside, the _Argo_ extended its wings and pylons, before streaking away at trans-light-speed, heading for Earth.

Aboard his crippled Cruiser, Ronan watched through the main view-screen – the one that was _barely_ working – as the Kryptonian craft streaked away at trans-light speeds...something he had previously dismissed as impossible.

"M-My Lord?" one officer murmured. "A-All systems are down, Lord Accuser; we _did_ manage to activate the emergency beacon...b-but we have no idea if any friendly vessel heard it..."

Ronan ignored him.

"T-There is a bit of g-good news, my Lord; it seems that the virus ignored the escape pods, so we could evacuate before our air runs out!" the officer added.

Ronan nodded absently, but otherwise ignored him.

His mind was elsewhere.

He would _not_ let this insult stand.

He would hunt the Kryptonian down...and _destroy_ him.

_Along_ with his friends..._and_ the world that had harbored him.

His eyes narrowed in hate as he stared after the ship.

'_So help me gods, Kryptonian...I will see you __**DEAD.**_'

Within fifteen minutes, the _Argo_ had arrived in Earth's system, to Charles' amazement, before dropping out of Trans-Warp, causing Charles and the other X-Men to feel a considerable jolt.

"Sorry." Superman said, smiling sheepishly. "I forgot to warn you: Trans-Warp has a _mean_ kick at the end."

"No kidding." Wolverine quipped.

Then, a long, sleek, silvery spaceship, with a central, rotating ring, came into view, flanked by several smaller ships. "Councillor Wazzo's ship." Green Lantern said.

Superman checked the console. "They're guiding us in." he observed, before he piloted the _Argo_ towards the ship, settling it into the larger vessel's docking bay.

As the entire group teleported out of the _Argo_, a tall, slender, light-skinned woman, with long, dark hair tied up at the back of her head, with dark eyes, clad in a black-and-white robe, was there to greet them. At first glance, she seemed no different than any other human, but her nose was much smaller, with a slightly longer neck, but not _too_ much longer. Charles had to marvel at the similarity between this lady and the human species. She was flanked by a half-dozen of armed soldiers – bodyguards.

"Councillor Wazzo." Green Lantern said, bowing. At that, Superman and the X-Men started to follow his cue...

"_Please_, don't bow!" the Councillor exclaimed. "I and the rest of the Confederacy are only glad that you all are safe!"

"We are very grateful for your alerting Lantern Stewart to our trouble, Councillor." Charles said. "With his help, Kal was able to rescue us."

Winema nodded, and then frowned. "The Kree Accuser should not have been allowed to come here, in the _first_ place! Rest assured, the Confederacy will be imposing a strict trade embargo on their main shipping lines."

Green Lantern chuckled. "_That_ ought to put a kink in their war-effort." he quipped. "I think Guardian Krallen would get on board with that plan."

Winema nodded, and then turned to Superman, smiling. "I recognize the crest of the House of El...your name is _Kal_-El?" she asked. Superman smiled back, and nodded. "The Confederacy will be glad to hear that the survivor of Krypton still lives. We are all glad to meet you."

"Thank you, Councillor." Superman replied. His smile became a bit embarrassed. "Lantern Stewart mentioned your generous offer of citizenship; I am flattered by the offer, but I'm afraid that I cannot accept. _Earth_ is my home, and the X-Men are my family; I could never leave them."

Winema's smile became a tiny bit wistful. "Well, I am sorry to hear that, but we will respect your wishes." she said. Her smile grew. "We will gladly take you back to Earth; please, enjoy the trip from the observatory." She gestured to a corridor, and Superman and the X-Men walked away, heading to the observatory.

Only Charles, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, and Green Lantern stayed behind. "Your hospitality is most generous, Councillor...and we have not even been introduced; where _are_ my manners?" Charles chuckled. He extended his hand. "Charles Xavier, Headmaster of the Xavier Institute. I am also a mutant; specifically, a telepath."

"I am Ororo Munroe, one of Charles' instructors." Storm added. "I am also called 'Storm,' as I can manipulate the weather."

"Logan, or 'Wolverine.'" Wolverine said, as he quickly popped out his claws – causing the soldiers to bristle – before retracting them. "It's easy to see why."

"And I am Henry McCoy, but my friends call me Hank." Hank said. "I am also called 'Beast'...the reasoning for which is obvious."

Winema smiled. "I am very pleased to meet you all." she said, shaking Charles' hand. "And I am Winema Wazzo, Galactic Head Councillor, and former Councillor to planet Bgztl." Her smile grew. "And you say you are 'mutants,' was it? _Fascinating!_ It's amazing to actually see a people's evolution in progress, let alone _meet_ it!" At that, she looked embarrassed. "I hope I did not offend you..."

"Not at _all_." Charles assured her. "I am glad that you are so understanding; I do not believe that some of my fellow Earthlings would feel the same."

Winema nodded, and then turned to Green Lantern. "Oh, Lantern Stewart, Guardian Krallen had asked me to convey your new assignment to you: your orders are to patrol this system – Earth in particular – to ensure that the Kree do not return."

John nodded. "Sounds good to me; I was a little homesick, anyway." he said. "I'll just get going." He turned to Charles and the others. "Take care." he added, before he headed off.

Winema looked sad. "I fear that the Kree's hatred of Kal's people was ultimately _my_ people's fault." she said. "You were likely told how the Kryptonians stumbled into a Kree-Skrull battle...but you were likely not told about the details. You see, the Kryptonians were responding to a distress call from one of my people's trade convoys; they held back both sides, allowing the convoy time to get to the World-Gate and escape."

Storm nodded. "That certainly sounds like what Kal's people would do." she said. "But you shouldn't blame yourself, Councillor; I don't think Kal would."

"Thank you." Winema said. "Regardless, I am glad that Kal was able to avoid that Accuser's wrath."

"As are we, Councillor." Hank agreed.

Winema's expression became wistful. "I...I have always found your world to be beautiful...but, for me, looking at it is a bit bittersweet..." she whispered.

Charles blinked. "Why?"

"Oh, n-nothing..." Winema said.

"No, please, tell us." Storm said.

Winema suppressed a sob. "Seven years ago, my ship was traveling through this system, surveying the system for inclusion in the Neutral Planets Treaty; my ship suffered a core malfunction – most of the crew and I escaped before it blew..." she suppressed another sob, "...but...but the caretaker I had assigned to look after my daughter..." She lowered her gaze.

"Oh, _Goddess_..." Storm gasped.

Winema suppressed another sob. "My daughter...my little Tinya...she was only _seven years old_..."

"I am so sorry." Charles said softly. "It must be very hard to lose a child..."

Winema nodded, drying her tears. "Thank you." she whispered. Calming, she added, "Regardless, after this incident, we were considering inviting Earth into the Galactic Confederacy..."

"We are flattered by the idea, Councillor...but doing so _now_ may not be the best time." Charles said. "Our people do not yet know about _mutants_..."

"...so it would not be prudent to inform them that they are not alone in the universe." Winema finished. "I understand, Charles." She smiled. "I only hope that, in the future, our peoples can coexist."

Charles smiled. "As do I, Councillor. As do I."

The view from the Councillor's ship was _breathtaking_, Power Girl thought with a smile. The entire solar system was ahead of them, passing by at a leisurely pace, as they watched, alone on the deck. "_Wow..._" Shadowcat murmured.

"It's _beautiful_..." Jean murmured, as Cyclops looped a loving arm around her shoulders, hugging her close.

Power Girl smiled at her friends, before glancing to Superman; her boyfriend had held himself apart since coming to the observation deck, looking out silently, his arms folded, his jaw set.

Something was bothering him.

"Clark?" Power Girl called. "What's wrong?"

Superman looked up, startled out of his thoughts, before his expression turned mournful.

The others noticed. "Yeah, CK, what's up?" Spyke added.

Superman looked down, his eyes shut, struggling with something...

"Oh, fer cryin' out _loud_, Wonder-Boy, _spit it out!_" Rogue exclaimed.

Superman took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry."

The X-Men all blinked. "Come again, _mon ami?_" Gambit asked.

"This whole thing – the Kree coming, the trial, everything – it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been there." Superman whispered. "He came after you because of _me_."

Power Girl shook her head. "Clark..."

"I should have _warned_ you." Superman continued. "I should have _told_ you about my people's history...but I didn't, and you all suffered for it...and I'm _sorry._" His eyes shut tight, as traces of tears appeared around the edges of his eyes. "Oh, _God_, I am _so, so sorry._"

Rogue blinked. "'Sorry'??" she repeated. "Fer _what??_"

"Because some jerk-off with a hate on your people decided to use _us_ to get to _you?_" Avalanche added. "How's that _your_ fault??"

"_Yeah!_" Shadowcat agreed. "_Ronan_'s the bad guy, here, Clark!"

"Besides, you _saved_ us!" Nightcrawler exclaimed.

Cyclops nodded. "We aren't mad, Clark."

"It's _not_ your fault." Jean agreed.

At that, Superman smiled faintly. "_Thank you._" he whispered. With that, he simply turned back to the window, and most of the X-Men let him alone, letting their friend have his space.

_Most_ of them, anyway.

Power Girl walked to Superman's side, and simply stood next to him, watching the sights with him. She didn't say anything; she knew her beau needed silence, right now.

She _also_ knew that something _else_ was gnawing at him...and it was _her_ job to get to the bottom of it.

_Xavier Institute_

By the time the Councillor's ship had stopped at Earth, and Superman had dropped his friends off at the Institute with the _Argo_, before taking the ship back to the Fortress, it was nighttime.

After doing a quick patrol, Superman found that it was a quiet night; nothing was happening. After one last sweep of earth, Superman headed home, touching down on the Institute roof, and sitting down.

He'd saved his friends...but that didn't change the _first_ grim truth.

Ma was going to die...and he _just_ _couldn't stop it..._

"Hi."

Superman looked up, to see Power Girl, there, in uniform. "Hi." he greeted softly.

"Quiet night." Power Girl commented, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah."

Alison looked at him, lightly smiling. "Clarkie, what's wrong?"

Superman closed his eyes; he just _couldn't_ say it, not even to his _taushi_ – saying it just made it _more_ real.

"_Please_, talk to me..."

Superman fought tears; he _couldn't_...

"Okay." Power Girl whispered softly. "I...I won't bother you..." She turned to go...

"_Ma's dying._"

Alison instantly turned around. "_W-What?!_"

There. He'd said it. Superman took a deep breath...and told her _everything_.

When he'd finished, Alison was very close to tears. "Oh, _God_...Clarkie, I'm _so sorry..._"

"Van Braun's Syndrome, Ali." Superman muttered. "A disease incurable by _human_ medicine..."

"...but not Kryptonian." Power Girl finished. "Does your Mom know..?"

"I told her...but she doesn't want it." Superman said. "She...she thinks that it's her 'time'..."

Alison looked sad. "Maybe it _is_..."

"_NO_, Ali!!" Superman shouted. "The only reason Ma thinks that is because I _couldn't save PA!!!_"

Alison's eyes went wide. "What did you say?"

Superman's eyes shut tight, as tears started to seep through. "She's _dying_, Ali...and I can't _stop_ it...just like...just like..."

Power Girl – _Alison_ – took his hands in hers. "Clark...what _happened_, that day?" she asked.

Superman calmed. "It...it was the last day we really saw each other." he whispered. "Do you remember?"

Alison lightly blushed. "Yeah." she said. "I remember being so scared that you'd see my braces."

Superman chuckled. "I actually thought they were cute." he teased. His expression turned grave. "This is what happened, Ali..."

_Smallville, Kansas, July 16, 2002_

_The Kansas sun was hot above 15-year-old Clark Kent's head, but Clark didn't mind. The fairly tall, lanky youth was clad in his usual white t-shirt, blue jeans, and work boots. After hanging out with Lex, Vic Wally, Arty, and Ollie for a little while, he'd promised his Pa that he'd help in the fields, and he was on his way home._

_Clark's expression saddened as he thought about the months ahead. High school would be starting soon. He would have to hide his powers – his 'alienness' – from everyone...including Lana..._

_'Well, it's not like I had a shot with her, anyway...' Clark thought glumly, as he kept walking. He was __**never**__ going to meet a girl he could trust with his secret..._

_"Clark! Hey, Clarkie, wait up!"_

_Clark smiled to himself as 12-year-old Alison Blaire ran up to him, trying to catch her breath. Alison only came up to his chest-level, her mid-length blond hair in two pigtails, clad in blue shorts and a light rose t-shirt. She as keeping her mouth closed...but his flashes of 'X-Ray' vision told him that she had braces._

_"Hey, Ali." Clark greeted._

_Alison smiled shyly, lightly blushing. "Watcha doing?"_

_"Just heading home, to help Pa." Clark replied._

_"Oh." Alison said. "But...how come you're sad?"_

_Clark sighed. Ali might have been younger, but she was no dummy. "High school's starting soon."_

_"Why are you sad about __**that**__?" Alison asked._

_Clark sighed; keeping this secret in was going to make him __**explode**__. "Ali...I'm not like everyone else."_

_"I know." Alison said, blushing again. "You're so super-nice..." Then, she quickly covered her mouth, hiding her braces._

_"That's not what I mean, Ali." Clark said. "You see..."_

_Suddenly, Clark froze...as he __**listened**__. His eyes widened. "Ali, listen!"_

_Alison froze. "But...I don't hear anything..."_

_"LISTEN!" Clark insisted._

_Alison looked ready to cry. "Clarkie, you're __**scaring**__ me!"_

_But Clark was focused on the sounds in the distance: the screech of tires, the crunch of metal...and the helpless screams of innocent people..._

_Over the past few months, he'd occasionally heard screams like that, coming from far away; they only lasted a few seconds, but they nearly drove him __**mad.**_

_He couldn't do anything about __**those**__ screams...but __**these**__ were __**another**__ story._

_"Ali, get to my house and call an ambulance! It's only a few minutes away if you run!" Clark instructed. "Tell him there's going to be an accident!!"_

_"W-What?!" Alison cried. "B-But Clarkie, h-how do you..?"_

_But Clark didn't answer, as he darted off, running towards the sounds at high speed, trying __**very**__ hard not to trip or stumble, as he often did at those speeds. Within seconds, he had reached the source of the sound: a flipped, burning car was in the middle of the road. Two of the cars passengers, a man and a woman, were lying in the road, dazed...but their daughter, no older than Ali, was still trapped inside, pounding her tiny fists against the windshield as she screamed, tears running down her face, as flames from inside the car approached her..._

_Like lightning, Clark darted towards the car, sliding to a stop in front of the windshield. Clark gritted his teeth as he jabbed his fingers into the metal around the windshield, and pulled with all his strength, as he yanked the entire windshield out of its frame, before he scooped the little girl into his arms, turning to zip her to safety..._

_...and then the car exploded, sending them both sprawling. Clark managed to turn himself, to land on his back, skidding across the gravel; __**he**__ was fine, though Ma would likely have a fit about his shirt – it took a __**lot**__ to hurt him – but, more importantly, the little girl was fine. As he stood up, letting her go, the girl rushed to her parents, who embraced her, overjoyed that she was safe._

_Clark smiled at the sight. He'd __**helped**__ them. Then, as he spotted the tell-tale sign of Ali's pigtails peeking over a nearby hill, he chuckled, before looking back to the family. Somehow...seeing that sight...it felt...__**right**__, somehow..._

_Suddenly, another sound filled his ears: a heartbeat._

_Pa's heartbeat._

_But it was __**wrong**__. It was slower, quieter, and then..._

_Clark's eyes widened in horror. "PA!!!!" he cried, as he darted off, as fast as he possibly could, racing home._

_As he hit his current top speed, his feet stumbled, unused to that velocity, and he fell flat on his face. Clark picked himself up, and ran for home, fighting to keep from falling over._

_Within minutes, he was home...and he saw his Pa, clutching his chest, start to fall back. "H-Hang on, Pa!!!" Clark cried, as he rounded the bend, skidding, before heading for his Dad, catching him as he fell. "MA!!! Call an ambulance!!!"_

_Jonathan Kent smiled at his son. "Clark..."_

_"D-Don't try to talk, Pa..." Clark whimpered, fighting tears._

_Jonathan put his wrinkled hand to his son's face. "Clark...you're here for a __**reason**__..." he whispered. "I know what it is...I just wish I could tell you before I go..."_

_"D-Don't talk like that, Pa." Clark sniffled. "You're gonna be fine..."_

_"Son...you already know what it is..." Jonathan said. "I love you, boy...never forget that..."_

_By then, the ambulance had arrived, taking his sick Pa to the hospital, as well as Ma, who'd hopped in the ambulance, as well, leaving him to look after the farm. Clark stayed in the house all day, worried to death about his dad. It wasn't until night that the sheriff had driven Ma back home. Clark looked at her as she came in, her eyes red from crying, as she spoke the words that shattered his world._

_"Clark...I'm so sorry..."_

_Bursting into tears, Clark ran out of the house. He ran for the old barn, in the middle of the night, too hurt and angry at the world to care who saw him. He ran inside, and tore open the crate that held the ship. "Why?!" he screamed at it. "Why did you send me here?!!" He got no answer._

_Breaking down, he knelt in front of it, weeping into the metal, absently pounding his fist with every word. "Why?! Why?! Why?!" The hull simply absorbed the impact, which could have shattered stone. He simply placed his hand on the hull. "Why..." he whimpered._

_Suddenly, the metal felt warm. He looked up, and saw a glowing crest within the metal._

_The crest of a stylized 'S', within a diamond._

_Then, a hidden panel opened, and two crystals extended out from the ship; one was long, slim, and the other was flat, almost diamond-like. They were for him._

_Clark took the crystals, and something just...woke up, within him. He then turned around, heading home._

_As Clark got home, he saw that his Ma had been crying more as he walked into the kitchen. "Ma..." he whispered, "...I'm sorry."_

_Martha Kent blinked. "What?"_

_Clark started to sniffle. "I'm sorry I couldn't save Pa."_

_Martha started to tear up again. "Oh, no, no, no..."_

_Clark broke down. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough!!!" he cried, falling to his knees._

_Martha was instantly there, holding him close. "You listen to me, right now, Clark Joseph Kent." she sniffled. "It was __**not**__ your fault, do you hear me, boy? It was just your father's time; we don't know why...but it __**was**__." She hugged him closer. "So don't you __**ever**__ say that again."_

_Clark just cried, at that, letting his Ma hold him, as they sat there, together._

Tears slowly fell from Superman's eyes as he finished, as Alison dried her own eyes. "I...I do remember seeing you take that fall." she said. "I was so scared...like I was today; I thought I was going to _lose_ you..." She suppressed a sob. "But that's _nothing_ compared to what you went through..."

"He died, Ali." Superman – _Clark_ – sniffed. "He died right there in my arms; he never had a chance; he was DOA." His eyes clenched. "If I'd just _gotten there sooner..!_"

"Clark...there was _nothing_ you could have done..."

"There _should_ have been!!" Clark cried. "God, what's the point of having all this power if I can't even save my own _Dad?!_ And now it's happening _again!!_ Ma's dying and I just can't _stop it!!!_"

Alison hugged him close. "Clark...dying is a part of life...and a part of what it means to be _human_." she cooed. Smiling, she added, "Only _one_ person can save _everyone_, baby...and I hate to break this to you, but it's not you."

Clark weakly smiled. "I know that."

"People just die, Clark; it's natural – life ends, and starts again." Alison said. "I know it hurts...but it's better than it _not_ hurting when they're gone, right?"

Clark slowly nodded. "Right." he said. "But..."

"But nothing, _tausha_." Alison cooed, as she hugged him tight. At that, Clark rested his head on her shoulder, and quietly cried. "That's it, baby...let it all out..."

After a few minutes, Clark raised his head, and met his _taushi_'s eyes. "Are you okay, now?" she asked.

"I will be, Ali." Clark said. "But there's something I need to do." He stood up. "_Alia_...thank you."

Alison smiled. "It's what I'm here for." Smiling back, Clark took off into the sky, heading west.

Within minutes, Clark had reached the Kent Farm...specifically, the lone tombstone overlooking the Farm. "Hi, Dad." Clark whispered. Slowly, he knelt down in front of the grave. "I...I know I haven't been here in a while...and I'm sorry about that."

He took a deep breath. "I know why I'm here, Pa..." he whispered, "...I...I just wish it hadn't taken you dying for me to find out."

He lightly smiled. "I met someone, Pa; you remember little Ali, right?" He chuckled. "Well, she's not so little, anymore!"

His expression saddened. "Dad...for the longest time...I blamed myself for not being able to save you..." he said, "...but you _knew_ I couldn't, didn't you? You knew what I was meant to do...He told you as He took you home, didn't He?"

Clark felt his eyes start to sting. "I miss you, Pa." he said. "I miss you so much." He fought his tears back. "So...do you mind if I just sit and talk to you for a while?"

Clark then looked skyward. "_You_ don't mind...do You?"

The night sky made no objection.

"I'll assume that's a 'no'." Clark said. Then, he sat cross-legged in front of the grave...as he began to talk to his father.

_Author's Note: Van Braun's Syndrome, as far as I know, is a disease I made up. If it's a real condition, feel free to tell me._

_Also, before anyone asks, yes, this chapter was partially inspired by the episode "Trial by Fire," on the new Fantastic Four show._

_Coming Soon:_

_It's all come down to this…_

_Magneto's scheming…_

_Doom's plots…_

_Graydon Creed's hatred…_

_And the future fate of the Man of Steel and his friends…_

_New York's been sitting on a powder-keg…and the fuse has just been lit…_

_The world is about to change._

_Be there for the first part of the Zero Hour trilogy, "Opening Moves," coming to your computer soon…_


	28. Zero Hour, Part One

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: ZERO HOUR, PART ONE: OPENING MOVES

_Gotham City, July 10, 2008_

The blanket of night had fallen over Gotham City, and all of Gotham's good citizens had returned to their homes, fearfully shutting themselves in tightly, for they all knew: nighttime was when the monsters – the meth dealers, the gang-bangers, the murderers and rapists – came out to play.

But the monsters were scared, too.

In an empty street alley, two criminals ran for their lives, as sirens blared behind them...but that didn't worry them _half_ as much as what they knew might swoop in on them at _any minute_...

"Aw, man, Jimmy, I am _never_ listening to you again!" one crook wailed fearfully. "I _told_ you that knocking over that store was a bad idea! Now the _Bat's_ gonna get us!!"

"Shut it, Mike!" Jimmy snapped. "We'll be fine! All we gotta do is lay low for a while..." But he was cut off as a whirring cut the air, as a glint of metal lanced over their heads...seconds before a hanging ladder swung down, slamming Jimmy right in the face, sending him sprawling, to land hard...where a blur darted in from nowhere, snatching him up in an instant, leaving Mikey all alone.

Whimpering with fear, Mikey took out his knife, and dropped it on the ground. "_I-I give up!!_" he wailed. "_I swear, I'll never do anything bad ever again!! JUST DON'T TAKE MY SOUL!!!_"

At that, Mikey heard a soft rustling above him – like _wings flapping_ – and he looked up. His eyes widened as the vengeful black shape swooped in on him, and then...

..._oblivion_.

On a rooftop above the alley, Superman touched down, depositing the unconscious crook on the ground just as Batman grappled to the roof with the other one. Batman fixed Superman with his usual semi-glare. "I could have handled that alone."

"I know." Superman replied. "I was just in the neighborhood."

At that, Batman just let out a tiny exhalation from his nose...which, coming from an individual as highly trained as him, spoke _volumes_...but, ultimately, boiled down to '_Fine._'

Superman nodded. "It's been quiet." he said. "There haven't been as many emergencies, lately. I'm not complaining, mind you, it's just that...it makes you uneasy."

That was true; for the past few weeks, things had been quiet, for him _and_ the X-Men. The most worrisome issue in the Institute lately had been Ali preparing for her upcoming concert; it was two nights from tonight.

Batman was silent for a moment...and then nodded. "It's been like that in Gotham." he said. "It's been weeks since Joker, Penguin, or any of the other Arkham regulars tried anything. Not only that...there have been whispers on the streets; no details, just...saying that something's coming."

"Back home, when the weather was like that, my father boarded up the windows, locked up the barn, and moved us all down to the cellar before the tornado hit." Superman said. "Nine times out of ten, he was right."

Batman simply arched an eyebrow. "You'll have to tell me more about that."

Superman blinked. "I take it Robin is handling another case?"

Batman nodded.

Superman then chuckled. "'Don't take my soul'??" he repeated, mirroring Batman's quizzical expression.

Batman half-smiled. "That's a new one, I admit."

"Well, I'd better get going." Superman said. "It doesn't sound like anything else is happening, tonight, so I'll head home." He turned to go.

"Kent...be careful."

"You, too...Bruce?" Superman replied, turning around...to find that Batman was already gone, with the two out-cold crooks already cuffed, ready for the police. '_One of these days, I'm going to beat him to the punch._' Superman thought with a quiet laugh, before he took to the sky, heading home, leaving the unconscious thugs to the police.

_Bayville_

It was a quiet night in Bayville; the citizens were all tucked in, and the streets were empty...

..._above_ ground, at least.

In the sewers below Bayville, Wolverine prowled through the muck, in uniform, his claws extended, on full alert. He sniffed the air...and snarled in disgust; the ever-present septic smells made it damn near _impossible_ to get a fix on his quarry...

A feral roar shook the sewers as Sabretooth leapt out of the shadows at him, his punch cratering the ground...right where Wolverine had been, a few seconds ago. Wolverine rolled to the side, and came up to Sabretooth's left, claws ready.

"Long time, no see, Short Stuff!" Creed laughed. "I was just in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd say hi!"

Wolverine snarled; he _knew_ he'd gotten a whiff of 'Tooth's delightful aroma on his bike-ride, earlier today. '_Damn, do I hate being right..._' "Ain't you a peach."

Sabretooth roared again, before he darted at Wolverine, unleashing a swipe with his clawed hands...which Wolverine ducked under, before slashing 'Tooth's gut with his claws. Before he could press the attack, 'Tooth kneed him in the face, and then backhanded him, sending him flying, and knocking out one of his teeth...which quickly re-grew itself, just as quickly as Creed's wounds healed.

The two began circling each other, waiting for the _perfect_ opportunity to strike. "So, Creed," Wolverine snarled, "what brings you to _my_ neck of the woods?"

'Tooth grinned savagely. "I got sick of Lensherr and von Doom making me play by _their_ rules!" he laughed. "I figured it was time to settle things with the runt, once and for all!" His grin grew. "_You're_ just the warm-up, Short-Stuff!"

Sabretooth punctuated the sentence by rushing at Wolverine, ready to rip him to shreds, but Wolverine darted out of the way. "There's two things wrong with that plan, Creed." Wolverine snarled. "_One_, Flyboy could break you in _half_ with his _pinky finger_ without even breakin' a _sweat_."

With a feral roar, Wolverine then darted at Sabretooth, rolling low under his foe's swipe, and stabbing his claws right into Creed's gut.

"And _Two_, I'm not planning on going down so easy!!"

Wolverine was about to _really_ let 'Tooth have it...when several sounds filled his ears, distracting him long enough for Creed to kick him away. Sabretooth listened, pausing as well, before he scowled. "Brought backup, did you, Short Stuff?"

"Ain't my style, Creed." Wolverine snapped. "'Sides, if it _was_, they'd be ambushing your sorry ass right about now..."

Suddenly, a small metal sphere arced through the air towards them, coming out of the shadows, landing in the muck between them. Wolverine and Sabretooth stared at the sphere, momentarily confused...before the sphere emitted a high-powered electric current, electrocuting the both of them.

As the sphere's surge dissipated, Wolverine felt himself start to fall, his vision getting fuzzy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Creed drop, too...and then, he saw numerous black-clad figures closing in on them both...and just before he passed out, he heard one say, "Mission accomplished, sir; we have the test subjects."

And then...blackout.

_LexCorp Divisional HQ, New York_

It was midnight at the Headquarters of LexCorp's New York Division, and most of the staff had gone home, leaving only the night-shift staff hard at work...with _one_ exception.

Lex was hard at work at his desk, rapidly typing on his computer, poring over the data files he'd been looking at for _months_; he _knew_ that someone was trying to re-start the Sentinel Project, but he just couldn't find out _who_ – the culprit was _very_ good at covering their tracks. The electronic trail wove in and out through the network, making it enough to drive most minds to the loony bin...but Lex Luthor's mind _wasn't_ 'most minds'.

Even so, Lex was coming to the end of his rope. '_Come on...where are you..._' he thought, as he traced the latest link to the Project files, '_...you can't hide forever...you're going to slip up, and when you __**do**_'

Just then, the moron on the other computer slipped up, leading Lex _right_ back to his own network. '_Yes!_' Lex thought with a smile...which quickly faded as he recognized it. '_S.H.I.E.L.D.?!!_' Quickly, Lex tried every hacking trick he knew, to convince the S.H.I.E.L.D. system that he belonged there before it kicked him out. Within seconds, Lex breathed a sigh of relief, and resumed his trace.

This didn't make sense; why would S.H.I.E.L.D. be developing these...'Sentinels,' especially when General Fury himself had ordered the Project shut down? From what Lex knew of him, Nick Fury didn't seem to be someone who went back on his word...

Lex's eyes went wide, as he managed to get a look at who this guy had been dealing with. '_Holy...I'd better let Clark know about this..._' At once, Lex saved his findings to his computer, and discreetly logged out of the system, making sure that the perp didn't even know he'd been watching him. Once he was out, Lex quickly pulled out his cell phone, and dialed Clark up.

"_Hello?_" came Clark's reply.

"Clark? It's Lex."

"_Lex?? What are you doing up, this late?_"

"I can't get into that, not over the phone." Lex replied. "I need to meet with you and the others, tomorrow; I've got something you all need to see."

"_Well...sure!_" Clark answered. "_Just drop by, anytime! But...what's this all about??_"

"Sorry, Boy Scout, but I can't get into that, either." Lex said. "I'll explain everything in person, I promise."

"_Okay, Lex. See you then._"

"Right. Bye." Lex finished, before he ended the call. Putting his phone away, Lex sighed to himself. '_Aw, Clark...what did you get yourself into, now..?_'

_Undisclosed location, July 11_

As she walked through Magneto's current headquarters, Anita, in uniform, remembered her father's instructions.

She knew that her father and Magneto's plan would come to fruition _very_ soon – although she hadn't been told of the _exact_ timetable – and she had been instructed to observe Lensherr's personal recruits – his "Acolytes" – and determine whether or not their loyalties _truly_ lay with the 'Master of Magnetism' or if they could be persuaded to...enlist elsewhere.

What she had found had been insightful, though, in retrospect, it was hardly surprising. Pietro, on observation, was fiercely loyal to his father – almost as loyal as Anita was to _her_ Papa – despite his 'objections' to Lensherr's plans – born from jealousy of Kal-El, Anita thought with a smirk. It was highly unlikely that the speedster would break from the Acolytes to join her father's side, when Doom and Magneto would inevitably end their alliance.

As for the mutant St. John Allerdyce – "Pyro" – Anita had determined that the youth could easily be persuaded to enlist with them; the sole reason for John's joining of the Acolytes was that, essentially, he hadn't had anything better to do. Anita chuckled to herself; for a man as brilliant as her father, it would child's play to convince the pyro-kinetic mutant that there was greater glory to be had as a soldier of Doom than a lackey of Lensherr.

Harnessing the youth's borderline-insanity, however...that would be a _different_ story. Still, Anita was confident that her and Kal-El's leadership, once he _finally_ joined them, would bring him into line, she thought with a smile.

Likewise, Victor Creed, or "Sabretooth," who was currently absent, for reasons unknown, would also be easy to persuade. Creed was nothing but a common mercenary; it was only his greed that bound him to Lensherr...greed that her father could easily satiate better than Magneto.

As for her own teammates, the Brotherhood, they were also easy to persuade. Between her voice and her future husband, they would fall in line with no effort at all.

But with regards to the last Acolyte, Piotr "Colossus" Rasputin, Anita was still unsure; Piotr was always quiet, on the few occasions that Anita had seen him. He was always elsewhere, in the recesses of Magneto's hideouts. Anita knew next to nothing about him.

Which led her back to the reason for her little walk. Time was growing short.

As Anita rounded a corner, she smiled to herself, as she saw the Rasputin youth, leaning against a wall, next to a door leading into a darkened room. As Anita drew near, Piotr saw her, and stood up; well, at least he had more manners than the others. "There you are; I was looking for you." Anita said. "We should all be ready; Magneto will be announcing his plans, soon."

"I am sorry." Piotr said, his Russian accent still thick, but not as pronounced as it had been at first. "There was...something I needed to look after."

Anita lightly frowned. "That seems to be the case quite often." she replied. "It has to do with why you're here, doesn't it?"

Piotr looked stricken, and Anita _knew_ she'd struck the nail on the head. If she could discern what it was that bound Colossus to the Acolytes, she could gain leverage.

"I...I cannot say." Piotr said.

Anita's eyes narrowed, as she readied her commanding voice. "_I demand that you..!_"

"_P-Piotr?_"

The tiny little Russian voice came from within the room, startling Anita, stopping her command, as a little girl, no older than 9 years old, with mid-length golden blond hair, tied in two pigtails, and bright blue eyes, clad in a hospital gown, walked into view...pulling a mobile intravenous unit with her, as it fed a clear fluid into the blood vessels in her wrist.

Piotr's eyes widened. "_'Yana, what are you doing up?_" he replied, in Russian.

The little girl – 'Yana' – started to sniffle. "_I had a bad dream..._" she whimpered.

Instantly, Piotr knelt down to her, and hugged her. "_There, there, Little Snowflake; Big Brother's here._" he whispered. "_Just go back to bed; I promise, in a few minutes, I'll come read you a story, okay?_"

"_Okay._" Yana whispered. Then her expression turned sad again. "_Piotr, when can I take this thing out?_" she sniffled, pointing to the I.V. "_It hurts!_"

"_Oh, I know, Illyana, I know._" Piotr said softly. "_But that medicine keeps you from getting sick. You don't want to get sick again, do you?_"

"_No..._"

"_Well, there you have it._" Piotr replied.

Illyana looked worried. "_Piotr?_" she whispered. "_The...the thing I have...the 'new-moo-nia' thing...is it...bad?_"

Piotr's smile became a bit strained. "_It...__**can**__ be._" he admitted. "_But that's only if nobody notices it; we caught it in time, 'Yana. Don't worry._"

"_Okay._" Illyana replied. "_I'll go back to sleep, now, Piotr._"

Piotr smiled. "_I'll come read to you soon._" he promised.

"_Okay._" Illyana said, smiling. With that, she headed back inside, and hopped back into bed.

Anita felt a slight twinge of guilt fill her at that little discovery. "Was that..?"

"My sister, Illyana." Piotr answered. "She is very sick."

"What does she have?" Anita inquired.

Piotr looked a bit embarrassed. "Her...her lungs...they are..." he began, and then stopped. "I am sorry; my English, it is not so good..."

Anita nodded, before she replied in Russian. "_Then use your own language._"

Piotr looked a bit surprised at her statement, before he continued. "_Illyana has some kind of lung defect; it was present since her birth, and has been growing steadily worse, until it was almost deadly._" he said. "_My family and I, we are farmers; we are poor, but we are happy. When I became...'different,' my parents saw it not as frightening, but as a miracle from God, because it made me stronger, and let me do more at the farm, when Father was getting older._"

Piotr's expression became sad. "_And then Illyana got sick._" he continued. "_The doctor said that it was pneumonia from the lung defect. He told us that the defect could be treated through gene therapy...but we would have to come to America...and that the treatment was so very expensive._" He closed his eyes. "_Mother just cried and cried..._"

"_And then Magneto came._" Piotr finished. "_He told my family that he would gladly pay for Illyana's treatment, and all he wanted was for me to help him do something to help all others like me. At the time, I was glad, and eager to help...but I soon learned that Magneto's plan was not as good as I had thought. Still, I cannot leave; Illyana still needs her treatment – if I stop, she will die._"

"I...I see." Anita said softly.

Piotr nodded. "Now, if you will please excuse me; I must read to Illyana." he said, before he headed into the room. In the faint light of the I.V. unit, Anita could see him sit down next to Illyana's bed, before switching on a little light, and then take out a book. Her task complete, Anita turned, and headed back the way she had come.

As she walked, Anita folded her arms, deep in thought. When she'd been younger...she'd always wanted a little sister...or _any_ siblings, for that matter. But Mark and Diane LeRoux would have had none of it...they hadn't even wanted _her_...

_Six-year old Anita LeRoux, in her little green dress, with green ribbons braided in her hair, stood quietly outside her parents' room, peering through the crack in the half-open door, listening..._

_"What did we __**do**__, Mark?!" Diane screamed at her husband. "What the __**hell**__ did we create?!"_

_"What are you asking __**me**__ for, Diane?!" Mark shot back. "I'm just as surprised as you are!!"_

_"I __**told**__ you this would happen." Diane hissed. "I __**told**__ you I didn't want children, and I __**certainly**__ don't want one that can...that can do what __**she**__ did!!"_

_"Well, in case you didn't notice, it wasn't high on my list, __**either!!**__"_

_'W-What..?' Anita thought, her eyes starting to tear up. 'They...didn't want me..?'_

_Diane's eyes narrowed. "I expect you to take __**care**__ of this, Mark!" she snapped. "I want her __**gone**__! I will __**not**__ have that little brat order me around!!"_

_Anita's eyes filled with tears, before she ran back to her room, to pack up her few things, and run away..._

...but her parents had caught her, Anita thought, returning to the moment; caught her and locked her away.

'_Maybe it was __**better**__ to be an only child._' Anita thought. Mark and Diane LeRoux should _never_ have been allowed to become parents; no other child deserved to go through what she'd endured. Still, they had gotten what they'd deserved, Anita thought with a smile, and she had found a _real_ father. But though she would never regret her new upbringing, Anita couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to have _started_ with a loving family...like Piotr's...

By then, Anita was passing by Magneto's quarters. "Siryn." Magneto called, and Anita turned, and stepped inside. "I want you to make sure that the Brotherhood is ready." Magneto instructed, donning his PSI-shielded helmet, already in uniform.

Anita arched an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"

"_The day is today, Anita._"

Anita gasped, whirling around. "_F-Father!!_" she exclaimed, lightly bowing. "If...had I known..!"

"_...you would have been ready._" Doom finished. "_Though we expected things to come to fruition soon, the humans have progressed somewhat faster than anticipated; as such, we stepped up our own plans._" Doom then turned to Magneto. "_I trust that Genosha is progressing as planned?_"

Magneto smiled. "Of course, Victor." he replied. "These past few months, I have been spreading the word among our people, and mutants have been flocking to their new home. Not only that, but your generous donations have made the dream of a mutant utopia _possible_." He chuckled. "All that is missing is a leader."

Doom nodded. "_Not for long._" he agreed. "_With any luck, these events will also persuade your dear friend Xavier how flawed his reasoning is._"

"We can only hope."

Doom then turned to Anita. "_I look forward to observing your command over the Brotherhood, my dear._"

Anita's eyes widened. "Father..?"

Magneto chuckled. "I thought that this would be something you left to your lackeys and Doom-bots, Victor."

"_Though Doom leaves menial tasks to those better suited for them,_" Doom said flatly, "_it is high time for Doom and his future son-in-law to have a little __**chat.**_" He looked to Anita. "_I trust you have no objections, Anita?_" he added, lightly chuckling. "_You would not begrudge your father a chance to 'get some exercise'?_"

Anita smiled. "Of _course_ not, Papa!"

"_Good._" Doom said. His voice regained its command. "_Leave us now, daughter, and ready your teammates; we will begin very soon._"

Anita nodded. "Yes, Father." she replied, before bowing, and heading out of the room, before teleporting herself away.

Before heading to rejoin her teammates, however, Anita quickly 'ported herself to her hotel room; she needed to make a quick stop here, first. As she took out a small, lead case, Anita smiled to herself as she opened it...allowing the toxic-green light to fill the room, before shutting it again.

Her father did not know that she had borrowed one of the unprocessed Kryptonite shards; today, she was planning on _dealing_ with that little half-breed, once and for _all_. And once that was taken care of...well, a little Kryptonite would surely make Kal-El a little more _receptive_ to her advances...provided that she got to him before her Papa did. It never hurt to be prepared.

Anita smiled again, as she 'ported away, to rally the troops. It looked to be a good day.

_Xavier Institute_

It was a fairly pleasant morning at the Institute, and Charles was in his office, taking care of some paperwork. As he completed one form, he paused, his brow furrowing worriedly. Logan had been gone since yesterday, and no-one had heard from him since. Charles shrugged to himself; Logan was just likely being Logan. He was probably fine...

'_Help...help me..._'

Charles frowned. There it was again. For the past few weeks, he'd been hearing that faint telepathic cry, at the very outer limits of his mental 'reach.' It was as if someone was calling for help, but was too weak for Charles to home in on them. It bothered him that he could not find them...

'_Hello, Charles. I hope you don't mind us dropping by._'

Charles smiled to himself. '_Hello, Agatha. How are you?_'

'_Oh, I'm just fine, for a woman my age._'

'_Where are you?_' Charles asked...just as he noticed the warning light for the security system switch on...and then switch off.

'_Wanda and I are just walking up the driveway._' Agatha replied. '_I am sorry about your security system; if I had known, I would have called ahead. Wanda just turned it off, herself; there shouldn't be much damage._'

'_Don't worry._' Charles assured her. '_But, I must know: what brings you here?_'

Agatha's mental tone turned grave. '_We have grave news, Charles; you and your students __**had**__ to be informed._'

Charles nodded grimly. '_I see...please, come in, Agatha; I will alert my students. Meet us in the Meeting Room on the lower levels._' With that, he sent detailed directions to Agatha, and ended the telepathic conversation, and prepared to summon his students.

But he needn't have bothered; seconds after he had done so, the entire X-Men team, Krypto, and the New Mutants, as well as Storm and Beast hurried into his office, in uniform. "Professor, what's going on?" Cyclops asked. "We heard the security alarm..."

"It's alright, Scott." Charles assured him. "Yes, the alarm went off, but it was only Agatha and Wanda..."

"'_Only_ Agatha and Wanda'?!" Shadowcat exclaimed.

"That chick nearly kicked our _butts_, last time!" Spyke added.

"I assure you, they mean no harm; they only wish to talk." Charles said calmly.

Jean looked worried. "I don't know..."

"Well, Wanda _did_ only switch the security system off." Superman reasoned. "If she wanted to attack, she _could_ have just demolished it."

"Maybe she vants to join up!" Nightcrawler added.

Avalanche chuckled. "Here's hoping, Fuzzy."

"Regardless, we will meet them in the Meeting Room; they have something important to tell us." Charles finished.

Suddenly, both Superman and Power Girl perked up. "You guys go on ahead." Superman said. "Last night, I got a call from Lex; he has some important info, as well. He said he'd be dropping by, around this time. I'll just go meet him, and we'll catch up." With that, he headed off, while the rest of them headed to the Meeting Room, in the Institute's lower levels.

Charles and the others emerged into the Meeting Room just as Wanda and Agatha stepped out of the other elevator. No-one moved or spoke for a moment...until Cyclops lightly smiled. "Hey." he greeted.

Charles smiled.

"Hey." Wanda replied, also faintly smiling. "Look...you guys aren't mad about...that warehouse incident, are you?"

The X-Men also smiled, the tension lessening. "_Nah._" Power Girl said. "We got over it."

Agatha chuckled. "Now, you see, child? What did I tell you?" she said. To Charles, she added, "My apprentice here was worried that your students might still be sore about what happened the _last_ time they met, Charles."

Charles chuckled. "Well, I'm glad that we have _that_ much cleared up."

Just then, the elevator door opened, as Superman and Lex walked in. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Lex said.

"Not at all." Charles said. "We were just about to find out why Agatha dropped by."

Agatha's expression turned grave. "I only wish I could have visited with better news." she said sadly. "Whatever it is that Erik Lensherr and Victor von Doom plan to do...they will do _very_ soon."

"Um, okay..." Shadowcat said, blinking. "And...you know this..._how??_"

Agatha chuckled. "My dear girl, every witch worth her cauldron has at least _some_ gift of future sight." she answered. "True, I shall never have the clarity that Destiny does, but I have enough, and I was in the area."

Rogue blinked. "Yer a _witch??_" she exclaimed.

"Five centuries practicing." Agatha said.

"So...you're certain about what's going to happen?" Beast inquired.

Agatha nodded grimly. "_Quite_ certain." she replied. "If they haven't started their plan, they _will_."

"And that's why _I_ came." Wanda said, her eyes narrowed. "You guys are probably going to stop Magneto, and I plan on being there when you take him down."

Now it was Lex's turn to look grim. "Well, I hate to be the one to toss gasoline on the fire," he said, as he took out a computer disc, "but I think I can back up that claim." Walking to the central table, he inserted the disc into the computer, before opening up the overhead projector-program. "These past few months, ever since I met all of you, I've been looking into something – it was part of a government contract that my company was handling when my father ran things." he explained. "When it got cut, shortly after Lionel died, I heard a few grumblings from some of the staff; apparently, some people weren't too happy about it."

"What does this have to do with us?" Jean asked.

Lex looked grim. "You guys aren't going to like this..." he warned...as he tapped a key on the computer.

Instantly, the projector brought up the schematics of a massive, humanoid robot; if it were ever built, it would stand over twenty feet tall, and armed to the joints with machine guns, grenade launchers, missile batteries, and what looked like a plasma-based laser cannon.

"The Sentinel Project," Lex continued, "initially developed by S.H.I.E.L.D. as an anti-mutant countermeasure. They came to Lionel to develop the weaponry that this mother would use, but half-way through, the Project was discontinued...and, frankly, I'm not too sad about it."

"Merciful Goddess..." Storm murmured.

Charles was speechless; the fact that such a thing had been _conceived_ of...

"How _could_ he?" Cyclops murmured. "How could General Fury even _think_ of building that..._thing?_"

Multiple looked scared. "But...but they aren't gonna build that thing...r-right?"

"Sure hope not, little guy." Iceman said softly.

"Don't be so sure." Lex added. "That's why I came to talk to you guys; just last night, I traced someone working within S.H.I.E.L.D. I have reason to believe that whoever this was, he's trying to build a few of these suckers."

Everyone was silent at that. "It looks like we've found that clandestine operation that the General was worried about." Superman said.

"Yeah, but here's where it gets _weird_." Lex continued. "I traced this guy's transactions; he bought several hundred tons of steel and electronics from companies that I know for a _fact_ are just dummy-corporations for Shaw International and Van Damme Industries."

"So Doom and Shaw are _helping_ these mutant-haters??" Avalanche exclaimed.

"That doesn't make _sense!_" Jubilee added.

"_Jubilee is correct; Doom is allied with Magneto – there is no logical reason for a mutant to support such a group._" Android agreed.

"What the hell could they be _up_ to..?" Rogue thought aloud.

"_That_, Rogue, is the million-dollar question." Lex said.

Wanda's eyes narrowed. "Well, why don't we find my 'Daddy Dearest' and _ask_ him."

"We can't." Spyke said. "Mags has got that bucket on his head that keeps the Professor from finding him."

"Ain' dat de truth." Gambit muttered. "Looks like we gon' 'ave t' wait 'til Mags an' Doom 'cide t' make dey're move."

Lex looked thoughtful. "Maybe not..." he said. "Whenever Magneto uses his powers, he kicks up one _hell_ of a magnetic field, right?"

"Right." Superman agreed.

Lex smiled, as he moved to the computer. "Trying to find any one mutant with Cerebro is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, right, Professor?" he said.

"Well...yes, at times." Charles admitted.

"Cerebro just sifts through the hay," Lex said, as he kept typing, "but what you _need_ to look for...is the _glint_ of the needle!"

Instantly, a green map of the planet came up on the projector. "I just brought up one of LexCorp's satellites; it's doing a planet-wide sweep of Earth...looking for electromagnetic anomalies..."

Superman smiled. "...and where there are anomalies, there's Magneto!"

"Give the man a cigar!" Lex joked. Then, he smiled. "_Voila!_"

The map showed a massive cluster of electromagnetic radiation...right over New York City.

"There's our needle." Cyclops said.

"Looks like he's in the old warehouse district." Superman said, looking at the map closely.

"What are we waiting for?" Wanda demanded, her eyes narrowing. "Let's _get_ him."

Charles looked at Wanda worriedly, and reluctantly nodded. "Whatever Magneto's plan is, we must not let him succeed." he agreed. "Do whatever it takes." He looked to Storm and Beast. "Ororo, Hank, I want you both to accompany the X-Men."

"We will." Storm agreed.

"What about us?" Iceman asked.

"Yeah! We can help!" Sunspot added.

"Sorry, guys, but you'll have to stay here." Cyclops said.

Superman nodded. "We need all of you to stick around, in case Magneto tries anything _here_ while we're busy."

The New Mutants seemed satisfied with that. "We won't let you guys down!" Jubilee exclaimed.

Lex chuckled. "Boy, I kinda hate to leave, after dropping a bomb on you guys like that..."

Superman laughed. "Lex, this bomb was going to drop, anyway; you just told us _where_."

Agatha nodded. "Sadly, I, too, must take my leave."

Wanda's expression saddened at that. "Agatha..?"

"Oh, don't worry, child; you'll see me again." Agatha assured her. "But _this_ leg of your journey is one that you must take without me." She looked to the X-Men. "I wish you all luck." With that, she turned, and walked away...before she vanished into thin air.

"Well, I'd better leave, too." Lex added. "Good luck!" That said, he walked away, taking the elevator back up.

"Okay, guys," Cyclops said, "there's no time to lose! Let's go!" With that, the X-Men, along with Krypto and the Scarlet Witch headed out, to find Magneto and stop him.

As he watched them go, Charles smiled proudly after his students. He was deeply worried about him – Magneto was dangerous, even _without_ the aid of Victor von Doom – but he _knew_ that there were none better to handle his old friend.

'_X-Men,_' he thought, '_Godspeed..._'

_Undisclosed location_

When Wolverine came to, he felt _seriously_ groggy. '_Ugh...feels like 'Tooth's been tap-dancin' on my skull..._'

Opening his eyes, Wolverine saw that he was in an elevator, heading down, and that his arms were bound by high-tech shackles at the wrists, and that he was surrounded by armed men...wearing F.O.H. armbands.

'_Terrific._' he thought. '_Out of the fryin' pan and straight into the freakin' fire._'

Then, to his right, Wolverine spotted Sabretooth, in the exact same situation he was in. 'Tooth grinned savagely. "Took you long enough, Short-Stuff!"

"Shut up, mutie!!" one soldier yelled, slamming the butt of his rifle into Sabretooth's gut.

At that moment, the elevator came to a stop, opening onto the ground floor, where the soldiers dragged the both of them outside...where Wolverine's eyes widened in utter astonishment, as the looked upon the high-tech operation that these racists were running. "_Holy mother of..._" he gasped, "...this place looks like..._S.H.I.E.L.D._..."

"Very observant, mutant."

Wolverine turned towards the owner of that voice, as a fairly tall 30-something-year-old man, of average height, with short dark hair, and a trim moustache, clad in black pants and a black jacket, strode over. "And you're actually right." he continued. "This place _is_ similar to S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, many of us used to _work_ there..."

The man leaned in to glare at Wolverine. "...until we learned of the existence of mutant _scum_ like _you_, that is." he finished.

"Oh, _great_. A fanatic." Wolverine muttered. "Okay, bub, I'll bite: what did mutants ever do to _you?_"

The man glared at him as if he'd said something ridiculous. "Your _kind_," he snarled, "are a _threat!_ A _menace!_ You poison our gene pool, and upset the _natural_ balance of power!!"

Wolverine met him glare for glare. "We're _not_ all the same." he countered. "Unlike 'Tooth here, _some_ of us fight the _good_ fight."

"Even if that _were_ true," the man sneered, "the fact remains is that _we_ – _humanity_, the _rightful_ owners of this world – get caught in the crossfire! We have a _right_ to ensure our survival!"

One of the soldiers spoke up. "Dr. Trask, sir! What should we do with them?"

"Bring them to the main holding area until we are ready." Trask answered. "The commander wishes to have a _word_ with them." With that, Trask headed off, and the soldiers dragged Wolverine and Sabretooth along with them.

As Trask headed elsewhere, the soldiers dragged Wolverine and Sabretooth to a fairly small holding cell. Keeping them at gunpoint, the soldiers tapped buttons on their shackles, causing the shackles to separate...and then magnetically adhere to the walls. Their task done, the soldiers left them there. Gritting his teeth, Wolverine tried to pull free, but it was no use. The shackles were stuck tight, and he couldn't reach them with his claws to cut free.

Suddenly, a scent filled his nostrils; someone else was here. Sabretooth smelled it, too, as he looked around, his eyes narrowing. "Who's there?!" he roared.

A chuckle came from the shadows, as a man, in his thirties, with short, light brown hair, cold blue eyes, clad in a black business suit, and black leather gloves, stepped into view. "You don't recognize me?" he asked. "I'm not surprised."

Wolverine arched an eyebrow as he looked at the newcomer. There was something familiar about his face...and then he happened to glance to 'Tooth...and back again...

Wolverine's eyes widened. '_No freakin' way..._'

Sabretooth looked at him closely, and took a deeper whiff...and then burst out laughing. "Well, whaddya know!" he guffawed cruelly. "If it ain't my own runty son!"

"_SHUT UP!!!_" the man exploded, backhanding Sabretooth. "Don't _EVER_ say that _again_, you filthy _mutie!!!_"

Sabretooth just laughed. "So, Graydon, you finally worked up the guts to strike yer old man, eh?" he sneered. "_Took_ you long enough!" He smiled ferally. "What say you drop these cuffs, so we can have a _proper_ 'family reunion'?"

Graydon's face twisted. "_You_," he snarled, "are _NO_ father of mine!! I purged your filthy gene from my system!" He took off his gloves, revealing the scarring on his hands. "I am _pure_, mutie!! And once I get rid of _you_ and that blue _bitch_, my line will be _cleansed!!_"

'_**Blue?**_' Wolverine thought. "Hey, 'Tooth, is he talkin' about who I _think_ he is?"

Sabretooth grumbled. "It was about thirty years ago or so; I was on a job, and Mystique was working on the opposite side. She got me drunk so I screwed up the job, and nine months later, out pops runty, here." he muttered. "Anyways, that bitch just dumps the kid with me and high-tails it out of there, so _I_ had to put up with this little runt until I can pawn him off to some orphanage."

"Well, ain't you 'Father of the Year'." Wolverine replied. "But I can see it: he's got yer good looks...God help him."

"I _said_, _shut UP!!!_" Graydon roared, punching Wolverine in the stomach.

Wolverine lightly coughed. "Got yer charming personality, too..."

Snarling, Graydon pulled out a gun, and aimed it at Sabretooth's head. "I _should_ just shoot you, now, mutie." he growled. Then, he smiled evilly, and lowered it. "But I have something _better_ in mind. We're in need of _test subjects_ for our little project; any volunteers?"

Sabretooth chuckled. "_Figures_." he sneered. "You don't got the balls to do it yourself; I'm startin' to wonder if you _are_ my kid."

Graydon backhanded him again. "You're _already_ dead by my hand, mutie _scum!!_" he spat. "_Just_ like the _rest_ of your filthy kind!!" With that, he turned, and left the cell.

Wolverine chuckled. "Oh yeah; a real chip off the old block-head."

"Aw, _shaddap!_"

Seconds later, several more soldiers stormed into the cell, and yanked them off the wall, re-connecting their shackles, before dragging them out, into a large test-area, surrounded by a metal fence. The soldiers tossed them into the test-zone, closing the door behind them, the fence sparking – electrified. Then, their shackles just popped off. At once, Wolverine popped out his claws. '_I don't like this..._'

Suddenly, a large trap-door slid open in the middle of the test-zone, as a huge, mechanical _monstrosity_ started to rise out of it. "_Say hello to the instrument of your filthy kind's demise!_" came Graydon's voice over a speaker. "_Our mechanical defender of humanity...the Sentinel!_"

"_Holy_..." Wolverine muttered.

"..._shit_." Sabretooth finished.

Wolverine glanced to his old enemy. "Truce?"

Sabretooth snarled...and nodded. "For _now_, Short-Stuff." With that, they could only ready themselves, as the monstrous robot – the Sentinel – rose to its full height, its glass eyes starting to glow a foreboding yellow...

_Warehouse district, New York City_

It was noon as Superman, Power Girl, and Krypto touched down in the abandoned warehouse district, as the X-Van came to a stop a few feet away. Superman's eyes narrowed, flashing electric blue. Lex had been right; this place was _crawling_ with electromagnetic waves.

Magneto was here. No doubt about it.

Seconds later, Storm touched down, as the X-Men, as well as Wanda, emerged from their vehicle. "Did either of you spot anything?" Cyclops asked.

"No. Nothing." Superman replied.

"Ditto." Power Girl added.

"Neither did I." Storm said.

Wanda scowled. "That old _cockroach_ has probably crawled under another rock." she muttered.

"No, he's still in the area; there's still too much EM radiation." Superman said.

"Well, if ol' Bucket 'ead wants t' play 'ide n' seek, dat's okay wit' Gambit." Gambit said.

"Everyone stay alert." Cyclops instructed. "Magneto and his goons could be _anywhere..._"

"_No-one move._" Superman instructed. His hearing had picked up something; something _distinctly metallic_...

Superman's eyes narrowed. "How long were you planning on standing there, Victor?"

A metallic chuckle filled the air, as Dr. Doom stepped out of the shadows to Superman's right. "_Long enough._"

"_Holy..!!_" Avalanche exclaimed.

"_I see I need no introduction._" Doom continued. He folded his arms. "_The time has come, Kal-El, for us to have a little __**chat.**_"

At that, Cyclops reached for his visor, ready for a fast shot, as Jean readied a TK-bubble. Spyke flexed his forearms, generating a coating of spikes. Gambit took out his deck, and started shuffling. Storm's eyes narrowed, as storm-clouds began to gather. Wanda's fists clenched, blue-black energy coalescing around her hands, while Power Girl's eyes started to glow gold. The entire team was ready to attack...

Superman raised his hand, motioning them to stay back. "It's okay, guys." he said. "I've got this covered."

Shadowcat looked worried. "But...but Kal..!"

"Don't worry about me." Superman said. "_You_ have to find Magneto and _stop_ him." He glared at Doom. "Doom's actually _right_ about this one: a little face-to-face is _long_ overdue."

Power Girl looked stricken, as Krypto softly whined. "Kal..._tausha_...are you sure about this?" Power Girl asked.

Superman smiled at her. "I'm sure, _taushi_. I'll be okay." he said. His expression turned firm. "Now, you guys get going!" With that, the others hurried off, further into the district, while Superman turned to face Doom...

As the X-Men headed further into the district, Nightcrawler looked nervous. "I don't know, guys; should ve _really_ have left Kal back zhere? Vith _Doctor __**Doom?**_"

"Hey, Big Blue can take care of himself, Fuzzy." Avalanche assured his teammate.

"Yeah!" Shadowcat agreed.

"Regardless, he was right; we need to find Magneto." Cyclops said.

Wanda nodded. "Amen to _that._"

By then, they had wandered into a larger area, between several warehouses, with an old clock-tower a few blocks away. "I'll try and spot Magneto from the sky." Storm suggested, as she summoned her winds, starting to float upwards into the air...

Power Girl's eyes widened, as her hearing picked something up. "Everyone, _DOWN!!_" she cried...just as a familiar sonic scream filled the air, rippling towards them with deadly force. Jean instantly raised a TK-barrier, which Power Girl reinforced with a hard-light wall, amplifying it with the energy she was absorbing and transmuting from the sonic attack, while their teammates huddled behind the barriers.

Soon, the scream died down. "Figures." Rogue muttered. "Where Steel and Psycho is, Her Royal Pain-in-the-Highness ain't far behind."

"_Watch_ your mouth, wench." came a haughty voice, as Siryn, in uniform, stepped into view. She smiled archly. "But it _was_ good of you to come; it saves us the trouble." With that, she snapped her fingers, and the rest of the Brotherhood – Blob, Toad, and Quicksilver – stepped out of the shadows. Seconds later, two of Magneto's acolytes – Pyro and Colossus – joined them.

"Terrific." Spyke said. "They brought friends."

Siryn smirked. "You have been thorns in our sides for the better part of the past _year_." she said. She glared at Power Girl. "Some more than others."

Power Girl glared back. "Back at you."

"Regardless, I'm afraid that the time has come to put you all _out_ of our misery." Siryn finished. With that, she turned to her teammates. "_Get_ them." she ordered. At that, the X-Men readied themselves, as the combined forces of the Brotherhood and the Acolytes came at them...

Once his friends had left, Superman turned to face Doom. "_It was wise of you to agree, Kal-El._" Doom said.

"Like I said, this is _long_ overdue, Doom," Superman replied, his eyes narrowing, "but I wanted a _face-to-face_, not to play your games."

Doom's eyes narrowed. "_My patience with you is already thin, boy. Do not strain it further with insolence._"

Superman wasn't phased. "If you really want to talk, Doom, then get this toy of yours out of here and _face_ me." he snapped. "Otherwise, I'm leaving."

Doom's fist clenched. "_I __**warn**__ you, boy..._"

Superman turned to leave. "Goodbye, Victor." He started to walk away.

A metallic clapping filled the air, as the _real_ Doom stepped into view, his invisibility spell dissipating with a gesture. "_Well done._" he said, as the false Doom – a Doom-bot – stood at attention in its master's presence. "_Did you know I was there?_"

"That spell doesn't hide your body-heat, Doom." Superman replied. "Besides, no matter how good a cloaking spell you use, a heartbeat echoing through metal is hard to miss."

"_No doubt._" Doom said. He gestured, and the Doom-bot ignited its boot-jets, flying off. "_I had scattered a few of my Doom-bots around this area, on the assumption that you and your colleagues would arrive, so that they would intercept you._"

Superman's eyes narrowed, as he and Doom started to circle each other. "Am I supposed to be flattered?"

Doom's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "_As my minion stated, Kal-El, my patience is wearing thin._" he said. "_I had hoped that such measures might not be necessary; what happens now, you have brought on yourself._"

"I could say the same to _you_." Superman countered.

Doom's fist clenched. "_I have attempted to be patient._" he said. "_I have tried to be understanding. I have even bestowed upon you an honor that no other man on this planet is worthy of: the attentions of Latveria's Princess._" His voice turned hard. "_But I see now that the only way you're going to get any good sense...is if I __**knock**__ it into you!!_"

And he punctuated that sentence by firing a green-yellow bolt of mystic energy at Superman, blasting him clear across the street, sending him crashing into an old warehouse.

Doom shook his head as he walked across the street. "_Oh, come now, Kal-El; surely you can fare better than that!_" he chastised. "_Why, I have barely even broken a..?_" But he stopped as he stepped inside the warehouse...to find no-one there.

He suddenly heard a gust of wind behind him...and then felt a light tap on his shoulder. Doom turned...to find Superman behind him, his fist clenched and pulled back.

"_My_ turn."

_**WHAM!!!**_

Superman's fist slammed into Doom's chest, sending him flying through the warehouse...as Superman darted ahead of him, to send him airborne with an uppercut. Doom smashed through the warehouse's roof, spiraling through the air, out of control...where Superman intercepted him again, slamming him with a double axe-handle strike, sending him plummeting towards the ground at breakneck speeds...

...and then Doom regained his balance, quickly sketching mystic signs in front of him with his hands...before he simply winked out of existence.

Superman remained in the air, scanning the horizon...until he spotted a spell-bolt coming at him out of the corner of his eye. He quickly dropped altitude, evading the bolt, and touching down on the warehouse roof where Doom had 'ported to, standing a few feet away from Doom. "Interesting trick." Superman said. "But I've seen magic before."

"_No, Kal-El._" Doom said, his fists clenching, gathering power to him. "_You've seen the magic of my daughter – a __**student**__ – before. __**Now**__...you face a __**master.**_"

With that, he started to run to the side, firing bolts of mystic energy at him as he moved. But Superman was ready, this time; he moved in the same direction as Doom, dodging the bolts, and strafing the Latverian tyrant with precise eye-rays, aiming just _ahead_ of Doom. As the beams lanced towards him, Doom quickly conjured protective barriers along his forearms, and used them to deflect the beams.

By then, they had closed on each other enough that long-range attacks were no longer needed. As Superman came at him, Doom's hand glowed yellow-green, his fingers extending into _claws_, as he slashed at his foe, but Superman ducked under the slice, and countered with an uppercut...which impacted against Doom's mystic barrier. Doom took advantage of the momentary reprieve, and grasped Superman's throat with his clawed hand, his free hand readying a spell. Quickly, Superman struck Doom's arm at the elbow, forcing it to bend, throwing him off-balance, before wrenching free, grasping Doom's arm and punching under it, right into Doom's shoulder-joint, with _more_ than enough force to dislocate a human shoulder...but Doom's armor managed to absorb the blow.

Recovering, Doom swung at Superman with his free hand, but Superman caught it, stopping Doom's strike...where Doom unleashed a head-butt, knocking Superman back a few feet. Doom then raised his arm, taking aim at Superman, as numerous metallic spikes began to grow from his living-metal armor. He simply flexed his fingers, and fired the spikes. As the spikes flew at him, Superman moved at super-speed, dodging every single one, before darting at Doom, before the tyrant could recover, and unleashing a lightning-fast series of punches, one right after the other, his fists moving faster than a machine-gun, slamming against Doom's barrier, moving too fast for Doom to keep up with. His fists smashed against the barrier...then bent it a little...and then bent it more; slowly but surely, Doom's shield was buckling...

...and then it shattered, falling away from Doom like broken glass, before evaporating into nothingness.

Doom let out a shout of exertion, before he recovered his balance, slamming Superman with a knee-kick, at the exact same time that Superman decked him with a face-punch.

The two of them were sent flying in opposite directions: Superman was knocked back across the street, before doing a mid-air flip, to land feet-first on another rooftop, while Doom was knocked back even further, but still landing safely...with a fist-shaped dent in his face-plate, surrounded by hairline cracks in his armor, which was gradually mending, the cracks healing.

Doom's eyes narrowed, as his hands started to glow, gathering energy for another attack; Doom wasn't kidding around, anymore.

And neither was _he_.

Superman flew at Doom at top speeds, and _slammed_ him with a Mach Two haymaker, his punch echoing like a _thunderclap_, sending Doom flying across several blocks...before Doom vanished again. Superman flew up, scanning the ground below for his foe...until he heard the sound of Doom's teleport...only a few meters away...

Doom was hovering in the air behind him, as Superman turned to face him. "_Flight is not your advantage, boy._" Doom said, his hands glowing brightly, as he raised one hand...and brought it down.

The sky instantly darkened, as a massive lightning-bolt lanced down from the clouds, striking Superman with its ethereal force, knocking him from the sky as thunder echoed from the spell. Superman fell towards the ground at crushing speeds...and then quickly recovered, flipping in mid-air to land feet-first.

Doom touched down a few feet away, facing him; the Latverian tyrant was slightly winded from the battle...just like Superman was. Superman quickly recovered, smiling darkly. "Sorry, Victor, but it's going to take more than a little shock to get me down."

"_So I expected._" Doom replied, chuckling mirthlessly. "_Then I shall not waste any more time._"

And with that, the two foes charged at each other...

As Blob came at them, Cyclops took aim, and fired an optic-blast, aiming high, knocking Blob off-balance, before he opened his visor _more_, unleashing a stronger blast, sending Blob packing. As Cyclops closed his visor, a torrent of flame came streaming at him from Pyro...which was blocked by Jean's TK-wall.

As the laughing Pyro continued his flaming assault, Storm gestured to the clouds, summoning a torrent of rain...which had no effect on Pyro's flames. "Sorry, sheila!" Pyro cackled. "Guess I'm too 'ot fer ya ta 'andle!"

Power Girl's eyes narrowed, as she took a deep breath, and just _blew_, unleashing a burst of gale-breath, extinguishing Pyro's fire and sending him flying a good twenty feet. "Pyro, you're just a bunch of hot air!" she laughed.

"Ali, look out!" Shadowcat cried, as she darted to her friend's side and touched her shoulder, phasing the both of them...and allowing the bolt of mystic lightning that Siryn had cast to pass by harmlessly.

Power Girl smiled. "Thanks, Kit." she replied, before turning to glare at Siryn. "Excuse me for a minute." With that, she darted at Siryn at super-speed, but the little brat managed to vanish into a puff of green haze.

With Power Girl distracted, Quicksilver darted towards the X-Men. "Not so tough without Super-Dork backin' you up, _are_ you?" he sneered.

With a snap of her fingers, Scarlet Witch turned the ground to ice, causing Quicksilver to lose all traction, and go skidding across the ground, out of control, where Spyke clotheslined him with a bone-staff. "You guys can handle things here." Scarlet Witch said. Her eyes and voice hardened. "I'm going after 'Daddy Dearest'." With that, she headed further into the maze of warehouses.

Once Quicksilver was dispatched, Spyke quickly generated a bone-shield along his arm, deflecting Toad's slime-glob, before firing the spikes at him. Toad quickly hopped out of the way, touching down a few feet away...where he instantly sunk into a sinkhole, sinking down up to his neck.

Avalanche grinned. "Good luck hopping out of _there!_"

"Aw, come _on_, man!" Toad whined. "Cut an old pal some _slack_, will ya?"

Avalanche smiled slyly. "_Sure._" He focused his powers...

...and Toad felt the ground under his feet shake. "Oh, _no..._"

A pillar of stone shot up from under Toad, flinging him _well_ over fifty feet into the air, sending him flying out of sight...

Wanda had walked into an alley between warehouses, looking for Magneto; he _had_ to be nearby...

Suddenly, a familiar, somewhat-girlish scream cut the air, as Toad crashed into an open dumpster, just to Wanda's left. "_Toad??_"

A very dizzy Toad dragged himself out of the dumpster. "Hi, Snookums." he groaned.

Wanda's eyes narrowed. "_Don't_ try to stop me." she warned.

At that, Toad momentarily tensed...and then relaxed. "Hey, who are we kiddin', Cuddlebumps?" he asked. "I couldn't fight you even if I _tried!_" His tone turned sad. "I don't wanna fight anyone..._especially_ not _you_."

At that, Wanda calmed. "I...don't want to fight you either, Todd."

Todd chuckled. "To be honest, me an' Fred didn't really _want_ to be in on yer old man's scheme, yo." he admitted. "But _you_ try sayin' 'no' to Doom's kid!"

Wanda smiled. "I can imagine." she answered. Her expression turned dark. "Where's Magneto?"

"Sorry, Wanda; I really wish I knew." Todd said. "All we was told was to show up here and wait for the Institute kids and Supes. That's it."

Wanda nodded. "I believe you..." she began...and then she stopped, as she spotted the clock tower in the distance...and remembered the one happy memory that she had of her father: it was shortly after her father had taken them from the kind Maximoff family in Germany. He had taken them on a little trip to Switzerland, and they had gone on a gondola ride up the Alps...and he had confessed to them that he had always loved high places...

"I know where he is." Wanda said, as she turned to go...

"Wanda, wait!"

Wanda paused, turning back to Todd. "Don't...don't do anything you'll regret, okay?" he asked.

Wanda smiled darkly. "Oh, don't worry...I _won't_." she said, before she headed off.

As Colossus came at her, Jean fired numerous TK-pulses at the steel-skinned mutant, which simply bounced off of him harmlessly. Before he could get much further, Beast tackled into Colossus, but the metal mutant dug in his heels, and then threw Beast a good ten feet. Beast landed hard, but quickly did a hand-spring, and then leapt to a wall, and leapt off again, kicking Colossus and sending him sprawling. As Colossus got up, Jean took a deep breath, focusing enough to telekinetically _grab_ Colossus and _slam_ him into the wall. Before Colossus could recover, Shadowcat quickly dove into the wall, phasing through it, and then reached through, phasing him into the wall.

By then, Pyro had recovered, and started to take aim at Jean, but was knocked off-balance by a flying kick from Nightcrawler. "Why, you little blue _wanker!!_" Pyro yelled, and he fired a stream of flame at Nightcrawler, who simply teleported away. Before Pyro could get a fix on his foe, he was sent sprawling by a high-speed flying tackle from Krypto. "_Bloody mutt!_" Pyro exploded, blasting flames at the Kryptonian canine, but Krypto was too fast, and dodged every single blast.

Now Pyro was _really_ steamed, as he aimed his lighters at Nightcrawler. "Say yer prayers, you little..!" but he stopped as he noticed that the fuel lines that fed his lighters were starting to _glow_. "What the 'ell..?"

Gambit chuckled from behind Pyro, removing his hand from Pyro's fuel-tank. "Y' might wan' t' get rid o' dat t'ing, _mon ami_." With that, Gambit darted away, as Nightcrawler 'ported off, and Krypto darted away.

"Oh, _CRIKEY!!_" Pyro cried, as he frantically pulled the fuel tank off of him, tossing it as far away as he could...seconds before it exploded in an impressive blast, sending him sprawling onto his rear. As he struggled to get up, he looked up...and saw Rogue, who simply touched him, knocking him out.

Power Girl had followed Siryn's trail into another wide-open area, apparently empty. Power Girl looked around, for any sign of her foe...

Her hearing suddenly picked something up, and she darted to the side at top speed, evading the mystic frost-blast. Power Girl's eyes flashed electric-blue, as her vision cycled through the X-Ray end of the spectrum...and then through infrared...

...revealing the red-and-orange outline of a person standing to her left.

Power Girl simply inhaled and _blew_; her gale-breath sent Siryn flying, to crash into the nearby wall with a shriek, slightly cratering it and making her visible, again. Siryn glared hatefully at her, rising to her feet. "It's high time we _settled_ this, you little half-breed _sow!!_"

Power Girl chuckled. "Better to be a _half_-breed than to be 100 percent _bitch_."

Siryn let out a harpy-like shriek of pure _rage_, before firing a blast of enchanted flame at Power Girl, who raised a light-barrier, repelling it. "This battle is already _won_, half-breed!!" Siryn shrieked, punctuating her sentences with lightning-blasts, which Power Girl easily dodged. "By now, my father has likely already _beaten_ some sense into Kal-El!! Kal-El _will_ accept his rightful place..._and_ me!! He has no _place_ for the likes of _you!!_"

Power Girl just chuckled. "For someone who _claims_ to be so bonkers about him, you don't know much about Kal." she retorted. "I guess your old man never bothered to teach you any common sense." With that, she flew at Siryn at top speeds, sending her flying with a tackle. Siryn managed to generate a barrier to blunt the attack, and quickly recovered. "From what _I've_ heard, Kal _rejected_ your spoiled little butt _long_ before _I_ showed up."

"_SILENCE!!_" Siryn yelled, firing a beam of mystic force at Power Girl, who evaded it.

Power Girl laughed. "_Seriously_, LeRoux, did you ever bother to ask _why_ Kal can't stand you?" she said, before unleashing an eye-beam, which Siryn evaded by 'porting to the side. "Well, let me tell you a few things about him: Kal actually _cares_ about people. He doesn't like bullies, or people who think they can just take or do what they want – like your old man does – at the expense of everyone else. Plus, he sticks by his friends, and he doesn't just boss everyone around because he's so much more powerful than they are...like _you_ do." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you _getting_ this, LeRoux?! Kal doesn't like you because you're nothing but a self-centered, narcissistic, uber-spoiled _BRAT!!!_"

Siryn was visibly _shaking_ with rage. "You _DARE_ to lecture me?!" she exploded, sending a _wave_ of mystic flame at Power Girl, who raised her barrier, blocking it. "You know _NOTHING_ of me!! How _dare_ you insult the Princess of Latveria!!!"

"You're actually _right_, LeRoux; I _don't_ know you." Power Girl said. "I don't know if you got screwed up by having _Doom_ as a dad, or if you _came_ that way; all I see is the end result." Her eyes narrowed. "And so does _Kal_."

"Kal-El _will_ be mine!" Siryn hissed. "He _has_ to! And _nothing_ will change that, 'Dazzler'! You can't stop his destiny, you empty-headed _floozy!!_"

Power Girl's fist clenched. "LeRoux," she snapped, "we've _ALL_ had _ENOUGH_ of you, your old man, _and_ that stupid prophecy!!" With that, she flew right at Siryn, who frantically fired spells at her, but Power Girl generated a shield around herself, repelling them until she was close enough to Siryn. Power Girl gathered her strength, and just _punched_ through Siryn's spell-barrier, shattering it, before she followed up with another punch.

_CRACK!!_

Power Girl's punch connected _squarely_ on Siryn's face, sending her flying, to crash into the wall. "Oh, and just so you know," she finished, "I go by _Power Girl_, now." As Siryn raised her head to glare at her, Power Girl smiled. "Hey, _that's_ a good look for you!"

Siryn's eyes widened at that statement, as she conjured a reflective ice crystal in her hand, and looked into it...revealing the _beautiful_ blue-black shiner than now encircled her right eye.

Her scream hit an octave usually reserved for calling dogs.

"_You insolent little half-breed BITCH!!! I've had ENOUGH of you!!!_" Siryn screamed, as she got to her feet, and reached behind her, pulling out a lead case. "_This_ will teach you not to cross _me!!_" With that, she opened it...allowing the toxic-green light of the Kryptonite to fill the alley.

Power Girl blinked...and then smiled, calmly yawning.

"_WHAT??_" Siryn cried, utterly incredulous. "You...you should be writhing in _agony_, by now!!"

"Why? Because of _that?_" Power Girl replied. "My powers work differently from Kal's, LeRoux; I don't absorb energy like he does. That does make me less powerful...but it _also_ means that Kryptonite doesn't hurt me! As far as I'm concerned, that's just a glorified _night-light!_"

Siryn started to back up, horror spreading across her face.

Power Girl frowned...and then smiled. "Well, since you were good enough to try to use _my_ weakness...I think it's only fair that _I_ use _yours_...provided that scream of yours didn't already get his attention."

Siryn's eyes widened. "W-W-What?!"

Power Girl's smile grew, as she cupped her hands to her mouth. "_Krypto! Here, boy!_"

Siryn went pale, as she dropped the Kryptonite. "You _wouldn't..!_"

Instantly, Krypto zipped over to Power Girl, panting happily...and then _growling_ as he caught sight of Siryn. "_Don't go overboard, okay, boy? Just scare her._" Power Girl whispered, so only Krypto could hear; Krypto grunted in agreement. Power Girl's smile became sly, as she shouted out her command.

"_SIC 'er!!_"

At that, Krypto growled in feral _fury_, before pouncing at Siryn, fangs bared. Siryn screamed in utter terror, before she 'ported away, causing Krypto to miss, but the Superdog quickly recovered, and sniffed the air, before dating off, tracking Siryn's scent.

Power Girl lightly chuckled to herself; _that_ ought to give Siryn a good scare. She turned towards the fallen Kryptonite; that stuff was _way_ too dangerous to leave lying around...

Suddenly, a silver streak darted past her, snatching up the case. Quicksilver smirked as he slowed down, looking at the Kryptonite. "Well, well; looks like 'Boss-Lady' was good for _something_, after all!"

Power Girl's eyes narrowed. "Hand it over, Pietro!"

"Sorry, babe; I got plans for this stuff." Quicksilver sneered, darting out of Power Girl's reach. His smirk turned sinister. "Plans like _stuffing it down Super-Loser's throat!!_" With that, he darted off, at top speed.

Power Girl's eyes widened in _horror_. "_KAL!!!_" she cried, hoping that her _tausha_ could hear her in time. "_Watch out!!! Pietro has Kryptonite!!!_"

After calling out, Power Girl felt fear grip her heart in its icy claws; she hoped her Clarkie was okay...

_Undisclosed location_

Wolverine was _beyond_ exhausted, as he darted away from another round of machine-gun fire from the Sentinel's weapons, before leaping at its extended arm, running up, and slashing its torso with his claws, leaving deep gouges in its armor. '_Damn, still not cuttin' deep enough..._'

As Wolverine landed, he spotted 'Tooth a few feet to his right, also winded. The Sentinel was covered with gouges, as well...but unlike them, it did not tire. "_Christ_, Short-Stuff, aren't those can-openers of yours good fer _anything?!_"

"_You_ want to try swipin' that thing with yer bare hands?" Wolverine retorted. "That armor's too thick; I need to dig _deeper_ to get at its guts."

Just then, the Sentinel's chest-plate opened, revealing a chest-mounted cannon. "_Uh-oh_." Sabretooth muttered, as the cannon started gathering energy. Quickly, the two of them darted away, as the plasma-laser cannon opened fire, and a large, red beam lanced from it, chasing the two of them with deadly accuracy, dissipating just as its edge touched Wolverine's arm, leaving a third-degree burn on his forearm, which began to slowly heal.

"Okay, _that's_ it!" Wolverine roared. "'Tooth, I need you to get me on top of that thing's head; time for a little _brain-surgery!_"

"You _nuts?!_ It'll kill ya _long_ before ya get there!" Sabretooth yelled...and then he grinned savagely. "Let's _do_ it!!"

With that, they both ran at the Sentinel, and then split up, running around it in opposite directions, confusing the machine. When they had reached its back-side, they paused, as Sabretooth grabbed Wolverine, spun him around, and _tossed_ him up onto the machine's back. Wolverine dug in his claws, climbing up its back, while the Sentinel frantically swiped at him, trying to get him off; its arms couldn't reach him. Wolverine managed to climb up on top of its head, where he dug his claws in, and pulled back the layer of outer armor, revealing the delicate electronics inside. Wolverine grinned, and then went _nuts_, slashing wildly inside the Sentinel's head; hopefully, he'd hit something vital...

His gamble paid off; after a few seconds, the Sentinel suddenly locked up, as if it had just had a heart-attack, before it started to fall over. Wolverine quickly hopped off, landing safely, as the Sentinel fell flat on its face, utterly wrecked.

A chuckle came from their right, as the electric fence switched off, and Creed Junior stepped into the test-zone. "Not bad, muties." he admitted. "But _that_ was just the _prototype_; our more advanced models should fare _much_ better against your kind."

'_Models?_' Wolverine thought. "How many of these things have you _got?_"

Graydon smirked. "_More_ than enough." he said. "And once we've let the mutant Cain Marko loose, the entire _world_ will see how dangerous your kind are...and how _necessary_ the Sentinels are..."

"Mr. Creed, sir!" one F.O.H. soldier exclaimed, running up to Graydon, saluting. "We've detected numerous mutant signatures near one of our test-sites!"

Graydon frowned...and then smiled. "That could work to our advantage." he said. "Mobilize the three second-generation Sentinels we had at that site; I think a field-test is in order."

"Excellent idea, sir!" the soldier said. "And what of our additional plan?"

"Send our squad to storm Xavier's 'Institute.'" Graydon ordered, causing Wolverine's eyes to go wide. "But I want Xavier _alive_."

"And if we encounter other mutants, sir?"

Graydon's eyes narrowed. "_Kill_ them."

With a roar of feral rage, Wolverine rushed at Graydon, ready to tear him apart...until several tranquilizer darts slammed into his skin, dumping chemicals into his bloodstream, slowing him instantly. As Wolverine fell back, he saw Sabretooth get pumped full of sedatives, too...and then, just before he blacked out, he managed to send one thought to Charles, hoping that he would get it.

'_Chuck...watch out..._'

Up in the rafters of the warehouse, above the test-zone, a single blackbird – a raven – flew towards a window, out of sight, and squeezed through a small hole, flying out into the open sky, before touching down on an adjacent rooftop.

Mystique suppressed a sob as she reverted to her natural form. She had known of her son's hatred of mutants...but to _see_ it...to _see_ the fruits of her own misdeeds...

Mystique shook herself out of her self-pity; she had to warn Charles students, including Kurt and Rogue. The mutants near the test-lab...they _had_ to be the X-Men.

She had lost _one_ child to her evil; she wasn't _about_ to lose any more.

Mystique changed back into her namesake, flying off, hoping she wasn't too late...

_Warehouse district_

As Doom sent a massive wave of ethereal fire at him, Superman inhaled and unleashed his frost-breath, forming a wall of ice between him and the flames, weakening the attack enough for him to fly through and _deck_ Doom with a punch, sending the tyrant flying across the rooftops, but Doom 'ported away...emerging behind Superman, and sending him flying with a force-bolt. Superman recovered in mid-air, landing on another rooftop.

"_This conflict is pointless._" Doom said sternly. "_We are irrevocably linked, Kal-El; surely, you can see that._"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "I am _nothing_ like you!!" he shouted, before flying at Doom at top speed, to nail him with a haymaker, but Doom vanished, reappearing on another warehouse.

"_You are certain of that?_" Doom countered. "_Look at ourselves, boy; we have power and might that these fools will never fathom. I was destined to rule, as are you; my destiny was decided long ago – it is in my very blood._" His tone turned hard. "_Charles Xavier – along with the fools that found you – have corrupted your mind with their nonsense...to say __**nothing**__ of whatever idealistic drivel you heard from that dolt Richards and his family. How tragic, to be unable to appreciate a boon from Doom...though I suppose I can understand, to a degree, the attraction you feel towards one of your own kind, but the time for such foolishness had __**ended.**_"

Superman glared at Doom. "_Watch_ it, buster..!!"

"_I have only myself to blame; I should have investigated the Smallville meteor-landings more closely. One learns, I suppose._" Doom continued. "_But that does not change our fates, boy. My bloodline stems from dark and ancient times, back to Vlad Tepes Dracul_;_ a man who, like myself, understood the necessity of cruelty. Yes, the order I imposed upon Latveria is harsh, I admit, but the anarchy and chaos that festered under its previous ruler was far __**worse**__. My people fear me – as Vlad's did him – but they fear nothing else: not starvation, not invasion...nothing. They could be far worse off._"

Superman was silent.

"_Do you understand now, Kal-El?_" Doom finished. "_Do you now see what we can accomplish together? Our power combined can rule over this entire planet; mutant __**and**__ human! Lensherr's vision is too narrow – he thought only of his own race; he could never have truly understood your place here!_" He pointed to Superman. "_I know of your outpost in the far north, Kal-El; you still have whatever incredible technology your people developed before they passed! With the power you wield, and with the knowledge you hold, there will be nothing that we cannot accomplish! Together, we can rule, as father and son!_"

Doom chuckled. "_Do you now understand the necessity of this cruelty, child?_" he asked. "_My father taught me; in my lessons of my heritage, my destiny, my father needed to be cruel, to teach me...and because he loved me enough to do so, I am what I am today._" He extended his hand towards Superman. "_The necessity has passed, Kal-El; let me become as father to you...Son._"

A single tear fell from Superman's eye. "I already _have_ a father." he said softly. "He and his wife took me – an orphan from across the stars – in. He taught me what was _right_, and what _mattered_. He died to show me what I needed to do." His eyes narrowed. "He filled the place left by my birth-father, Jor-El, who gave up his _life_ to send me here." His fists clenched. "You, Victor, aren't even one _tenth_ of the father that _either_ of them was."

Doom sighed. "_Stubborn to the last._" he said. "_And cruelty becomes necessary again._" He raised his hand, gathering a force-bolt...

Superman closed on Doom before his attack was even half-powered, slamming him with a haymaker, followed by a punch to the stomach, sending him flying. "Oh, and one _more_ thing, Victor: a man makes his _own_ destiny." Superman added. "You're no ruler, Doom; you're a _monster_...because you _chose_ to be. You could have refused to be like your father. You could have come to Latveria simply to do good, rather than make a dictator of yourself. You could have helped Reed and his family – whose only crime, from what I've heard, was trying to be your _friend_." His eyes narrowed accusingly. "You could have chosen to rise _above_ your family's legacy of tyranny and blood-thirst...but you _didn't_. Whatever fate you claim to have...you _chose_ it."

As Doom readied another attack, Superman decked him again. "One _last_ thing, Vic." Superman said, smiling wryly. "Being related to the _real_ Count Dracula isn't something I'd be quick to brag about."

Doom landed hard, but did a hand-spring, landing on his feet, breathing heavily. Had Superman been watching closely, he might have noticed Doom's hand reached to his belt...where he kept a single concealed Kryptonite shard...

...but he was too busy listening to his _taushi_'s call.

"_KAL!!! Watch out!!! Pietro has Kryptonite!!!_"

Quickly, Superman tapped his belt-buckle, activating his nano-suit just as he felt a mild wave of nausea sweep over him from Quicksilver's approach with the Kryptonite; instantly, his nano-suit spread over him, as Superman hoped that this worked...

Seconds later, Quicksilver darted onto the rooftop, running straight at him. "Say your prayers, Super-Dork!!" he sneered, as he came to a stop right in front of Superman, shoving the Kryptonite shard right in his face.

Superman held his breath...and then smiled, as he felt the nausea pass, his suit filtering out the Kryptonite radiation, letting the solar energy from the sun pass through.

Quicksilver smirked triumphantly...but his smirk faded as he saw that Superman was unaffected. He frantically waved the shard in front of Superman, his expression becoming more and more panicked. "_Why isn't this WORKING?!!_"

Superman chuckled. "Pietro, you didn't _really_ expect to get me _twice_ with the same trick, did you?" he quipped. "After our visit to Asteroid M, I put together this little anti-Kryptonite suit, _just_ for these sorts of occasions!"

Doom's hand moved away from his belt, as he realized that he no longer held the advantage, not now.

Before Quicksilver could move, Superman grasped his wrist with iron fingers, and took the Kryptonite from him. Releasing the speedster, Superman wound up, and _threw_ the Kryptonite into the sky, sending it flying out of orbit, into space, towards the sun, like he had done before.

Once the shard was gone, Superman tapped his belt, retracting his nano-suit, before fixing a stern glare at Quicksilver. "I'd run if I were you."

Pietro didn't need to be told twice; he bolted away, as fast as he possibly could.

Frowning, Superman turned back to Doom, who was back on his feet. "_Well played._" Doom chuckled. "_Well, Kal-El, I must say, I have enjoyed the exercise, but I fear time is up._"

"That's _Superman_ to _you_, Doom." Superman corrected firmly. "And why leave? I'm just warming up!"

"_Undoubtedly._" Doom said, amused. "_But I believe that you have more pressing concerns; if you would direct your attention to the clock tower..?_"

Frowning, Superman turned towards the clock tower in the distance, his vision focusing in on it...as he saw Magneto, there...and _Wanda..!_

"_And herein lies the flaw in your compassion._" Doom commented, coldly chuckling. "_Your concern for life is so great that you would not allow harm to come to even an __**enemy**__. Not the best of tactics, in my opinion._" He folded his arms. "_Here is your dilemma: you can either stop me from leaving, and allow Miss Maximoff to give her father what he deserves; or you can intercept her, and allow a deadly enemy to escape. For me, the choice would be obvious...but, as you said, you're not like me, are you?_"

Superman's eyes narrowed. He hated to admit it, but Doom was right; he couldn't let Wanda do this. "This isn't over, Doom."

"_Oh, no, dear boy,_" Doom chuckled, vanishing into green haze, "_it has only just __**begun.**_" With that he was gone.

Superman didn't have time to regret his choice; he took to the sky, flying towards the clock tower, hoping that he was in time to save a life...

As events unfolded in the old warehouse district, Magneto stood upon the ledge of the clock tower, watching. Everything was going according to plan...

"_Hello, Father._"

Magneto turned towards that voice, his eyes going wide as he saw Wanda there...just as she hit him with one of her hex-bolts, encasing him in a blue-black hex-field, his powers completely useless. "Wanda! _Not now!!_" Magneto cried.

Wanda's expression twisted in rage. "_You locked me away!!!_"

"I had no _choice!_" Magneto countered, trying to make his daughter see the logic, the sad _necessity_ of his actions. "Your anger was out of control!"

"_You haven't SEEN me angry!!_" Wanda screamed, her fists clenching. "_Until NOW!!!_" At that, Magneto felt a sudden pain in his chest, starting to travel up to his skull; Wanda was creating a blood-clot, starting in his heart, and slowly moving upwards...

"Wanda, _STOP!_"

Magneto breathed a sigh of relief as Superman touched down next to Wanda. "Kal-El, stop her!!" he cried.

"Stay _out_ of this, Boy Scout!!" Wanda screamed. "He _has this coming!!_"

Superman didn't move. "Alright, Wanda." he said softly. "If you really want to do this, I won't stop you."

Magneto went pale. "_WHAT?!_" he cried.

"I didn't come here to save you, Magneto." Superman said firmly. "For what you did to her, you may very well _deserve_ what Wanda wants to do to you."

"I didn't have a _choice!!_" Magneto cried. "Wanda was completely out-of-control! Her powers were too dangerous! I had to isolate her until she was old enough to learn to control them!" Surely, Kal-El could understand..!

"She was a _little girl_, Magneto; _your_ little girl." Superman accused. "She didn't need 'control'; what she _needed_ was her _father_. For what you did to her, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a very _special_ section of hell reserved for people like you." His expression became neutral. "But that isn't for me to judge; like I said, you're not who I came here to save."

Wanda blinked at that, and Magneto felt the pain lessen, the clots dissipating, though Wanda kept the hex-field up. "_ME?_" Wanda laughed. "You'd better get those super-peepers of yours _checked_, Boy Scout! Do I _look_ like I need saving?!"

"Maybe not at first glance." Superman admitted. "But I can see that you're about to do something that you're going to regret for the rest of your life."

Wanda's eyes narrowed. "The only thing I'll regret is not killing this monster when I was a _kid!!_" she hissed, as Magneto felt the pain start to come back...

"Wanda, how do you think your father _became_ a monster?" Superman asked. Magneto felt the pain vanish as Wanda paused. "Did you know that he was a prisoner at a prison camp in Nazi Germany?"

Wanda paused. "No." she admitted. "But that _doesn't_ excuse..!"

"I know it doesn't," Superman agreed, "but think about it: when he got out, what do you think he did? He went after the Nazis who, in _his_ mind, were the monsters who killed his friends and family, and _maybe_, to _some_ degree, what he did was justified."

Superman turned to Magneto. "But it didn't end with _them_, did it?" he continued. "You just kept hating, and hating, until you forgot how to distinguish between the Nazi criminals and the innocent species that gave rise to them."

Magneto couldn't speak.

"Then that's just one _more_ reason why I ought to do humanity a _favor_ and _kill_ him!!" Wanda yelled.

Superman shook his head. "No, Wanda." he said. "That's _exactly_ why you _shouldn't._"

Wanda paused. "What?"

"Don't you see?" Superman asked. "Killing for revenge – justified or not – is a _very, very_ slippery slope, one that your father fell down _years_ ago; and if you fall down it, you may never climb up, again."

Wanda's eyes widened...and then narrowed. "_No!!_" she cried. "He _deserves_ this!!"

"Maybe he _does_, Wanda; I'm not arguing that." Superman said. "For all we know, he _does_ deserve to go straight to hell for his crimes, against you and so many others." His expression turned sad. "But you _don't_. I've _seen_ true evil, Wanda, and I am _telling_ you that you do _not_ want to become it. There's no blood on your hands, Wanda; no stain on your soul." He pointed to Magneto. "But if you do this, I absolutely _guarantee_ that, as much as you hate him now, one day, you'll hate _yourself_ even _more_...because you'll be just like him."

Wanda froze, her expression shifting between angry and confusion. Suddenly, Magneto felt the pain return, worse than ever...

...and then completely vanish, as Wanda's hex-field dissipated, her blue eyes, so like her mother's filling with tears. "_Why?!_" She cried. "Why did he _do_ it?! I _loved_ him!!!"

"I know, Wanda," Superman soothed, "I know."

Wanda started to sob...and then broke down, burying her face in her hands. Superman walked over to her, and gently put his hands on her shoulders. Wanda automatically hugged him, burying her face in his chest as she wailed. "_I'm sorry..._" she whimpered.

"Ssshh..." Superman gently shushed her. "It's okay, Wanda...it's okay."

Wanda's tears began to slow. "I...I wish..." she sniffled, "...I wish I'd had a big brother like you..."

Superman gently smiled, and returned the hug. "You have one _now_."

Magneto could only watch as Superman comforted his daughter...feeling a dull ache in his heart, numbed after so many years of loss. Slowly, he got up to leave...there was nothing here for him...

"_Hold_ it, Magneto." Superman said firmly, looking up. "You still have to _answer_ for your crimes."

Magneto stopped; he knew he couldn't stand against Superman. "We both know that there is no prison that can hold me..."

"I beg to differ, Lensherr." Superman countered, gently moving away from Wanda. "There _is_ one that you can't escape: your _mind_." He smiled wryly. "And the warden _happens_ to be an old pal of yours."

With that, Superman instantly darted at Magneto, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up, before grabbing his helmet and ripping it off, crumpling it into paper, and throwing it away.

Magneto blinked...and then his eyes widened in utter _horror_. "Kal-El...what have you _done?!_" he cried. He remained absolutely still, his voice dropping to a _whisper_. "Charles..?"

'_**HELLO, ERIK.**_'

"_EEEEEEYYYAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!_" Magneto screamed, holding his hands to his head, as Xavier began to tear his mind apart. "_GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU BLASTED CRIPPLE!!!_" He looked to Superman. "_YOU CAN'T LET HIM DO THIS TO ME!!!_"

"You won't face vengeance, Lensherr," Superman said firmly, "but you _will_ face _justice_."

"_CHARLES!!!_" Magneto screamed. "_YOU CAN'T DO THIS!! I'LL DO __**ANYTHING!!**_"

'_**I AM SORRY, ERIK...BUT THE PATH YOU HAVE CHOSEN MUST END HERE.**_' Charles' powerful mental voice echoed across his psyche. '_**I WILL NOT TAKE YOUR LIFE...BUT I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU NEVER HARM ANOTHER PERSON, AGAIN.**_'

Magneto screamed again, as he felt Charles continue to psychically lobotomize him. "_NO!!! __**NO!!!**_"

'_**GOODBYE, ERIK...FORGIVE ME..?**_' Charles began...and then the telepathic attack suddenly ceased, as Charles' mind pulled away from him.

Magneto didn't dare move. "Charles..?" he called. "Charles?"

Superman looked confused. "What happened?"

"Charles is..._gone_..." Magneto replied. He didn't understand; this wasn't part of the plan...

Suddenly, a warehouse below began to rumble, crumbling into rubble. "W-What's going on?" Wanda exclaimed.

And then, an unmistakable mechanical shape began to rise out of the rubble...and then another...and another...

_Xavier Institute_

Charles had been in the middle of telepathically incapacitating Erik when he had gotten Wolverine's weak mental warning. '_What..?_' he thought to himself...and then, he sensed the numerous soldiers, in armed helicopters, closing on the Institute. For some reason, he could only vaguely sense their thoughts – he was being blocked, somehow.

If he hadn't been warned..!

Charles tried to arm the security system...but it wouldn't respond. It couldn't have been from Wanda's hex; her hexes were only effective when she was near. Someone had hacked into the Institute and disabled it!

Charles quickly switched on his audio system; he might not have been able to save himself, but he could save his students. "Attention, New Mutants: head to the Danger Room; we are under attack. I will program the Danger Room to seal itself and disengage all combat programs until its sensors read that the attackers have left. Once it opens, you will evacuate the Institute and rendezvous with the others. That is a direct order. Xavier out."

Once the order was given, Charles took out his security key card and inserted it into his computer, bringing up the emergency protocols of the Danger Room. He quickly began programming the danger Room computer; once all the New Mutants were inside, it would automatically seal itself and monitor activity outside. Once it was all clear, it would open. After a minute, the program was set, and Charles started to enter his password...

Just then, his office windows were smashed open, and two armed men in black, with F.O.H. armbands jumped in, firing at him, burying several darts in his chest.

Charles suppressed a cry of pain as he felt the tranquilizers start to take hold...and with his last energy, he finished entering his password, and entered the command, before falling forward onto his desk.

As he began to pass out, Charles saw the monitor on the Danger Room; all the New Mutants were heading inside...and then they were in, and the doors sealed tight. Charles smiled...as his eyes began to close.

'_My children...be safe..._'

As Xavier passed out, the F.O.H. soldiers breathed a sigh of relief. "Boy, am I glad this mutie's out; even _with_ these 'PSI-Blockers Doc Trask rigged, I don't want him anywhere _near_ my brain!" one exclaimed.

The other soldier moved to the console. "Damn! There are _more_ muties, here! And they've barricaded themselves in!" he muttered. "He encoded the lock; we'll never get in!"

The first looked at the screen...and then smiled. "Hold on; the mutie never got the chance to get rid of his key!" he declared. "The _best_ way to scare out the rats..."

"...is to make the _ship_ sink! _Brilliant!_" the second soldier said. Moving to the console, he tapped a few keys...bringing up the Institute's self-destruct option...and enabling it.

A twenty-minute timer popped up on the screen.

Laughing, the soldier pulled out the card, and snapped it in two. "Let's go!" he shouted, as he lifted Xavier onto his shoulder. "Once these mutie rats pop up, we'll just pop 'em with the choppers!" His comrade nodded, as he helped lift Xavier up, and carried him out of the Institute...as the timer kept ticking down...

_Warehouse district, a few minutes earlier_

As the X-Men regrouped, Cyclops smiled to himself, glad to see that none of his teammates were hurt. Turning, he saw the Brotherhood and the Acolytes slowly picking themselves up, with only Siryn and Quicksilver missing...and then a shrieking Siryn, with a fine shiner encircling her eye, 'ported in, with Krypto hot on her heels, followed by a chuckling Power Girl.

"Krypto, heel!" Cyclops called, and Krypto stopped, circling around Siryn to sit next to the X-Men, still growling. "Alright, Siryn, what are Doom and Magneto up to?"

Pyro laughed. "Wouldn't you wankers like ta know!"

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Tell us or we'll sic Krypto on ya, again!"

Siryn's eyes widened.

Shadowcat chuckled as Krypto stood up, his growling growing fiercer. "Krypto looks pretty mad..!" she warned. "_I_ sure wouldn't want to deal with him!"

Siryn looked absolutely _terrified_...but before she could speak, the ground started to tremble, as a warehouse in the distance began to crumble...

...and three monstrous metal shapes rose out of the rubble.

The X-Men all froze. "Holy mother of..." Avalanche murmured.

"You're _kiddin'_ me..." Spyke murmured.

As they rose to their full height, the Sentinels' heads swivelled, scanning the horizon...until one looked towards them, its eyes glowing, as its mechanized voice boomed out.

"_MUTANT DNA DETECTED._"

As the Sentinels started to stomp towards them, Siryn smiled evilly. "Well, you _wanted_ to know why we were here!" she laughed. "Have fun!" With that, she 'ported herself and her teammates away.

"_Gott in Himmel_..." Nightcrawler murmured, as he looked up at the mechanical monstrosities.

"X-Men, spread out!" Cyclops instructed. "We don't stand a chance in these enclosed spaces!" At that, the X-Men and Krypto darted out of the alleyways, to get into open space, as the Sentinels stomped closer and closer...

Atop the clock tower, Superman's eyes widened in horror as the three Sentinels stomped towards his friends. Wanda's expression mirrored his own. "W-What should we do?!" she cried.

Just then, Quicksilver zipped up the side of the tower, stopping next to Magneto. "Father, we have to get out of here!!" he cried.

At that, Wanda's eyes narrowed, blue-black energy forming around her hands...

"Wanda." Superman said. "What's more important, now? Revenge, or our friends?"

Wanda stopped, and calmed herself, her hex-bolts vanishing. "Let's go." she agreed.

"Wanda, wait!" Quicksilver cried. "Don't go!"

"_Save_ it, Pietro." Wanda snapped.

Pietro's expression became remorseful, mirroring his father's. "But...but we can be a family, again..."

"My family is down there."Wanda said. "And they _need_ me." She then turned to Superman. "Ready to go..._bro?_" she teased.

Superman smiled, and then knelt down. "Hop on..._sis_." he quipped back. Wanda hopped onto Superman's back, and Superman stood up, before he took to the sky, flying towards their friends, leaving behind a bewildered Magneto and a seething Quicksilver.

Had Superman stayed a second longer, he might have noticed a news van approaching the site of the battle.

As Superman touched down on the street, letting Wanda hop off, the X-Men had emerged from the alleys, as the Sentinels were lumbering into range. "_Jeez_, Big Blue!" Spyke quipped. "_Took_ you long enough!"

Superman smiled. "Sorry we're late."

"Family matters." Scarlet Witch added.

By then, the Sentinels were in range. One Sentinel caught sight of Superman. "_SUPERHUMAN ABILITIES DETECTED..._" it began, "_...MUTANT DNA...NOT FOUND...ILLOGICAL...ILLOGICAL..._"

At that, all three Sentinels froze, their programming seized up by this apparent contradiction. Superman's eyes narrowed; the creeps working these things were no doubt trying to correct this program paradox, to get their killing machines back online...

Superman's eyes glowed red, as he fired his eye-rays; a deadly red beam lanced towards one Sentinel, striking it and turning its head into molten slag. The Sentinel went completely dead, toppling backwards, to crash onto the empty street with a thunderous _CLANK!_

The destruction of one of their brethren shook the other two out of their contradiction. "_UNKNOWN CLASSIFIED, DESIGNATION: PRIMARY THREAT._" one boomed. "_TERMINATE WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE._"

"I guess that's machine-speak for 'game on'!" Power Girl exclaimed.

The two Sentinels started to take aim, their arms shifting into machine-guns, but Storm summoned her winds as Superman unleashed his gale-breath; the combined hurricane-force air-blast knocked the two Sentinels off-balance, their stumbling worsened as Cyclops opened fire with his optic-blasts. Beast took advantage of the machines' distraction, and leapt onto one Sentinel's shin-strut, and climbed up onto its shoulder, hoping to rip open its armor and hot-wire its circuitry, but the metal monster swatted him away.

Power Girl quickly flew up and caught her teammate, as well as blocking one Sentinel's barrage of machine-gun fire with a light-shield. As the second Sentinel tried to take aim, Krypto leapt at one of its legs, snarling and tearing huge gouges of its armor, while Shadowcat phased through its other leg, shorting it out...until the monster boomed, "_RE-ROUTING POWER._" The Sentinel's leg started moving again, to step on her...

Quickly, Avalanche generated an earth-arch over Shadowcat, blocking the metal foot, while Krypto grabbed Shadowcat by her collar and zipped her out of harm's way. Avalanche then summoned a massive earth-spike, jutting up under the Sentinel's foot, sending it toppling to the ground.

As Power Girl kept up her shield, still under fire in mid-air, Scarlet Witch snapped her fingers, as the other Sentinel's gun became engulfed in a hex-field...before it jammed, as its bullets spontaneously expanded slightly, becoming stuck in the barrel. Superman then took to the air, inhaling and unleashing his frost-breath, coating the Sentinel in ice. Jean then gave it a hard telekinetic _shove_, knocking it back, where it tripped over its comrade, falling over it.

Slowly, Superman let out a relieved sigh...before he noticed the news team off to the side...broadcasting _live_.

They had been _seen_...

Suddenly, the half-frozen Sentinel sat up, as the ice cracked, revealing the Sentinel's open chest-panel. Slowly, it got up, gathering energy for its plasma-laser...aiming at his friends...

Superman darted forward, hovering between the others and the Sentinel, as the machine fired; Superman crossed his arms ahead of him and bore down as the laser struck him, slowly pushing him back, until he dug deep, refusing to budge.

After a few seconds, the laser subsided, revealing Superman, slightly sooty, but unharmed. By then, the other Sentinel had stood up, and opened fire with its machine-gun; dozens of twelve-inch high-caliber bullets slammed into Superman's chest and were instantly flattened to a dime's thickness, the impacts not even phasing him. Scarlet Witch gestured, and the Sentinel's arm suddenly rusted, crumbling to dust.

The first Sentinel started to aim its missile-launcher at him, but Superman unleashed his gale-breath, blowing it back before it could lock on, as Jean telekinetically slammed it and Cyclops fired his optic-blasts.

The Sentinel stumbled back, its launcher aiming wild...as it fired a full salvo of missiles, lancing across the sky, unguided...

...heading towards _residential areas._

Superman's eyes widened in horror. "_Go!!_" Power Girl exclaimed.

"We'll hold them off!" Cyclops agreed. With the go-ahead given, Superman flew after the missiles at top speed.

At Mach Three, Superman easily darted ahead of the missiles, firing his eye-rays at them as they came at him; in seconds, he had felled one, two, three, five...until only one missile remained, which lanced past him. Superman gave chase, firing his eye-rays...and missed, its flight-path erratic, unpredictable. He fired again...and missed.

He could see where it would hit; it was heading for a crowded park, where numerous families were enjoying a nice summer's day outdoors...until they spotted the missile. Panic erupted, and the park-goers started to flee in terror...

Superman gritted his teeth, and fired again, grazing the missile's hull; it was too erratic, too wild to get a fix on it...

At the park, one little girl tripped and fell, as her parents and brother tried to double back for her, but couldn't get through the crowd...

By then, the missile was too close to the city to risk detonating it. There wasn't enough time to defuse it in mid-air, and he could see that its detonator was activated; it would blow before he could toss it away, and it was almost to the park...

Superman knew that he would be seen; that he would no longer be a myth. He knew that their secret was already exposed, and this would confirm it...

Superman's eyes narrowed in determination. There was no other option.

Superman doubled his speed, shooting ahead of the missile, racing towards the park...

The little girl burst into tears as her mother screamed in terror, trying to reach her, but the crowd kept pushing her back...the missile was meters away...

...and then a red-and-blue blur reached the little girl, shielding her with itself as the missile hit.

The missile exploded in a massive blast, devastating the park; fortunately, the park-goers had moved clear...save one.

The little girl's mother slowly approached the rubble, her eyes watering...and then she burst into tears. Her husband walked over to her, putting his arms around her, letting her cry, as their son simply held onto his mother's pant-leg...

Suddenly, the rubble began to move...as Superman lifted a large piece of rubble up, tossing it clear...before he gently lifted the little girl, unharmed, out of the crater, before stepping out himself.

"_Mommy!_" the little girl cried, running to her mother.

"_My baby!!_" the mother cried, scooping her into her arms. "Oh, sweetie...thank heavens you're okay!!"

Despite everything that had happened today, Superman had to smile at the happy scene. And then, he saw that the entire crowd – every single one of them – were looking at him.

The little girl's brother looked up at his father. "Dad?" he asked softly. "Is that...an angel?"

"No, son." the father answered. He looked to Superman...and slowly smiled. "That's _Superman._"

The rest of the crowd began to murmur. "_Jesus...he's real..._"

"_I don't believe it..._"

"_He actually exists..._"

The tearful mother, hugging her child, looked to Superman, smiling weakly. "Bless you, Superman..." she whispered. "God _bless_ you..."

Superman smiled, and simply nodded.

"But...who _are_ you?" the father asked. "Who are you _really?_"

"A friend." Superman replied.

Suddenly, a news van pulled up outside of the park, as the anchorwoman and news crew piled out, moving through the crowd, quickly setting up. "This is Leanne Mitchell on Channel Six, with breaking news on a missile attack in downtown New York," the anchorwoman began, "but even _more_ amazing is the fact that, _yes_, America, there _is_ a Superman! I am standing right here next to the Man of Steel _himself!_"

Superman quietly gulped. '_Oh, boy..._'

Leanne turned to Superman, holding out her microphone. "Please, Superman, tell us! Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here?"

Superman just blinked.

"Please, is there _anything_ you'd like to say?" Leanne pressed.

Just then, Superman's hearing picked up gunfire across the city. "I'm sorry; I can't talk, now." he said. To the crowd, he added, "I have to go! My friends need me!" The crowd softly muttered words of agreement at that revelation, and Superman promptly took to the sky, despite Leanne's cries of protest.

Superman was about to fly back to the warehouse district...when he spotted a construction site, and got an idea. '_Well, it worked in training..._' he thought, before he flew towards the site, stopping to hover next to a girder where several workers were having lunch. "Hi." he greeted, smiling pleasantly. The workers just stared, utterly incredulous. "Listen, would you guys happen to have an extra girder I could borrow?" he inquired.

"Uh...uh...s-sure." one worker stammered. "We...we've got a whole _bunch_ of 'em; they're just below us."

"Thanks!" Superman replied, before he darted down, picked up a girder, and flew off, towards the warehouse district. As soon as his vision spotted a Sentinel, Superman aimed with his free hand, pulled the girder back, and with the accuracy and precision of an Olympic javelin-thrower, _threw_ it at the Sentinel, before flying towards the battle at top speed.

The girder hit its mark, piercing the Sentinel's head _right_ between the eyes, causing its charging plasma-blast to fire harmlessly into the sky, before falling back like so much scrap metal. Superman flew at the last metal monster faster than a fighter jet, firing his eye-rays, searing off its arms as he passed, his attack compounding Power Girl's beams and Cyclops' optic-blasts.

While the Sentinel was distracted, Rogue gave Spyke a tap, and they each formed a bone-spear, throwing them at the machine, piercing its eyes, blinding it...and giving Nightcrawler the time to 'port Gambit up to the Sentinel's head, where the crafty Cajun gave the spikes a good charge, before he and Nightcrawler high-fived each other, 'porting away.

The charged spikes exploded, destroying the Sentinel's head...but not before it choked out an ominous message as it went offline.

"_IN-IN-INITIATE S-S-SELF DE-DE-DESTRUCT S-S-SEEEEQUUUU-SEQUENCE._"

Superman's eyes widened...and then narrowed, as he flew at the Sentinel, spiraling like a corkscrew as he flew, before he connected, boring into its chest...to burst out the other side, carrying its power-core, before flying high up into the sky.

Superman flew up as fast as he could; without the rest of the body to regulate it, the core was overloading even _faster_. He broke through the clouds, going up to the edges of the atmosphere, and pulled his arm back to throw...

Too late.

_**BOOOOOOM!!!**_

The core exploded in a monumental blast, one that could easily have taken out several city blocks.

On the ground, the X-Men could only watch the sky for any sign of their friend, as the lifeless Sentinel toppled over...but they could see no speck of blue in the sky. "He's...he's okay, right?" Shadowcat asked.

"Power Girl?" Cyclops asked. "Do you see him?"

Power Girl squinted. "I'm not sure; there's too much debris..." she said. "But I _know_ he's okay." Her voice softened. "He _has_ to be..." With that, the X-Men could only keep watching for their friend...

_Queens, New York_

It was a pleasant summer day as Peter Parker, in his regular clothes, sat down to a nice lunch with his Aunt May. Things had been fairly quiet for Spider-Man, Peter noted with a smile. He could get _used_ to this...

"Peter!" Aunt May called from the kitchen. "Mary-Jane is on the phone for you!"

"Coming!" Peter called back, getting up from the table and heading into the kitchen, taking the phone. "Hey, MJ." he greeted, as May headed into the living room.

"_Peter?_" MJ asked, her voice worried. "_Are you okay?_"

Peter blinked. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"_Didn't you see the news?_"

"What's on the news?"

"_You'd better see for yourself._" MJ said. "_Just...just be careful, okay?_"

"Um...okay." Peter replied. "I'll see you soon."

"_Okay, Tiger. I love you._"

"Love you, too, MJ. 'Bye." Peter then hung up, and stepped into the living room. "Hey, Aunt May, is anything on the..?"

But he stopped as he saw Aunt May watching the news...and then what was _on_ the news.

The T.V. was showing a video of the X-Men and Superman fighting some kind of giant robot...and then a live picture of Superman, after saving a child at a downtown park.

'_Aw, what did you guys get yourselves into?_' Peter thought.

"My _God_..." May murmured.

"Aunt may, I've gotta go." Peter said, thinking quickly. "The Bugle's gonna need me after something like this."

May nodded. "Be careful."

Peter promptly darted upstairs, and grabbed his backpack, before darting back down, zipping outside...and heading into a nearby alley, donning his costume and stashing his street clothes, before swinging off.

'_Murphy and his Law strikes again._' Spider-Man thought, as he swung off, to help his pals.

_Bayville Mall, Bayville_

After a successful shopping spree, Taryn, in her usual dress and sweater, sat down at the food court to sip her iced cappuccino, smiling at Paul as he sat down next to her, putting down the few bags he was toting. "Thanks for coming, Paul." she said. "I really appreciate this."

Paul smiled back. "No problem, Taryn." he replied.

"Hey, guys!" Amanda called, as she ran over.

"Hey, Amanda!" Taryn greeted. "What's up?"

"Oh, not much." Amanda replied. "I was just...getting a new dress that's all."

Taryn smiled as she recognized the slightly shy smile on her friend's face. "A dress to wear on a certain date? With a certain blue someone?"

Amanda blushed fiercely. "_Taryn!!_"

"Hey, I'm only kidding!" Taryn laughed.

Paul managed a chuckle...and then his expression turned grave. "What's going on over _there?_" he thought aloud, pointing to the crowd gathered outside an electronics store.

Curious, the three teens got up,walking over...and _froze_ as they saw their friends from the Institute, in uniform, on T.V.

Taryn's eyes went wide, as she looked to Paul, and then to Amanda, who looked even _more_ scared than she did as she saw Kurt fighting that robot.

None of them knew what was going to happen to their friends...nor did they know what they could do to help...

_Metropolis_

In his apartment near Metropolis University, Wally West, in his white t-shirt and blue boxers, smiled to himself. After weeks of planning and waiting, he was finally ready.

The Viewers' Choice Kung-Fu Movie Mega-Marathon was minutes away...and he was going to watch every _minute_ of it.

Grinning, Wally sat down on his couch, switched on the rented ultra-wide-screen T.V., scooped up a few Smarties candies – fuel for his ultra-fast metabolism – and waited for the fun to start...

Suddenly, his phone rang. Wally looked over at the call-display; it was Vic. Wally picked up. "Hey, Vic, did you know that there's a Kung-Fu Movie Marathon on..?"

"_No time for that, Wally. Didn't you see the news?_"

Wally blinked. "Huh??"

"_Smallville and his pals are in trouble!_" Victor continued. "_I've already heard from Arty, and he's on his way there! Ollie can't get there in time, and neither can I..!_"

"...but _I_ can." Wally finished, his eyes narrowing in determination. "Thanks for the heads-up, Vic. I'm on my way!"

"_Thanks, man. Good luck!_" Victor said, before hanging up.

Wally put the phone back, before gazing sadly at the T.V. Clark was one of his oldest friends, and they _always_ had each other's back...

...even if it meant missing the Marathon.

Wally then darted into his room, and donned his uniform, before zipping outside, pausing to lock the door, and darting down the stairs, out the back door, and then racing towards Bayville at top speeds.

'_Hang in there, Smallville,_' Flash thought as he ran, '_...backup's on the way..._'

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier_

Nick Fury had just been enjoying a nice shave when he'd been called to the bridge of the Helicarrier...and he did _not_ enjoy being interrupted.

_Especially_ when said interruption caused him to nick himself on the chin.

Fury promptly strode onto the bridge where Captain America and Thor were waiting, with the rest of the Avengers on their way back from other missions. "What's going on?" Fury demanded.

"Our apologies, General," one lieutenant said, "but we felt that you needed to see this." The lieutenant then brought up a live feed of Superman and Xavier's students...

...fighting a _Sentinel_.

"_What the HELL?!!!!_" Fury exploded. "What is a _Sentinel_ doing in New York?!!!"

"We don't know, sir..."

"Dammit, I ordered that project _terminated!_" Fury thundered.

"We know, sir; someone must have hacked our database..."

"It must be that mole you're worried about, General." Cap observed.

Fury gritted his teeth. "I want traces on _everyone_ who's accessed that file, _now!!_" he bellowed. "And I want the names of _every_ agent that worked on that project! And I want it _five minutes ago!!_"

Someone had caught them with their pants down.

Turning back to the screen, Fury's expression turned grim. '_Dammit, kid...I __**told**__ you to keep your head down..._' "Captain," Fury said, "as soon as the rest of the Avengers get back, I want the entire team ready to go A.S.A.P."

"Understood, General." Cap said.

"With respect, General," Thor said, "I wish to take a momentary leave of absence..."

"Dammit, Thor, you can't walk out on us in a crisis like this!!" Fury yelled.

"The son of Odin _never_ abandons his comrades." Thor said, his eyes narrowing. "I merely wish to contact an old friend of mine. I am certain that, given the circumstances, she will help."

Fury calmed. "I want you back here _pronto_."

"Understood, General." Thor said. With that, he grasped his hammer, and boomed away in a flash of lightning. As Cap headed off, to prepare for the eventual mission, Fury remained on the bridge...wondering how the _hell_ this could have happened...

_Earth orbit_

High above the planet earth, Green Lantern was completing his patrol of the system; there was no sign of any Kree activity. His task complete, John started to head down to the planet, for a brief bout of R&R...

Suddenly, his arm-band started to pick up a transmission: a news bulletin. John quickly brought it up...and his eyes went wide.

Superman and the X-Men needed help.

Altering his course, Green Lantern headed down towards Earth, heading for the Xavier Institute, hoping that he was in time...

_Swiss Alps, Switzerland_

High above Switzerland, in the highest reaches of the Alps, Shayera – or Hawkgirl, as she often thought of herself – perched atop a mountain peak, her mace hanging by its strap over her shoulder.

She _loved_ high places like this; her love of heights was undoubtedly due to her people's avian heritage, but it was there, all the same. These past few months, she had been traveling across Earth, stealthily helping its people. Places like this were a nice little break...

Suddenly, her communicator went off. Confused, Shayera checked it...and her eyes went wide at what she saw.

Spreading her wings, Hawkgirl took to the air, flying west, towards America, where her friends needed her help...

_Kent Farm, Smallville, Kansas_

After a day's work, Martha Kent, in her usual work clothes, stepped inside just as her kettle had finished boiling. Smiling to herself, Martha poured herself a cup of tea, before taking it and the daily newspaper into the living room, where she sat down and switched on the old T.V., to watch the news while she did the crossword puzzle...

Martha gasped in horror, dropping her newspaper as she saw what was on the news.

There, on T.V., was Clark – her _baby boy_ – in uniform, with his friends...fighting a massive robotic monstrosity.

The entire world could see them, now...and after this, who knew _what_ they would think of them?

Martha suppressed a sob; she _knew_ her son would do what was right, no matter _what_...but she didn't want her boy to be hated simply for being born on another planet...

Martha tried to suppress her tears, trying to stay strong for her son's sake...but maternal worry won out.

'_Oh, Clark..._'

_Louisiana, New Orleans_

In her little house in Louisiana, Irene Adler sat in her rocking chair, listening to the news on her radio...not that she needed to.

She already knew what was happening...and what was _going_ to happen.

A single tear fell from her sightless eye, as she recalled her own words...though knowing the future made it no less hard to bear.

"_...monsters shall rise, in a world full of hate..._"

_Warehouse district_

As the smoke from the explosion started to clear, Power Girl kept scanning the sky, looking for her Clarkie, worry starting to cloud her expression...and then she smiled as she spotted Superman, flying down towards them. As Superman touched down, Power Girl practically _flew_ into his arms. "You _jerk!_" she exclaimed, laughing. "You had us all worried _sick!_"

Superman smiled, returning her hug, before absently tapping the side of his head. "I'm sorry I worried you." he replied. "That explosion knocked me into space, a bit; invulnerable or not, having something explode in your arms tends to be disorienting." He tapped his head again. "My ears are still ringing."

"Well, we've got _bigger_ problems." Cyclops said grimly. "There was a news crew nearby when we fought those things."

"They _saw_ us?!" Shadowcat cried.

"Aw, _terrific!!_" Rogue muttered.

Superman nodded grimly. "They saw me, too." he admitted.

"Well, that's it. We're screwed." Avalanche muttered.

Superman's expression saddened. "Sorry, guys..."

"Don't be." Jean assured him.

"You did the right thing, Kal." Storm agreed.

Power Girl nodded, and lightly kissed her _tausha_'s cheek. "It was a _lousy_ situation, baby. You couldn't do anything else."

Superman weakly smiled. "Thanks, _taushi_."

"Well, we'd better get back." Spyke said. "The Professor's probably gonna _kill_ us for blowing our secret..."

"You have far graver problems than that, Evan."

Power Girl froze, as the X-Men looked around...and then looked to where Superman was staring...and saw a single blackbird – a _raven_ – perched on a rooftop above. Then, the raven flew down...and morphed into a blue-skinned, red-haired, yellow-eyed, black-clad woman.

"_Mystique!_" Cyclops shouted.

"_Mother?_" Nightcrawler murmured.

Mystique's expression turned grave. "I'm afraid," she began, "that things are about to get much _worse..._"

_Deep Space_

In the dark of space, at the farthest reaches of Earth's solar system, space itself seemed to ripple as a small, pod-shaped craft dropped out of Trans-Warp, at the rim of the system, where not even Kryptonian sensors could reach, letting momentum carry it in, making minor course-corrections to take it to Earth...guided by the pure, logical, emotionless intelligence that the craft carried.

Aboard the ship, the Brainiac Emulator Unit Mark VI stirred from its self-diagnostic, with all systems in the green, as it reviewed its directives before it reached Earth.

_Directive One: achieve landing on Class-One Planet designated Earth._

_Directive Two: intercept coded transmission from offline Mark V unit._

_Directive Three: assimilate Earth technology._

_Directive Four: locate lifeform designated Kal-El._

The Mark VI's red eyes narrowed as it went over its last directive.

_Primary Directive, designated Priority One: terminate lifeform designated Kal-El._

Its review complete, the Mark VI continued its journey towards Earth, ready to complete its creator's task...

_Coming Soon…_

_With their presence exposed, their mentor MIA and their home attacked, our heroes are on the run._

_Where could Professor Xavier be?_

_What foul scheme do the Friends of Humanity have in store for our heroes?_

_Can the Man of Steel and the X-Men thwart Doom and Magneto's insane plot?_

_Who will aid them in their hour of need?_

_Find out in Part Two of Zero Hour, "Deepening Darkness," coming to your computer soon…_


	29. Zero Hour, Part Two

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: ZERO HOUR, PART TWO: DEEPENING DARKNESS

_Undisclosed location_

After finding his father and zipping him out of there before Wanda had a chance to change her mind, it took Quicksilver only minutes to return to their secret headquarters, where the rest of their little band had fallen back to.

Coming to a complete stop inside their base, Pietro released his father's arm. "We're here." he said.

His eyes narrowing, Magneto stormed further into the base. Pietro followed him into a meeting room, where the rest of their team was...including Doom; Pietro's eyes went wide as he saw the fist-shaped dents in Doom's armor...

"What have you done, Victor?!" Magneto shouted.

Doom's eyes narrowed. "_Control yourself, Lensherr._"

"Our plan was _never_ to harm Xavier!!" Magneto roared. "I felt his mind while he was disabling me, von Doom; something _drew_ him away! That could only happen if his defenses were disabled!!"

The Brotherhood and Acolytes were silent. Doom's voice was calm. "_It was necessary._"

Magneto's eyes narrowed. "You _bastard..._"

"_We both know that Xavier's influence, both to all mutants and Kal-El himself, was too great a risk._" Doom countered. "_His pacifism would only hamper what we have done; you know this._"

Magneto's fists clenched, as everything metal in the room – save Doom's armor – started to shake...

"_My armor is non-magnetic, Lensherr; you cannot threaten me._" Doom said coldly. At that, Magneto stopped. "_Xavier was once your friend, Lensherr, and he was willing to spare your life; Doom respects that._" Doom continued. "_But he was an obstacle to our plans. Now, Kal-El and Xavier's students will certainly attempt to rescue him...giving us a limited window of opportunity._"

Magneto slowly nodded. "We...we will have to make Genosha's existence known to the world."

"_As well as intercept Cain Marko once the humans release him._" Doom added. "_I will travel to Genosha and lower the invisibility spell that cloaks it. Do you possess the power-amplifying device?_"

Magneto nodded, and took out a small, electronic device. "It will amplify the natural abilities of the mutant who uses it." he said. "Sabretooth lost my prototype, last year...but it _did_ work."

"_Good. With the X-Men and Kal-El distracted, we can provide Juggernaut with the advantage he needs to wreak enough havoc to inflame humanity against mutantkind...showing Kal-El the __**true**__ nature of those he protects._" Doom said. "_And if they are successful in rescuing Xavier, the memory of what humanity tried to do to Xavier will still linger...and should they fail, mutantkind will have its first martyr, and Kal-El will surely be __**enraged.**_"

Magneto slowly nodded. "I will wait for Marko to escape." he agreed. His eyes then narrowed. "But I would have appreciated being _informed_ of what you planned to do, von Doom."

"_The necessity did not allow time for such courtesy, Lensherr._" Doom countered.

"Perhaps." Magneto said. With that, he turned, and strode away.

Slightly stricken, Siryn turned to Doom. "Father, you're _hurt..!_"

"_I am fine, daughter._" Doom replied. "_I will heal._" He then noticed her eye. "_I see that your encounter with the Blaire girl was less than successful._" he added, as Siryn lowered her head in shame. "_I also noticed that the Maximoff boy possessed a Kryptonite shard...and I am quite certain that Lensherr did not possess any more..._"

"I had the shard at first, Father; I borrowed it from your laboratory." Siryn admitted. "I had planned to use it against..._her_." She half-glared at Pietro. "I _might_ have been able to recover it...had _someone_ not taken it!"

"Hey, don't blame this all on _me_, Little Miss Boss-Around!" Pietro snapped...and then _froze_ as Doom's soul-freezing glare turned on him.

"_Be very mindful of how you address my daughter, boy._" Doom said coldly. "_Your father is Doom's ally, and thus Doom has a greater tolerance for his insolence._" His eyes narrowed. "_**You**__, however, are but a __**minion**__, and Doom has very __**little**__ for you. Am I understood?_"

Pietro gulped. "Yes, sir."

"_Good._" Doom said, before turning back to Siryn. "_The Kryptonite was ineffective?_"

"Yes, Father." Siryn said.

"_I see._" Doom said. "_Using your enemy's weakness against them...a tactically sound decision._" he added thoughtfully. "_And even with this loss, you have gained crucial information about the nature of the girl's abilities, and can thus be better prepared. Even the Maximoff boy's buffoonery provided an insight; Kal-El possesses a countermeasure to Kryptonite which we must now consider. Failing to learn from loss is infinitely worse than loss itself, Anita._" His arms then folded sternly, as he finished, "_But the loss of the Kryptonite shard...__**that**__ is coming out of your allowance, young lady._"

Siryn suppressed a flinch, as she respectfully bowed. "Yes, Father." she said softly.

"_Regardless, I will proceed to Genosha._" Doom said. "_Anita, you will join me there, shortly after; if all goes according to plan, Kal-El will be dropping by, soon._" Siryn nodded, and then Doom 'ported himself away.

"Aw, man, I did _not_ sign up for this, yo!" Toad cried.

"'ey, pipe down, ya wanker!" Pyro shouted, looking up from watching T.V.

"No, _way_, man! Don't you _get_ it?!" Toad shouted. "Mags and Doom just _outed_ us! We're gonna be on the receiving end of every pitchfork and every lynch mob in the _country!!_"

"It had to happen, sooner or later, Tolansky!" Pietro snapped. "Now it happened on _our_ terms!"

"You mean your _dad's_ terms!" Blob shouted. "Todd's _right_, Pietro! We didn't want this! We just stuck with you 'cause you were our friend and all, but now I'm thinkin' that wasn't such a great idea!"

"Yeah! Alvers had the _right_ idea!" Toad exclaimed. "You know what, that's _it!_ I'm done with this!"

"Yeah, me, too!" Blob added. With that, they turned to go.

"_Hold it!_" Siryn snapped, and the two of them stopped. "We are in the _middle_ of our victory," she hissed, "and I _order_ the two of you to..!"

_SPLAT!!!_

A massive glob of Toad-slime _splatted_ across a very surprised Siryn's face, silencing her. "LeRoux, do us _all_ a favor and _shut up._" Toad snapped. "Your big mouth has gotten us in _enough_ trouble, thank you very much. You can just take this job and _shove_ it!"

"What _he_ said." Blob agreed. "See you later." With that, the two of them walked away.

"_Fine!!_" Quicksilver shouted after them. "We don't _need_ you two losers, anyway! See if _we_ care!"

As his former friends walked away, Pietro clenched his fists. This was all Super-Dork's fault.

He'd taken his sister. He'd made him lose his friends. He'd humiliated him on _way_ too many occasions. If he had just agreed to work for his father last year, this wouldn't have happened.

Superman had ruined his life...and prophecy or not, he was going to _pay_.

_Warehouse district, New York City_

Superman's eyes narrowed at Mystique's words. "'Much worse'?" he repeated. "What is _that_ supposed to mean, Mystique?"

"What do you _think_ it means?!" Cyclops shouted, glaring at Mystique. "She's been in on it since the _beginning..!_"

"Scott, calm down!" Jean exclaimed. "Let's just...let's just cool it, okay?" At that, Cyclops calmed, though he still regarded the shape-shifting mutant with suspicious eyes.

"I suppose I should have expected this kind of reception," Mystique said, "but it isn't _me_ that you need to worry about."

"What do you mean?" Storm demanded.

Mystique closed her eyes. "The people who built those..._machines_ – the F.O.H. – they plan to attack the Institute and capture Charles."

"_What?!_" Beast exclaimed.

"Superman, Power Girl, Krypto, you three are the fastest; head to the Institute! _Stop them!_" Cyclops cried. "Everyone else, head back to the X-Van!" Cyclops turned to Mystique. "You're coming with us."

"Fine with me." Mystique replied evenly. With that, the X-Men, Wanda and Mystique headed to the X-Van, as Superman, Power Girl, and Krypto took to the sky, flying for home as fast as they could.

Superman reached the Institute first, followed by Power Girl and Krypto; by then, the sun was starting to set. As the three of them touched down, the New Mutants, all in uniform, rushed out. "Clark, what's going on?!" Jubilee cried.

"Is everyone okay?" Superman asked.

Iceman nodded. "The Professor said we were under attack." he answered. "He told us to lock ourselves in the Danger Room until the attackers left...but they took Professor Xavier, and rigged the Institute to blow up, and we can't shut it off!!"

Superman's eyes widened. "What?!" he exclaimed. "_Where?!_"

"In the Professor's office!" Magma cried. "_Hurry!_"

Superman turned to Power Girl. "Ali, stay with them; if this goes wrong, your light-powers can protect them!" he said. Power Girl nodded, and Superman darted into the Institute, heading to the Professor's office.

Quickly, Superman darted to the computer on the Professor's desk...which showed a timer counting down...

...with only _one minute left._

Superman tried every computer trick he knew...to no avail; only the Professor could authorize the self-destruct's shut-down...and his card-key was broken in half on the floor.

There was no way to stall the timer...

Suddenly, a nutty idea came to him. Quickly, Superman brought up the system diagnostics screen, his hands a blur over the keyboard.

The timer kept counting: 00:10...00:09...00:08...

Finally, Superman finished his programming, and entered it.

00:02...00:01...

_Initiating full-system diagnostic. Countdown paused._

Superman breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn't been able to stop the timer, but he _had_ been able to toss a monkey-wrench into the works with a full-system diagnostic scan, tricking the computer into thinking something was wrong...causing it to suspend all other activities until it had checked itself.

Superman then frowned. All he had done was buy about ten minutes, nothing more.

They had to evacuate the Institute.

Getting an idea, Superman quickly took out his belt-computer, and entering a few commands, before putting it back and heading back outside.

He hated the idea of asking his friends to leave their home...but there was no other choice.

From a safe distance from the Institute, aboard their silent helicopters, the F.O.H. soldiers watched with glee as they mentally counted down, waiting for the mutant scum's home to blow up...

Suddenly, something popped up on their radar, as a red-and-blue blur streaked towards the Institute, followed by two other blurs. "_HOLY..!_" one soldier yelled. "It's the flying freak!!"

Another soldier in the back of the chopper grinned. "Let's _get_ him!" he crowed. "There's a lot more of _us_ than there are of _him!_"

"Are you _NUTS?!_" another cried. "Didn't you hear what he and the other freaks _did_ to _three_ Sentinels?! That freak took out _one_ Sentinel on his _own!_ With _ONE SHOT!!_"

That silenced the others. "We'd better call for reinforcements." one said. "Get some backup before taking that freak out."

"Hey, I think the rest of the muties are coming back!" another exclaimed.

"_Good._" the first soldier said. "Call for backup; we'll wipe 'em out all at once..."

As Superman emerged from the Institute, he saw that the others had caught up with him, and had been talking with the New Mutants. Cyclops looked towards him, looking grim. "What's the situation, Kal?"

Superman's expression saddened. "I couldn't stop the self-destruct, not without the Professor's key-card." he replied. "All I could do was loop the system into a diagnostic and buy us about ten minutes. We have to evacuate."

"_What?!_" Multiple cried. "But...but this is our _home..!_"

"Jamie, we don't have a _choice_." Power Girl said sadly.

"I've signalled the _Argo_; it should be here soon." Superman said. "I can use its stealth field to mask the Blackbird's radar signature."

"But where will we go?" Shadowcat asked.

"Just leave that to _me_, Kit." Superman said. "I've got it covered."

Cyclops nodded. "Everyone, head to the vehicle hangar and get on board the Blackbird!" he instructed. "We don't have much time!"

"Sounds like you guys could use some help."

Superman turned towards that approaching voice...and smiled as he saw Flash zip up to them. "_Wally?!_" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, I saw you guys making asses of yourselves on T.V.," he joked, "so I figured you could use a hand!"

Superman laughed. "Well, right now, we need all the help we can get!"

"Good to know," Flash answered, "'cause Arty's on his way..."

Another voice laughed. "I'm already here, West!"

Turning, Superman saw Aquaman run up to them. "Arty?!" he exclaimed. "How..?"

"Hey, this is seaside property, remember? It's practically on Atlantis' back yard!" Aquaman said. "And it's a good thing Cousin Namor keeps tabs on you 'surface dwellers.' So, what's the situation, Smallville?"

Superman chuckled. "Same as always."

Aquaman grimaced. "_Ouch._ That bad, huh?"

"Yep." Flash said.

Superman's expression turned grave, all business now. "We have less than ten minutes before this place self-destructs," he said, "and we could really use some help in evacuating..."

But he suddenly stopped, as his hearing picked up the sound of rotor blades...as numerous black helicopters hovered into view, dropping several dozen soldiers...

...soldiers bearing F.O.H. arm-bands.

"Uh, I'm guessing that you _may_ want to re-think that decision, big guy." Flash said.

Superman turned to the X-Men. "Everyone, head to the Blackbird and get to safety; we'll buy you time!" he exclaimed. "Power Girl, Krypto, Aquaman, Flash, we _have_ to hold these guys off!" At that, Cyclops nodded, before he and the rest of the X-Men darted inside, while Power Girl and Krypto remained outside with Superman and his old pals.

Within minutes, the first squadron of F.O.H. soldiers were in firing range. "_Die_, mutie _scum!!_" the leader yelled, as the squadron opened fire.

Quickly, Superman darted forward, into the line of fire, his hands moving faster than lightning, snatching up every single bullet, tossing them aside when the soldiers stopped firing. Flash took advantage of that pause by zipping into that group, snatching up their weapons at top speed, before they had a chance to reload. Once Flash moved clear, Superman took a deep breath, and unleashed his gale-breath, blowing the soldiers back, as if they were no more than fallen leaves.

As another squadron closed on them, Aquaman grinned. "Hey, Supes!" he called. "Up for a little 'fast-ball'?" Superman chuckled, before picking up his pal, and spinning him around, before tossing him straight at the soldiers. Aquaman darted towards them like a torpedo through the air, knocking them over like bowling pins as he connected. He quickly recovered, and slammed one soldier with a haymaker, knocking him out, before taking down another with a back-kick. As another ran at him, trying to smash him with his rifle-butt, Aquaman caught the weapon and used it to spin him around, before tossing him into several recovering soldiers.

While Superman and his pals engaged the foot-soldiers, Power Girl took to the air, firing her eye-rays at an approaching chopper, searing off its rear rotor, forcing its pilot and crew to bail out. Turning, she managed to raise a barrier as a second opened fire with its Vulcan-Cannon; she easily repelled its rounds...until a snarling Krypto took to the air and grabbed its rear rotor, shaking it and throwing it away, where it crashed to the ground. Power Girl smiled. "_Good boy!_" she called to Krypto, who barked happily.

As Power Girl turned back, she saw several more choppers flying towards them, opening fire with missiles...which impacted harmlessly against a green energy-barrier that suddenly appeared between the missiles and the Institute. As the choppers flew closer, that same field engulfed two of them, stopping them in mid-air...as Green Lantern flew into view, a beam from his ring generating the field. Green Lantern then threw the choppers away, before freezing another one in an energy field...as a fierce war-cry filled the air, seconds before Hawkgirl dove from the clouds at incredible speeds, smashing the chopper's tail clean off with her mace. Hawkgirl then flew at another chopper, evading its Vulcan shots, and then smashing its main rotor, causing it to drop like a stone.

As the remaining choppers started to pull back, Power Girl, Krypto, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl touched down, as Superman and his two pals walked over to them. "Green Lantern, Colonel Hol, it's great to see you both!" Superman said. "We certainly could use the help!"

Green Lantern smiled. "Figured as much." he replied. He then turned to Hawkgirl. "Nice moves, back there."

Hawkgirl smiled back. "Likewise."

Flash blinked. "Friends of yours, Smallville?"

Superman nodded. "Introductions will have to come _later._"

Just then, from its cliff-hangar, the Blackbird flew out, taking to the sky, heading out over the ocean. Superman smiled as he saw his friends escape...and then his eyes widened as he saw the two fighter jets closing on them...the jets with F.O.H. markings. "_Uh-oh._"

The others saw them, too. "Looks like the others need some air-support." Aquaman said worriedly.

Hawkgirl's eyes narrowed. "Then what are we _waiting_ for?!"

Just then, Superman's hearing picked up a familiar sound, approaching fast, and he smiled. "_That._" he said, as the _Argo_ touched down in front of them.

Flash whistled. "Nice ride." he quipped.

"It gets the job done." Superman replied. Then, he tapped his belt-buckle, and the _Argo_'s teleporter beam shot out, 'porting Superman, Power Girl, Krypto, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl inside. In the _Argo_'s cockpit, Superman promptly headed to the pilot's seat, and took the controls, powering up the engines while the others took their own seats. Outside, the _Argo_ hovered into the air, and then took off at high speeds, heading after the Blackbird and the fighters pursuing it...

...and as they flew, Superman could hear the Institute's computer finish its diagnostic...and resume its last activity.

The Xavier Institute exploded in an impressive blast, leveling the entire mansion, their _home_, leaving nothing standing. The lower levels were likely untouched, since they were reinforced...but the home they had all known was _gone_.

The rear-viewing screen on the _Argo_' HUD showed the explosion in more detail than Superman would have liked. Power Girl lowered her head. "There goes our home..."

Krypto softly whined.

"Aw, man..." Flash murmured.

Aquaman was silent.

Green Lantern shook his head. "What kind of sick bastard would _do_ this..?"

Hawkgirl's eyes narrowed. "When we find out, remind me to tear him a _new_ one."

Superman's expression became determined. "As long as we're all okay, we have a home." he said. "The Institute can be rebuilt." He looked back, and smiled at Power Girl. "We'll be okay, _taushi_."

Power Girl smiled back. "I know, _tausha_." she replied. "I know." Turning back to the Speeder's HUD, Superman increased speed, as the _Argo_ chased after the monsters trying to hurt their friends.

In seconds, the _Argo_ had caught up to the Blackbird and its pursuers...just as the fighters had launched missiles at the Blackbird. The Blackbird instantly dove low, trying to shake the missiles off – one of Cyclops' evasive tactics, Superman noted – but the missiles followed it, closing fast...

Quickly, Superman brought up the ship's Countermeasures, and enabled Radar Ghosts; in less than a second, the _Argo_ hacked into the missiles' targeting systems, fooling them into thinking their target was elsewhere – instantly, the missiles veered off, detonating harmlessly.

By then, the F.O.H. fighters had broken off their attack on the Blackbird, and were closing on the _Argo_. One fighter opened fire with its Vulcan-Cannon, firing numerous cannon-shells...which bounced harmlessly off of the _Argo_'s shields, as human weapons technology met Kryptonian shield technology.

Before the fighters could attack again, Superman dropped altitude and lowered speed; outside, the _Argo_ slowed down, and suddenly dipped low, causing the pursuing fighters to shoot past...where they were sitting ducks.

Instantly, Superman locked onto the two fighters. "_Argo_: arm Swarm Drones." he instructed. "Two clusters, 10 percent attack rate." As the _Argo_ complied, its weapons pods extending, Superman tapped on the targeting holographics, bringing up detailed images of the fighters, and tapping particular spots – _weak_ spots – on the images, directing the Drones _exactly_ where to attack. "_Fire._"

At once, the _Argo_ fired two crystalline spheres, which began homing on the two fighters, before the spheres each separated into three smaller units...which expanded into claw-shapes, before impacting the fighters, latching on at their weak spots...and unleashing swarms of countless nano-bots.

Swarm-Class Attack Drones, designed to attach to the hulls of either unshielded or shielded vessels – the latter target-type requiring the activation of their shield-piercing force-field – and unleashing their nano-bot payloads, eating through their hulls to destroy their targets through catastrophic implosion _much_ faster than mere hull damage could. The nano-swarms could also be programmed for additional functions, such as chewing through hull-plating until they hit ship electronics, and then deliver subversive programs to circumvent the target vessel completely...

...but against the relatively-low-tech jet-fighters, just having the voracious mini-machines snack on their hulls was enough.

Within seconds, the hulls of the fighters started to _disintegrate_ from the nano-attack, as the pilots ejected from their craft...before they _lost_ the ability to do so. As the fighters, utterly crippled, started to fall towards the water, the Swarm Drones recalled their nano-swarms, and detached from their targets, flying back to the _Argo_, and clipping to its weapon-pods, as Superman piloted the Speeder onward, to catch up with the Blackbird.

Flash whistled again. "This is one _seriously_ nice ride."

Power Girl softly chuckled. "Flash, you haven't seen _anything_, yet."

Before long, the _Argo_ was flying side-by-side with the Blackbird. Superman hailed them. "Everyone okay?"

"_Yeah, we're fine,_" came Cyclops' reply, "_but where to, now? I don't exactly have a flight-plan, here!_"

"_I_ do." Superman replied. "We head _north._"

"_'North'?_" Cyclops said. "_Why? What's up there...oh. Got it._" With that, the transmission ended, and the Blackbird adjusted its course, heading to the north. Superman adjusted course to match it, and activated the _Argo_'s stealth-field, extending it to cover both ships, so that no other F.O.H. fighters would detect them. With that done, Superman continued on his chosen course, escorting his friends to safety.

_Batcave, beneath Wayne Manor, Gotham City_

Batman was sitting in front of the high-tech Bat-computer, deep in thought, when Robin darted out of the elevator, running up to him. "Bruce, did you hear?!" he exclaimed. "Did you hear about..?!"

Batman simply tapped a key on the keyboard, bringing up the video-feed of Superman and his companions. "It's on all the networks, Dick."

"Oh. You _have_ heard." Robin said. "So, what should we do?"

Batman's expression didn't change. "'Do'?"

"Well...we're going to help them..." Robin elaborated, "..._aren't_ we?"

"Leaving would put Gotham at risk." Batman replied. "We can't risk leaving the city unprotected, not when someone like Joker could take advantage of this kind of chaos."

"_Unbelievable!_" Robin shouted. "Superman's your _friend_, Bruce – and _don't_ say he's not – and you're just going to hang him out to _dry?!_" With that, he turned, and stormed out of the cave.

Alfred stepped out of the elevator just as Robin was getting on. Alfred simply arched an eyebrow. "Another difference of opinion between you and Master Richard, I presume, Master Bruce?" he hazarded. "With regards to...recent events?"

"Robin thinks that we should help Superman." Batman answered. "But we _can't_ leave Gotham unprotected."

"A valid enough point." Alfred agreed. "But could Master Richard and the young Miss Gordon handle things suitably enough...on their own?"

Batman's eyes narrowed in a half-glare. "You're suggesting I leave them to watch over Gotham City _alone?_" He turned back to the computer.

Alfred's expression became stern. "Master Richard and Miss Barbara are quite capable, Master Bruce." he replied. "And, on another note, it might interest you that Master Kent's compatriots were the students of the _Xavier_ Institute."

Batman paused at the mention of that name.

"Charles Xavier was one of your parents' oldest and dearest friends, Master Bruce." Alfred said softly. "His dream was always to create a world where those with..._unique_ talents could peacefully coexist with all others." He turned to leave. "And a _peaceful_ world, Master Bruce, is a _safe_ world." With that, he left the Cave.

Batman was alone with his thoughts, now. No matter the situation, he _couldn't_ leave Robin and Batgirl alone, here...but they _were_ capable, he admitted. He knew he could count on them to handle smaller tasks while he handled more important ones.

But the Mission was paramount. No matter what, he couldn't leave, not until Gotham was safe...

...but what would it matter if Gotham was safe, while the rest of the world fell apart?

Batman shook his head. No. He couldn't afford doubts; doubts were pointless. His years of training had taught him that...but still...

And then, he remembered.

He remembered the nights of his parents' deaths...he remembered watching that man shoot them down...

He remembered watching his mother's pearls scatter across the street, stained red from their blood...

He remembered being taken to the police station until Alfred picked him up...

And he remembered the funeral...where he'd met a kind bald man, with gentle eyes, who'd said he was a friend of his parents...

Batman's eyes narrowed behind his cowl, as he looked to the screen, recalling the spare Bat-Wave transmitter he'd given to Clark...and he made his decision.

_Somewhere near Roswell, New Mexico_

The afternoon sun was hot over the desert near Roswell as the single black helicopter flew over the impressive mesas dotting the landscape...but Graydon Creed wasn't in the mood to appreciate the scenery.

Graydon's eyes narrowed as he spoke into his cell-phone. "_What_ did you say?" he said, with deadly control. "_What_ happened to the Sentinels?"

"_Uh...t-they were destroyed, sir._" came the lieutenant's reply.

Graydon's teeth clenched. "You're telling _me_ that we lost _three_ Sentinels to a _handful_ of muties?!"

"_It...it was that flying freak, sir!_" the lieutenant cried. "_He took out one Sentinel all on his own! With ONE shot, sir! If it had been the muties __**alone**__, it would have been different! He's __**much**__ more powerful than anyone anticipated, sir! Not only that, but the Sentinels wouldn't recognize him! It's like he's...he's...something else ENTIRELY!_"

Graydon sighed, putting his hand to his head. "Please _tell_ me we have Xavier." he said flatly.

"_Yes, sir; Xavier should be arriving at the New Mexico base within the hour._"

"Good." Graydon said. "Any problems?"

"_Well...not at first, sir._" the lieutenant said. "_We got Xavier away without a hitch...but when we tried to destroy the Institute, the flying freak – along with some __**other**__ freaks, ones we hadn't seen before – interfered; Xavier's students escaped before it blew. We tried to shoot their plane down...but the flying freak chased us in some kind of...of __**ship**__, sir!_"

Graydon's eyes narrowed. "_One_ ship shot down _two_ fighters?" he growled. "You didn't even put up a fight?"

"_Sir, this ship was __**different**__; our shots just bounced off of it, like it had...I don't know, some kind of...of __**shield**__, or something! And its weapons, sir...__**NO**__ human mind has ever thought up weapons like that!_"

Graydon paused. "You're _certain_ of this?"

"_**Absolutely**__, sir._"

Graydon's brow furrowed. "I'll look into this later. Any word from Dr. Trask?"

"_Yes, sir. Dr. Trask has returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. without incident; he is ready to release the Juggernaut at your command._"

"Good." Graydon said. "And our two test-subjects?"

"_Already en route to the New Mexico base, sir._"

"Excellent." Graydon said. "Head back to the nearest outpost for full debriefing; I want a full report on _exactly_ what you saw that...'ship' do."

"_Understood, sir._" came the reply.

As Graydon ended the call, he frowned to himself. '_Where did those mutants __**get**__ that kind of technology?_' he thought.

_S.H.I.E.L.D._ didn't have it.

His people didn't have it.

_No-one_ had it.

So _where_ had they gotten it?

'_We're going to have to put more effort into analyzing the Roswell Object._' he thought to himself. No matter _where_ the mutants had gotten that technology, he would _not_ allow their kind to have a technological advantage of that magnitude.

Still, the thought of that ship troubled him...and from what he knew of the Roswell Object, he knew that threats from _outside_ Earth were just as real as those _native_ to Earth.

Like mutants.

Graydon's eyes narrowed. The Friends of Humanity would _eliminate_ any and _all_ threats to the human race, _regardless_ of where they came from.

And they would _start_ with _mutants._

_North Pole_

As the Blackbird followed the _Argo_ into the far north, Cyclops could see the landscape on the shoreline slowly turn from deciduous forest to boreal forest, then to tundra, and then to glacial ice, before vanishing as they flew out over the waters of the Arctic Ocean.

Mystique frowned. "Why are we going _here?_" she muttered. "The only thing that was ever out here was Asteroid M, and that's long gone!"

Cyclops chuckled. "Asteroid M was the only thing you and Magneto _knew_ about." he quipped. "The Professor, Logan, Storm, Jean and I are the only ones besides Superman who've ever seen it."

Shadowcat's eyes went wide. "Wait...are you guys talking about..?"

Jean smiled, and nodded. "Yes, Kitty; that must be where Kal is leading us."

"_Huh??_" Multiple asked.

"_I, too, am confused._" Android said. "_Please clarify._"

Storm smiled. "It's the place where we first _found_ Kal." she said.

As they had been flying, a blizzard had been gradually building; by now, it was _really_ raging. "_Hang on._" came Superman's voice over the radio. "_I'll just switch off the weather-defenses. Just follow me into the Docking Bay._"

Seconds later, as if someone had just hit a button, the blizzard died away...and they all could see it.

Even though he'd seen it before, Cyclops was still awed by the marvel that was Superman's Fortress.

"_My word..._" Beast murmured. "Is that..?"

"Yep." Cyclops confirmed.

"_Whoa..._" Iceman murmured.

"It's..._beautiful..._" Magma murmured.

The others were similarly awestruck by the Fortress, even Mystique. Slowly, Cyclops guided the Blackbird towards the strip of landing lights, following the _Argo_ into the opening crystalline doors, setting the Blackbird down next to the Kryptonian Speeder, as the doors began to close behind them, locking out the snow of the Pole.

Once the Blackbird was down, the X-Men, New Mutants, and Mystique disembarked, as Superman and the others 'ported out of the _Argo_. Superman noticed their awed expressions, and smiled. "Welcome," he said, "to the Fortress of Solitude."

"_Mein Gott..._" Nightcrawler whispered.

Ray whistled.

"_Wow..._" Wanda whispered.

"You lived _here?_" Multiple murmured.

"For four years." Superman answered.

Jean chuckled. "After seeing this place, again, we have to wonder why he left." she joked.

Superman chuckled, before walking to one crystalline wall, and simply touching it; several holographic symbols appeared at his touch, and Superman manipulated them with his hand, before tapping the central holographic. Instantly, a large section of the wall became blue-white energy, with golden circuitry woven in, and then retracted, leading further into the Fortress. "Professor Xavier took me in, and gave me refuge." Superman said. "Please...let me do the same for all of you." With that, he headed further into the Fortress, and the others followed.

Superman led his friends to the Fortress' Main Hall, stopping next to the main teleporter. "Fortress," he instructed, "generate two dozen additional sleeping quarters. Also, unlock Bio-Coding for the following commands: food synthesis, teleporter control to and from sleeping quarters, and civilian-level communications and computer access."

"_Acknowledged._"

Superman turned to the New Mutants. "This teleporter will take you all to your rooms." he explained. "All you have to do is step on and tell it what to do."

Boom-Boom arched an eyebrow. "Do we get our _own_ rooms?"

Superman chuckled. "_Yes_, Tabitha. You do."

Berzerker grinned. "'Bout _time!_" he laughed.

"Just remember, Ray: this is _Superman's_ home." Jean warned.

Rogue chuckled. "Yeah, Crisp; if ya break somethin' _here_, ya answer to _him!_"

Ray gulped.

Iceman chuckled. "You know, I'm anxious to check out _my_ new room."

"Me, too." Jubilee agreed, as the New Mutants murmured words of agreement. With that, they all stood on the teleporter, instructing it to take them to their new rooms; in a flash of blue-white light, they were 'ported away.

Avalanche chuckled. "So much for being a Fortress of _Solitude_."

Superman smiled. "Hey, I don't mind having boarders."

"So, what should we do, now?" Hawkgirl inquired.

Superman's expression turned firm. "Now we organize a rescue mission for Professor Xavier."

Spyke grinned. "Good to hear, Big Blue."

"But _where?_" Power Girl asked. "We have no idea where those soldiers took him..."

"I could try looking for him telepathically." Jean volunteered. "I've...never _tried_ looking _this_ far, though..."

"You can do it, Jean." Cyclops said. "We _know_ you can."

Jean lightly blushed. "Thanks."

"The rest of you wait here." Superman instructed. "I'm going to see if I can get us some backup." With that, he headed further into the Fortress, towards his workshop.

As Superman entered his workshop, he heard a faint beeping noise...and then he saw the transmitter that Batman had given him, flashing its bat-symbol constantly. Superman picked it up. "Superman, here."

"_What's the situation, Kent?_"

Superman smiled. "Nice to hear you, too, Bruce." he said. "Everyone is okay, but Professor Xavier's been kidnapped; we're mounting a rescue mission."

"_Any leads?_"

"None, yet." Superman answered. "We're looking into a few things; hopefully, we'll get lucky. Right now, we're just trying to get a rescue team together." He lightly smiled. "You interested?"

Batman was silent for a few seconds. "_Notify me when you have a lead._" he finally said, before he ended the transmission.

Superman chuckled. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." he said to himself, putting the transmitter down.

"_Tausha?_"

Superman smiled as he turned to see Power Girl, there. "Hey, _taushi._" he greeted.

"What did you mean by 'backup'?" she inquired.

"Hang on, baby...I _know_ I left it here somewhere..." Superman said, and then he smiled as he spotted it, picking it up. "I'm just going to call in a few favors."

With that, he switched on the communicator. "Superman calling Captain America. You there, Cap?"

There were a few moments of static, and then, "_Cap here. That you, son?_"

Superman smiled. "Good to hear you, Cap." he replied. "You remember that time, last year? That little job I helped with? Well, Cap, I'm calling in the tab..."

_Xavier Institute ruins_

Night had fallen as the Quinjet, the main transport for the Avengers, touched down next to what was left of the Xavier Institute. As he disembarked, Captain America frowned sadly as he took in the sight. "My God..." he whispered.

"I _know,_ Steve." came a lightly-Russian-accented female voice, as Natalia "Black Widow" Romanova, Cap's girlfriend, walked out of the Quinjet. Natalia was in her twenties, was tall, with an elegant frame, and mid-length ruby-red hair, and spellbinding emerald eyes, clad in a skin-tight black bodysuit, with a loaded firearm strapped to her belt, as well as a pair of deadly vibranium knives. Natalia had once been a deadly operative for the KGB, but had later defected as the Cold War came to an end.

Natalia met Cap's gaze. "Who could _do_ this?" she asked.

"_Someone who hated mutants, that's who._" came Iron Man's metallic voice, as he, Hank "Giant Man" Pym, and his wife, Janet "Wasp" Pym, walked out. "_Any word from Thor?_"

"None yet, Stark." Cap replied...and then, he felt the air stark to get muggy. "Hold on; I stand corrected."

At that, a flash of lightning filled the air, and thunder echoed through the sky, as Thor 'ported in, appearing a few feet away...and standing next to him was a tall, elegant-yet-athletically-built woman, with ample curves, bright blue eyes, and long, ebony hair. A golden tiara with a single-star design encircled her head, and she wore an armored garment that looked to be the mix of a strapless one-piece swimsuit and plate armor; the upper part was red, with a golden-metal 'W' crest across it, while the lower part was blue, and dotted with white stars, and a golden metal strip encircled her waist where the two parts met, where a lasso of shining rope was resting. A set of silver-metal armlets encircled her wrists, and simple, old-style sandals were on her feet.

The woman looked upon the Avengers with a mix of curiosity and caution. "Are these the friends of which you spoke, Thor?"

Thor smiled, nodding. "Yes, Diana. You can trust them."

"I guess this is your friend, Thor?" Cap hazarded. He turned to the woman – Diana. "I'm Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America." he greeted, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss..?"

Diana looked at his hand, then looked him in the eyes...and half-smiled, before shaking it. "Diana, Princess of Themyscira; likewise, I am also called Wonder Woman." she replied. "But Thor explained that your message to him stated that you were planning to assist one of your friends; that was part of the reason why I agreed to visit Man's World..."

"'_Man's World_'?" Giant Man repeated. "What, is she from the _Bronze_ Age?"

"_Pym!!_" Cap barked, as wasp elbowed her husband. Turning back to Wonder Woman, Cap added, "You're correct, Your Highness; we _are_ here to assist a friend of ours. He should be here, fairly soon..."

"_I'm already here, Cap._"

Superman's voice seemed to echo from nowhere, startling Cap...and then, a strange-looking craft suddenly appeared out of nowhere, hovering over them. The craft then emitted a blue beam...and Superman stepped out of it.

Superman smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that; I hope I didn't startle you."

Cap chuckled. "No more than anything _else_ that's happened, today." he replied. "It's good to see you and the others got clear of here safely, son."

"Thanks, Cap." Superman said. He looked to the rest of the Avengers. "It's good to see _all_ of you; thank you for agreeing to come."

"_Well, General Fury was a bit of a hard sell, but once you said that Xavier was in trouble, the General agreed to letting us help._" Iron Man said.

Cap nodded. "And you haven't met the _entire_ team, yet, have you?" he asked, as he gestured to Natalia.

"Natalia Romanova, codename Black Widow." Natalia introduced herself. Superman nodded.

"Truthfully, I am not a member of the team." Diana admitted. "I merely came because my old friend Thor requested my help. I am Diana, of Themyscira."

Superman blinked. "_Themyscira??_" he repeated. "The mythological island home of the Greek Amazons?"

Now Diana genuinely smiled. "We are hardly mythological." she corrected. "For many centuries, Themyscira has been hidden from Man's World by grace of the Olympian gods."

Thor nodded. "The Amazons have long held favor with Hera; 'twas by the request of Hippolyta, Diana's mother, that the island be hidden." he explained.

"Wait...you mean that...the _Olympian_ gods are actually _real?_" Wasp asked.

Thor laughed. "Are you truly so surprised?" he replied. "Olympus exists as much as Asgard does; in fact, the All-Father and Zeus are twin brothers!"

Superman whistled. "I had no idea...but, when you think about it, it _does_ make sense..."

"Look, can we save the mythology lesson for _later?_" Giant Man snapped.

Cap turned to glare at Hank, before turning back to Superman. "We're still waiting on the rest of our little team; they should be here, shortly."

Superman blinked. "The rest..?"

Cap grinned. "Shortly after you contacted us, I notified them; I figured that they'd want in on this, as well."

Just then, as if on cue, the Fantasticar appeared on the horizon, touching down a few meters away, as the Fantastic Four, as well as Spider-Man, disembarked. "We came as quickly as we could, Captain." Reed said.

"We had to stop to pick up Web-Head, here." Johnny quipped.

Spider-Man nodded. "Figured you could use a hand."

Ben looked to the Institute ruins. "Aw, _jeez..._"

Sue looked worried. "Did everyone escape safely?"

Superman nodded. "Everyone's okay." he answered. "We're all taking refuge at the Fortress."

Cap blinked. "Pardon?"

"Yeah, you...kinda lost us there, Big Blue." Spider-Man added.

"You'll see." Superman replied. To the Avengers, he added, "I had hoped that we could discuss our strategy at my own headquarters...but we're going to have to take _my_ ship there."

"_Why?_" Iron Man asked.

"Because its autopilot is programmed with its coordinates, and because its screen can be blinded, so you all can't see where we're going." Superman said. "Reed and his team can use _their_ vehicle, because they've been there before, and because, despite their association with S.H.I.E.L.D., ultimately, they're civilians – they aren't directly answerable to the military...but you and your team, Cap, _are_. By not showing you where you're going, if General Fury ever asks..."

"...we don't have to lie." Cap finished, nodding. "We understand."

Superman looked a bit concerned. "It isn't that I don't trust all of you," he said, "but with S.H.I.E.L.D. being compromised, as I'm sure the General told you about, I'd rather not take chances with what I'm about to show you."

"_Well, I can understand that,_" Iron Man said, "_but now I'm curious as to see what's so all-fired important that we can't know where it is._"

Reed chuckled. "I guarantee, Iron Man, it's a sight to behold."

Superman smiled, and gestured to his ship. "We'd best be going." he said, before he tapped his belt-buckle; instantly, the blue light shone from the craft, and Superman started to walk towards it...

"Hey, hold up, yo."

Cap and the others turned to see two costumed youths – a gangly kid and a much larger one – walk up. "It's okay." Superman assured them, before he looked to the two newcomers. "What are you two doing here?"

The gangly kid smiled sheepishly. "Hey, we was just wonderin' if you guys could use an extra two pairs of hands."

Superman arched an eyebrow quizzically. "Aren't you with Magneto?"

"We quit." the larger kid said. "We're sick of bein' ordered around like chumps."

Superman nodded. "Smart move." he agreed. "So what brings you _here?_"

"Well, first we was going to see if you and the Institute kids would put up with us until this whole thing dies down," the gangly kid said, "but...lookin' at the Institute now, and from what we heard you guys talk about, there's somethin' a lot _bigger_ goin' down." He shrugged. "Way I see it, the whole world _hates_ us, now. If we tag along with you guys – and _survive_, that is – if anyone asks us if we _deserve_ this kind of raw deal, we can actually say _no_."

Superman smiled. "Well, the more, the merrier." he replied. "Any objections, Cap?"

Captain America smiled, and shook his head. "None here."

"In that case, welcome aboard!" Superman said. "But we'd better get going; we still have to _find_ where these guys are keeping Professor Xavier." With that, he stepped into the blue light, and automatically 'ported into his ship.

Natalia chuckled. "He _reminds_ me of someone." she cooed to Cap. "But I just _can't_ recall _who_." With that, she glided a slender finger across his cheek, before stepping into the light. Cap just smiled, as he followed Natalia into the light, along with the rest of the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the two newcomers...

...the smaller of which commenting, "Hey, this better not screw up my molecules, yo." before entering the light. Once they all were aboard, the craft took to the air, flying out across the ocean, as the Fantastic Four followed them in the Fantasticar.

_North Pole_

Deep in the Fortress of Solitude, in a chamber devoid of any holographic consoles or electronics, or anything that could distract her, Jean sat cross-legged, concentrating, focusing her powers, reaching out as far as she could, looking for the Professor.

Before he'd left, Superman had lent her the use of the Fortress' Meditation Chamber; it helped, Jean admitted, but it just wasn't _enough..._

Jean let out a cry of exertion as she overtaxed herself, before her focus broke, and she was fully back in the Chamber. Jean absently clenched her fist, before trying to focus again...but it was no use.

She just wasn't strong enough...

"Hey."

Jean weakly smiled as Cyclops walked in. "Any luck?" he asked.

Jean suppressed a sob, and shook her head. "I can't find him, Scott." she whimpered. She lowered her gaze. "I just _can't_ find him..."

"Hey..." Cyclops whispered, kneeling down, and hugging her. "It's okay..."

"_No_, Scott. It _isn't_." Jean said, her eyes watering. "I'm just not _strong_ enough." Angrily, she pounded her fist on the crystal floor. "_God_, if those _bastards_ hadn't destroyed the Institute, I _could_ have used _Cerebro!_ I'm not strong enough on my own!!"

"Look, you haven't tried anything like this, before, Jean. You just need to get used to it." Cyclops said...but Jean wasn't listening.

She had just gotten an idea. '_I'm __**not**__ strong enough on my __**own**_'

"Jean?" Cyclops asked. "What are you thinking..." an then, he picked up on her plan through their link. "_No._" he said firmly. "_Absolutely not._ No _way_, Jean! She's _way_ too dangerous!"

"Scott..." Jean said, "...we don't have a choice."

"There _has_ to be another way..!"

"There _isn't_." Jean said firmly. "The Phoenix is the only hope we have."

Cyclops looked stricken. "Jean...she nearly took you over, the last time..."

"But she _didn't_." Jean replied, weakly smiling. "_You_ were there, Scott. _You_ helped me through it...and I need you to stay with me while I talk to her."

"Jean..."

"I _have_ to, Scott." Jean whispered. "I _have_ to."

Cyclops looked stricken...and then nodded. "If you feel her start to take over," he said, "you _pull out_."

Jean smiled, and nodded. "I will." she promised. At that, Cyclops smiled, and took her hands in his, lending her his strength, a gesture she appreciated _immensely_.

She would need _every_ edge she could get.

Closing here eyes, Jean focused...and dove _deep_ within herself...

_She was no longer in the Meditation Chamber, but in a vast, unending blackness...the void of thought that dwelled in her mind, where her thoughts took form. As Jean walked through her mind-scape, she saw flashes, images – her memories._

_The destruction of the Institute..._

_The Sentinel attack..._

_Her and Scott's declaration of love..._

_Their first kiss..._

_Their first date..._

_The events of Asteroid M..._

_First coming to the Fortress, and meeting Clark for the first time..._

_Her coming to the Institute, and meeting Scott for the first time..._

_Scott's first thought upon seeing her: 'Wow...'_

_Jean suppressed a sob as she saw the next memory-flash: Annie's accident..._

_Suddenly, a massive wall of ice appeared before her, cutting off that memory. Looking closely at it, Jean could see a faint, fiery light behind the ice._

_The Phoenix. She had been born when Annie had died._

_Jean took a deep breath. "Phoenix?" she called. "Can you hear me?"_

_The flame pulsed behind the ice._

_"Phoenix," Jean said, "I...I need your help..."_

_The ice suddenly shattered, revealing a raging inferno behind it...which slowly began to take shape. The flames formed themselves into a massive firebird, with wings of golden flame, a fiery red plume atop its head, eyes as red as hellfire, and a beak and talons of deadly flame._

_The Phoenix._

_"__**YOU need MY help?!**__" the Phoenix screeched. "__**You threw me away!!**__"_

_Jean shook her head. "No..."_

_"__**You left me in here for YEARS!!**__" the Phoenix shrieked, her flames growing in ferocity. "__**You left me alone!!!**__"_

_"I was just a little girl!!" Jean shouted back. "When Annie died, I couldn't deal with all those voices in my head!!"_

_"__**You LET him cast me out!!**__" the Phoenix accused. "__**You let Xavier DO this to me!!**__"_

_"What was I SUPPOSED to do, Phoenix?!" Jean cried. "How could I have dealt with you?! I was just barely able to handle Annie's death!!"_

_"__**HA!!**__" Phoenix sneered. "__**'Handle' her death?! You DIDN'T handle her death! You just FORGOT her!!!**__"_

_"SHUT UP!!!" Jean shouted. "I NEVER forgot Annie!!!"_

_"__**You didn't get angry, you didn't grieve, you didn't do ANYTHING!!!**__" Phoenix screeched. "__**You just went numb! You tossed all those emotions ASIDE!!!**__"_

_"Because my powers are DANGEROUS, Phoenix!" Jean shot back. "What if I had HURT someone?!" She pointed at the flaming apparition. "You're EVERYTHING I've always been afraid of! You're COMPLETELY out-of-control!!"_

_"__**'AFRAID'?!**__" Phoenix screeched, flaring her wings menacingly. "__**YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT FEAR IS...!!**__"_

_"__**STOP!!!!!**__"_

_Both Jean and the Phoenix froze at the sound of that voice...that __**terribly**__ familiar voice..._

_Slowly, Jean turned...and saw a little 8-year-old girl, with mid-length auburn hair, and hazel eyes, clad in a simple white child's dress. "Just...just __**stop**__..." the little girl whimpered, her eyes tearing up._

_Jean felt her own eyes start to tear up. "Annie..?" she whispered, tears falling from her eyes. "But...__**how?**__ You...you died..."_

_Annie lightly smiled. "I know, Jeannie." she answered. Giggling, she added, "I was there, too, remember?" Her smile grew. "I can remember hearing you as I died, Jeannie; I remember hearing you in my mind..."_

_Jean suppressed a sob._

_"Remember how you once told that boy Scott how you thought that a piece of you died, that day?" Annie asked. "I think you got it backwards, Jeannie; a piece of __**me**__ got pulled back with you – that's why my spirit is still here."_

_Jean was horrified. "Your...your spirit can't move on?" she gasped. "Oh, God...Annie, I'm so __**sorry**__..."_

_"Hey, it isn't so bad, Jeannie." Annie replied. She smiled. "I got an extra bunch of years to hang out with my best friend...even though you couldn't see me. But I __**did**__ manage to make you feel better, sometimes, like when you had a bad dream, or were worried about something."_

_Jean lightly smiled, as she recalled all the times, over the years, when she'd had a nightmare, or had been worrying about something, such as a test, or a soccer game...and had suddenly felt a warm, reassuring presence, telling her that things would be alright..._

_"That's kinda why I'm here." Annie said. She gestured to both Jean and the Phoenix. "You – __**both**__ of you – are my very best friend...and I don't want you to fight, any more. You two __**need**__ each other."_

_Slowly, Jean and the Phoenix turned to each other. "She's right." Jean said softly. "You're everything that I'm not; and I'm everything you're not. We're __**part**__ of each other. I can see that, now."_

_Phoenix was silent for a moment...and then, her beak turned up in the avian equivalent of a smile. "__**TOOK you long enough.**__" she teased. Jean smiled, and extended her hand to Phoenix, who simply reached out with her wing, touching Jean's hand with her wingtip..._

_Phoenix's flame began to spread across Jean's hand, as Phoenix's form began to shrink, until she had become a flaming aura around Jean's body. Phoenix's aura felt pleasantly warm, and Jean, somehow, felt...whole, as if a missing piece of her mind's puzzle had just been inserted, finishing the picture that was Jean Grey._

_Annie smiled. "Doesn't that feel better?"_

_Jean smiled. "Yes, Annie. It __**does.**__"_

_Annie walked closer to Jean. "Jean?" she asked. "I think...I have to go, now."_

_Jean froze. "W-What?" she stammered._

_Annie nodded. "I think I was here to help you two get back together." she continued. "I know he was just trying to help, but I think that when that nice Professor Xavier put up that wall, that piece of my spirit got stuck behind it. And now that it's gone..."_

_Jean felt her tears start to come back. "But...but I don't want you to go..."_

_Annie walked over to Jean, who knelt down, and the two friends hugged each other. "I don't wanna go, either, Jeannie." Annie said. "But I __**have**__ to."_

_Jean sniffed, and nodded. "I'll miss you." she whispered. "I'll miss you when I get nightmares, or when I'm worried..."_

_Annie giggled. "Silly!" she laughed. "You don't need me, anymore! You've got Phoenix, now! Not only that, you have all your friends, including that guy Scott. He's nice...for a boy, anyway."_

_Jean laughed. "Yeah, he really is."_

_Annie smiled, and hugged her tighter. "You're really lucky, Jeannie." she said. "You're a __**superhero!**__"_

_Jean smiled, and returned the hug. "Thanks!"_

_Annie smiled, and let go. "I know you have something you need to do, now, Jeannie." she said. "You can do it! I __**know**__ you can!"_

_Jean took a deep breath, and stood up, focusing...and it was as if the entire __**world**__ had opened up to her; it was amazing how much her powers had strengthened._

_Jean smiled; her mind was whole, now...and so were her powers._

_Concentrating, Jean focused on finding the Professor. Her mind soared across the world, sifting through countless minds...all of which were worried about what had happened, about mutants; many were unsure what their existence meant, some were accepting of them...and some hated them._

_Suddenly, as she sifted through a large cluster of particularly hateful minds, Jean found a familiar mind..._

_The Professor! He was in Roswell, New Mexico, at some sort of secret base! Not only that, but Wolverine was there, too! Then, Jean felt another presence, one completely foreign to her...a very weak presence...and then, her search ended._

In the Meditation Chamber, Cyclops could only watch as an aura of psychic flame enshrouded the woman he loved...but the flame did not seem to burn her, or harm her in any way. The flame simply washed over her, and when it vanished, Jean was now wearing a dark green bodysuit, with long, golden-colored gloves, gold-colored shin-high boots, and a shimmery golden scarf looped around her waist...and a crest of a firebird emblazoned on her new uniform's chest.

Slowly, Jean opened her eyes, and smiled at Cyclops. "Hi." she cooed.

Cyclops couldn't speak.

Jean's smile grew. "Scott..?"

Cyclops didn't speak...but Jean smiled as she picked up on his thoughts.

'_**Wow...**_'

Chuckling, Jean leaned in, and snared her beloved's lips in a kiss, snapping him out of his little daze. "Scott," she cooed flirtatiously, "you'll turn a telepath's _head_ with thoughts like that."

Cyclops smiled, blushing. "So..." he finally said, scratching the back of his head nervously, "...I take it things went well..."

Jean nodded. "Phoenix and I came to an understanding." she replied. Her smile grew. "And I know where the Professor is! He's in Roswell, New Mexico! He's in some kind of secret base!"

Cyclops looked worried. "_Roswell_...the site of that alleged U.F.O. crash." he murmured. "_Figures_."

Jean nodded...and then froze, as an aura of light began to emanate from within her...and then leave her. "_Annie..._" she whispered.

Cyclops blinked. "'Annie'??" he repeated...and then his eyes widened behind his visor. "You mean..?"

But only Jean could see what was happening; the aura coalesced into a semi-translucent apparition of her childhood friend. "_I have to go now, Jeannie._" she whispered. She pointed to a point in the Chamber. "_I think I have to go into that light, over there._"

Jean nodded, her tears starting to fall, again. "You should go, Annie." she sniffed.

Annie smiled. "_Wow...Jeannie, it's so pretty...hey, I think someone's coming! I think God sent somebody to come get me!_" Her smile grew. "_It's a nice old man, and he said to say he's a friend of a friend. He's dressed like a farmer, and he says his name's Jonathan._"

Jean slowly smiled, as the name struck a chord. "Jonathan..._Kent?_"

"_Yeah! How did you know?_"

Jean chuckled. "Lucky guess."

Annie looked towards where the visitor must have been standing. "_He also says to ask you if you'll tell his son that he's proud of him, and he always will be, especially after what happens, tonight._"

Jean nodded. "I will."

Annie smiled sadly. "_Bye, Jeannie._" she whispered. "_I love you._"

Jean suppressed her tears, as Cyclops placed his hands on her shoulders in a comforting gesture. "I love you, too, Annie." she sniffed. Then, Annie's spirit simply waved good-bye, before fading away...as a sudden breeze blew through the Chamber, despite the fact that there were no windows.

Somehow, Jean managed to keep herself from crying, and was _immensely_ grateful for her lover's comforting hands on her shoulders. "Was that Annie's spirit?" he asked gently. "What did she say?"

Jean smiled through her tears. "I'll tell you later." she whispered. After managing to recompose herself, she stood up, as did Cyclops. "Right now, we have a rescue mission to plan." Cyclops smiled at her, nodding, as they both headed out of the Chamber, to wait for Superman to return with reinforcements.

_Undisclosed location_

When Charles came to, he was _sure_ he could feel Jean's voice reverberating in his mind, before slowly fading away.

Looking around, Charles saw that he was in some sort of holding cell, and that he was strapped to a chair, with some sort of device on his head. Charles reached out with his telepathy, to see if he could determine what was going on...but he could hear nothing. It was as if he couldn't access his powers properly...

Just then, the door to his cell opened, and a thirty-something-year-old man, in a black business suit walked in, flanked by two soldiers. "So," the man sneered, "you're awake."

Charles remained calm. "Who are you?" he asked.

The man smirked. "What, can't you use those powers of yours and find out?" he mocked. "Oh, _wait_, that's right; with that PSI-Blocker on your head, you _can't_, can you? You don't _enjoy_ feeling human, _do_ you, _mutie?_"

Charles refused to rise to the bait. "You haven't answered my question."

The man frowned. "Graydon Creed." he replied. "And don't bother introducing yourself, freak; I _know_ who and _what_ you are." He laughed cruelly. "The whole _world_ knows about your filthy kind, by now!"

"So it was _you_ who built those..._monsters._" Charles said.

Graydon backhanded him. "The only 'monsters' around here are the likes of _you_, mutie!!" he roared.

Charles merely turned his head, taking the blow, and then looked back. "Then you must be one of the 'F.O.H.'"

Graydon chuckled. "The Friends of Humanity exist to _protect_ the human race from the likes of your kind, mutant."

"But why?" Charles asked. "What harm have we ever done you?"

Graydon's face twisted in rage. "You _LIVE!!!_" he exploded. "You insult humanity simply by _EXISTING!!_ There is _nothing_ greater than humanity!!! There can _be_ nothing greater than humanity!!! It is _WE_ who are made in God's image!!! You defile our existence!! You lurk in the shadows, poisoning our species!! How _DARE_ you exist?!! How _DARE_ you think yourselves superior to _us?!!_"

Charles kept calm. "I have _never_ thought that..."

"_LIAR!!!_" Graydon roared, backhanding him again. "Your filthy kind are all the same!! You think yourselves the next rulers of this world!! You think your 'powers' give you the right to dominate us!! _You reject your own human children because they're 'inferior'!!_"

That last point nearly broke Charles' heart. "If you hate us so much," he said softly, "then why haven't you killed me?"

Graydon's face twisted. "Believe me, mutant, I don't know _how_ I'm keeping myself from _doing_ just that." he spat. Then, he smiled cruelly, and added, "But I have a _better_ idea."

Charles didn't like the sound of that.

"You claim to wish to use your powers for the _benefit_ of humanity, Xavier...so I'm going to let you do _just_ that." Graydon continued. "No-one knows exactly how many of your kind there are, or _where_ they are."

His smile darkened. "Except _you_." he finished. "You're going to show us _exactly_ where all of your kind are, Xavier...and we're going to hunt them down." He laughed cruelly. "And after tonight, mutant, every single man, woman, and child is going to _know_ what a menace your kind are...and they'll _cheer_ us as we rid the world of all of _you!!_" With that, Graydon turned, and left the cell, followed by the soldiers.

Alone again, Charles was nearly overcome with worry; he _had_ to find _some_ way to contact the X-Men, let them know what was happening...

'_Help..._'

Charles froze. There it was, again; the presence he could never trace...

'_Help me..._'

It was _stronger_, now...it was _close!_

Charles focused, reaching out to that faint telepathic cry; this device only dampened his powers – he'd been groggy, before, and hadn't noticed. He focused on that voice, and answered. '_Hello? Are you there?_'

There was a brief silence, and Charles feared that he'd lost the voice...and then, '_...you...hear me..?_'

'_Yes, yes, I hear you._' Charles replied. '_Are you alright?_'

'_...help me...I am dying..._'

Charles' worries _doubled_. '_Please, hang on._' he urged. '_Where are you?_'

'_...deeper in...Sector...Zero...men of hate...could not contact..._'

Charles began to understand; whoever this person was, he was also a prisoner, here. He had not dared to beg any of the Friends of Humanity for help, and had been calling to any sympathetic mind that would listen. '_I want to help you,_' Charles sent, '_but I need to know more..._'

'_...craft...crashed...hidden...too deep...life-support...failing...power...nearly gone..._' the voice replied...and then, the mind opened to Charles.

The unknown mind was peaceful, gentle...and _very_ powerful, _easily_ as powerful a telepath as he was, if not _more_...but it was not a _human_ mind he felt.

The mind sent him images of space, of falling towards Earth, of crashing into the ground...

The mind then sent him images of a lab – Sector Zero, part of this complex, Charles somehow knew – where numerous scientists were at work...around a large, silvery, flying saucer.

Charles' eyes widened. The mind he had sensed...was the survivor of the Roswell crash...

'_...so tired...must...rest..._'

Charles felt the link suddenly vanish, as the alien mind, too weak to communicate, went unconscious. Charles' earlier sense of urgency was only _worsened_, now. He _had_ to contact his students...but he had no idea _how..._

_North Pole_

It didn't take long for the _Argo_ and the Fantasticar to reach the Fortress. After setting his ship down, Superman 'ported himself, the Avengers, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Toad, and Blob out of the Speeder, as the Fantastic Four disembarked from their vehicle.

As the others emerged from the _Argo_, Spider-Man looked around, and whistled. "_Nice_..." he murmured, "...I guess if you invest wisely, you can get something like this..."

Superman chuckled. "Actually, I inherited this place, I guess you could say."

Cap looked around. "My _God..._"

Reed chuckled. "That was _our_ reaction, too, Captain."

"I can think of nothing, save Asgard itself, that could compare." Thor said softly.

Wonder Woman was similarly awed. "By _Hera..._" she murmured. "What _is_ this place?"

"This, everyone, is the Fortress of Solitude." Superman answered. "It was my home before the Institute, and it's my training facility, workshop, and laboratory, as well as the last archive for the knowledge of Krypton and the myriad worlds it had ties with."

"_Whoa..._" Toad murmured, as he and Blob looked around.

Iron Man was silent for a moment. "_All this knowledge..._" he said softly, "_...Superman, with all this, you could end the world's problems in a __**day...**_"

"...but that would only create _more_ problems, Iron Man." Superman finished. "It was one of my people's highest laws: to _never_ directly interfere in the natural development of another race. To do so would be irresponsible and, ultimately, _destructive._"

At that, the others nodded in agreement. Then, Superman opened the door leading out of the vehicle bay, and led them further into the Fortress.

As Superman led them into the Fortress' Main Hall, he saw Cyclops and Jean – in a different uniform – hurry in, followed by Flash, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern. "Kal, we know where the Professor is..." Cyclops said, but he paused as he saw who he had brought. "Whoa, when you said you were getting backup, you weren't kidding..."

Superman chuckled. "Guys, these are the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and you already know Toad and Blob." he introduced. To the others, he added, "Everyone, these are some of my friends, Cyclops and Jean of the X-Men, Flash, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, and..."

"John Stewart!" Cap exclaimed, grinning. "What the _heck_ are you doing here, Marine?"

"Steve Rogers!" Green Lantern exclaimed, walking towards Cap and shaking his hand. "I should've _known_ you'd be involved in this, you old Boy Scout!" Turning back to Superman, he explained, "My platoon and I served on a few missions along with Rogers and his team before I joined the Lantern Corps." Laughing, he finished, "We actually had to bail these lunatics out, the last time we saw them!"

"_**You**__ bailed __**us**__ out? __**Excuse**__ me?_" Iron Man laughed.

"Where have you been? General Fury wanted to recruit you as a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative!" Wasp added.

"Got recruited by the Green Lantern Galactic Peacekeeping Corps after my tour of duty ended."

Cap nodded. "Good to hear."

Superman then turned to Cyclops and Jean. "What happened? You found where the Professor is?" Jean nodded, and proceeded to tell him what had happened.

When Jean was finished, Superman nodded. "Fortress," he instructed, "notify the remaining X-Men, Storm, Beast, Krypto, and Mystique to report to the nearest teleporter; 'port them directly to the War Room." With that command issued, Superman stepped onto the Main Hall's teleporter, followed by all the others. "Fortress: War Room." he instructed, and with that, they were all 'ported to the Fortress' War Room.

The War Room was fairly large – enough to accommodate everyone present – with a crystalline table in the center, with screens linked to the main computer on the surrounding walls. "We know where the Professor is." Superman said. "He's being held at a secret complex in Roswell, New Mexico. Wolverine is there, as well."

"_Roswell?!_" Shadowcat exclaimed.

"_Great._" Spyke muttered.

"What's wrong?" cap inquired.

"Roswell is supposed to be vere an alien spaceship crashed back in zhe 1940's, just vhen zhe var vas ending." Nightcrawler explained.

"You were on ice at the time, Cap." Giant Man added.

"Fortress: commence long-range scan of Roswell, New Mexico." Superman instructed. "Locate any and all underground or military installations."

In seconds, the Fortress brought up a holographic layout on the crystal table; a massive base, built inside the enormous stone mesa a few hundred miles from Roswell. "That's it." Jean said. "That's where they are."

Superman nodded, as he continued to pore over the scan of the base...and grimaced. "That's not _all_ that's there." he said, pointing to one section of the base, near the top of the mesa, where numerous red dots where flashing.

"That looks like an armory." Reed observed.

Superman nodded. "It likely is," he agreed, "because those are _Sentinel_ energy-signatures."

Power Girl gasped. "They have _more_ of those things?!" she exclaimed.

"How many?" Captain America asked.

"They're packed too close together to get an accurate reading," Superman replied, "but there should be at _least_ a hundred, likely more."

"Terrific." Ben grumbled.

Wonder Woman frowned. "The cowardly dogs use these mechanical _monstrosities_ to do their dirty work."

"Ma'am, you said a _mouthful._" Spider-Man agreed.

"These Sentinels don't appear to be active, yet." Superman observed.

"The ones we fought must have just been a test-batch!" Cyclops exclaimed.

"Then the ones in that base must be intended for a _larger_ campaign." Beast said grimly.

Superman nodded. "We're going to have to rescue the Professor _and_ take those Sentinels out." he said.

Reed took a closer look at the base layout. "This section looks like the base brig." he noted, pointing to one section on the ground-level floor. "That must be where they're keeping Charles and Logan." He looked about the base's exterior, pointing to several openings – vehicle bays – dotting it. "This bay looks closest to the brig; we might be able to slip in, here."

"It looks to have pretty heavy security." Sue added. "If we try rushing in there, we'll alert the entire base."

"Agreed." Superman said. "We'll have to cut the base's power."

"Easier said than done." Reed replied, gesturing to several lines leading to the central power core. "The only quick way into the core control room is this ventilation tunnel that feeds air in directly from the outside. From the look of this readout, the tunnel opens every hour, but it only stays open for five minutes. Not only that, the core is protected by a separate security network," he pointed to a chamber near the top level, "controlled from _here._"

"We'll have to send one team to disable it." Superman noted. "This team will have to be stealthy; if they're detected, the whole mission is scrubbed."

"I'll go." Sue volunteered.

"As will I." Black Widow added.

"Thank you." Superman said. "Nightcrawler?"

"_Jawohl!_"

"Gambit?"

"Course, _mon ami._"

"Spider-Man?"

"You got it, Big Blue!"

Superman nodded. "There's another friend I have in mind for this, but I still need to talk to him." he said. "Wonder Woman?"

Diana nodded. "I will assist."

"One thing: the guards patrolling that section are likely ordered to report in on regular intervals." Cap noted. "If they have to take any of them out, someone might catch on."

"Agreed." Superman said. "Mystique? Think you can handle that?"

Diana blinked. "Why? What can she do?" she inquired.

Smirking, Mystique closed her eyes...and morphed into a perfect replica of Wonder Woman. "What can _she_ do?" she echoed, in an exact copy of Diana's voice, before resuming her natural form.

Wonder Woman frowned.

"Even if we shut off that separate system, we'll still have to get into the core control room, shut down the core, and escape within five minutes." Reed said.

Thor nodded. "A hasty task for _any_ soul."

"_I_ could do it!" Flash exclaimed. "I can do it in five minutes _easy!_ Just tell me what buttons to push and what levers to yank, and I'll be in and out faster than you can say 'System Crash'!"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Reed said. "In order to kill the power without anyone getting wise, we would have to execute a scheduled core shut-down; power systems of this type have them regularly. To do _that_, the command for the shut-down has to be issued from two separate terminals _simultaneously._"

Flash grimaced. "Uh...okay..."

"Flash, can you get Reed into the core once the security's down?" Superman asked.

"Sure, no problem!"

Reed nodded. "Once we're in, all you have to do, Flash, is drop me at one terminal _here,_" he gestured to one spot around the core, "and then proceed to the second one _here._" He pointed to another spot. "Once there, we can use our radios to coordinate, and I'll instruct you on what commands to enter to initiate the shut-down."

"Once the power's down, Jean, Shadowcat, Rogue, Spyke, Beast, Toad, Blob and I should be able to get to the brig and break the Professor and Logan out." Cyclops said. "We'll just sneak in through that vehicle bay and then wait for the power to go out."

Superman nodded in agreement. "Aquaman? Think you can back them up?"

"No problem."

"Good." Superman said. "The rest of us will head to the armory once the power goes, and take out those Sentinels; the _Argo_ will be able to 'port us in there as soon as it's down. Once we're in, I'll program it to lay down covering fire once we're ready to leave."

Captain America nodded. "Sounds like we've got everything covered."

"Good." Superman said. His expression became determined. "Then let's go!" With that, the entire group headed out of the War Room, taking the teleporter to the vehicle bay...to head to Roswell...and free the Professor.

_Mediterranean Sea_

Upon the waters of the Mediterranean, far from any continent's coastline, was a fair-sized, mostly-unspoiled island, surrounded by electromagnetic radiation, blinding any snooping satellites to its location, and engulfed in a cloaking spell, concealing it from the naked eye.

Genosha.

The largest settlement on Genosha was near its most accessible bay. After word had gotten out, mutants, weary of hiding amongst humanity, had flocked here, eager to build new lives, free of persecution.

As he looked upon the slowly growing town, the construction fostered by his funding, Doom smiled beneath his mask. Lensherr had spoken true; here was a chance for a utopian society, uncontaminated by wasteful influences.

All that was needed was a leader.

Focusing his energy, Doom reached for the barrier of invisibility that he had cast about the island, and pulled it away; the air simply seemed to _shift_ around the island...and then, all was normal again.

Doom closed his eyes; he had not only removed his own spell, but also the electromagnetic shielding that Lensherr had raised. Genosha was no longer a secret.

The humans would send their Sentinels; among other things, Doom had long been a student of human nature. The humans were _sure_ to attack...

...and Kal-El was sure to defend them. His own selfless nature would bring him here.

Doom chuckled to himself, enjoying the irony. Kal-El had long denied his destiny...and now his own actions would force him to accept it. Then, Doom's eyes narrowed, as he looked to the horizon.

It was time.

_Roswell, New Mexico_

The sun was setting over Roswell, turning the sky a brilliant crimson mixed with violet, as shadows started to lengthen as the sun waned. With the impressive mesa in the background, it was a sight to behold...

...but not everyone could enjoy the scenery.

After the cloaked _Argo_ had dropped them near the mesa's side, out of sight, the team tasked with disabling the security system waited. Before they had departed the Fortress, Superman had contacted this 'other friend,' who was supposed to be joining them on this mission.

They had been waiting for about five or ten minutes.

Wonder Woman frowned. "I do not understand; why could this person not have joined us, already?"

"Beats me." Spider-Man said.

"I certainly hope zhis person can help." Nightcrawler added.

"Well, de big guy wouldn' steer us wrong." Gambit said.

Mystique frowned. "We're sitting _ducks_ out here; someone is bound to spot us!" she muttered. "Where _is_ this person?"

"_Here._"

That sandpaper-on-glass voice made _everyone_ jump, as a black shape loomed behind them, hidden in the shadows of twilight.

"Oh, uh...h-hey, Bats." Spider-Man said. "How you been?"

Batman remained silent.

"It's good to see you again, Batman." Sue said.

"Dr. Richards."

Turning to the others, Sue explained, "On a visit to Gotham City, several years ago, we worked on the same case as Batman." She lightly smiled. "Doom was involved...though the real culprit was that lunatic clown."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "_Joker._"

"I hear you; there's _definitely_ a few elephants missing from _his_ circus." Spider-Man agreed.

"Why couldn't you have met with us, earlier?" Wonder Woman asked.

"I had a city to protect." came the curt reply. He then took a few steps towards the mesa. "I've been briefed on the situation; we're to ascend to the vehicle bay near the security station, and disable it."

"Correct." Black Widow said. "It is imperative that we disable that system A.S.A.P."

"Agreed." Batman said. "Let's move." With that, Invisible Woman generated a force-field bubble around herself, Black Widow, and Gambit, starting to levitate them up the mesa. Nightcrawler started to ascend by 'porting to one ledge on the cliff, and then to another, while Mystique morphed into her avian namesake, flying up towards the vehicle bay. Spider-Man simply fired a web-line, swinging up the cliff, while Wonder Woman just took to the air, flying upwards under her own power.

Wonder Woman had flown up several meters...and then looked down to Batman. "Do you require assistance?"

Batman simply glared...before he took out a grapnel-launcher, aimed upwards, and fired; the Batarang at the end of the cable latched onto a crag in the cliff, holding tight, enabling Batman to retract the cable and pull himself straight up, reaching the same elevation as the others in seconds. Once the cable was fully retracted, Batman freed the grapnel, then aimed higher, and fired again, before pulling himself higher along the cliff.

Within minutes, the entire team had reached the large, metal doors of the bay. Invisible Woman levitated herself and her two teammates close to the side of the bay. "We need to get these doors open." she said.

Mystique perched on a cliff before returning to normal. "If we open them, any goons in there will see us."

Looking up, Batman spied a ventilation shaft on the right side of the bay. Taking aim, he flicked a throwing-star – a _shuriken_ – at it, popping it open, before taking out a modified Batarang from his utility belt, and throwing it; the Batarang arced away, before whirling back towards the opening, arcing inside. Batman promptly popped off his belt-buckle, expanding it into a computer...specifically into a controller for his remote-control Batarang. Batman guided the Batarang through the ventilation shaft, setting it down at the inside opening of the shaft...where its micro-video-camera could see everything. "The coast is clear." he reported.

Wonder Woman looked mildly impressed. "An ingenious device."

"Gambit sure wouldn' mind 'avin' one." Gambit added. "But dat still don' solve 'ow we gon' get dem doors open."

Spying a metal panel on the side of the bay doors, Sue said, "If I can pop open this panel, I should be able to hot-wire the doors." Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated, using her force-fields to pop open the panel, where she reached in, and started cris-crossing wires; in seconds, the bay doors slid open, allowing the entire group to slip inside.

As the infiltration team landed on the bay deck, the bay doors automatically closed behind them. "The control room should be beyond that door." Invisible Woman said, pointing to one door ahead of them. "We should be able to..."

"_Wait._" Batman said. "Someone's coming; my Batarang is picking up heat-signatures. Find cover, _now._"

Quickly, the team split up, ducking behind numerous crates...just as about a dozen soldiers walked in through another door. "I was _sure_ I heard the bay doors open." one said.

"Frank, you're _imagining_ things," another said, "but let's do a sweep, just to be sure." With that, the soldiers began to sweep the bay, looking for anything out-of-the-ordinary.

From behind a bunch of crates, Batman peered out at the soldiers, analyzing the situation. Next to him, Wonder Woman did the same. "We can handle them, easily."

"No." Batman said.

Wonder Woman frowned. "Hiding like cowards is _not_ the Amazon way."

Batman half-glared at her. "If even _one_ soldier gets to an alarm while we're handling the rest, this mission is _over_."

Wonder Woman frowned...and then nodded thoughtfully. "Your recommendation, then?"

Batman happened to glance up...and then switched on his communicator. "Black Widow."

"Yes?"

"It looks as though the lights are controlled by two separate circuits, with both fuse boxes on the ceiling." Batman said softly. "I can get the one on the left. Can you hit the other?"

From her hiding-spot next to Nightcrawler, Black Widow nodded, before drawing her revolver and affixing a silencer to it. "Easily."

Batman then switched his communicator to broadcast more broadly, so that the entire team could hear him. "When the lights go, pick your targets, and take them out _fast_." Switching off his communicator, Batman took out a bat-shaped shuriken, took aim, and threw.

The shuriken struck one fuse-box at the very same time as Black Widow's silenced bullet hit the other; instantly, the bay went dark, and the soldiers stumbled and tripped over crates, shouting and cursing.

The instant the lights went out, Batman darted from behind the crates, moving like a living shadow across the floor. In seconds, he had closed on one unsuspecting guard; he caught the soldier in a choke-hold from behind, and knocked him out with one surgically precise elbow to the neck. As a second turned to see what was happening, Batman rolled under his line of sight, before popping up right in front of him; to the soldier, it looked as if he had just risen up out of the shadows. The soldier started to open his mouth to scream, but Batman silenced him with a finger-stab just to the left of his throat; the soldier could only moan softly, before passing out.

Alerted by that moan, one soldier walked towards Batman's position slowly, still unaware of what was happening. Batman's eyes narrowed; he would have to do this fast...and then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of gold, as Wonder Woman's lasso looped around his throat, tugging tight enough to silence him. Wonder Woman then yanked him backwards, where she lifted him up over her head, and tossed him into another, knocking them both out, as the noise caused the remaining soldiers to turn away from Batman's location.

As the soldiers approached their fallen comrades, one suddenly smelled brimstone...before Nightcrawler's uppercut knocked him into the air, as Nightcrawler 'ported away, before anyone could see what had happened. As the soldier started to fall back, Invisible Woman grabbed him with her force-fields, and tossed him into another goon, knocking both of them out. A third ran over to investigate...where Black Widow had been waiting; she simply yanked the soldier right off his feet, and knocked him out with one punch.

By then, the remaining five were getting nervous; they took out their flashlights, shining them around the room, but finding nothing...completely oblivious to Spider-Man clinging to the ceiling above them. Suddenly, two soldiers screamed, as thick web-lines shot down, pulling them into the air. There were the sounds of a struggle, and then silence; the last three pointed their lights upwards...revealing the two soldiers hanging from the ceiling, snared in nets of webbing, out cold.

Suddenly, a tiny squeak sound from their feet, and the soldiers looked down, and spotted a tiny mouse at their feet...which instantly morphed into a huge grizzly bear. The bear roared, and sent two soldiers flying with swipes of its massive paws. The last soldier screamed in horror, and ran for the nearest alarm...but Gambit took aim, and threw his bo-staff at the soldier, striking his legs, causing him to trip, and land flat on his face, out cold.

By then, the emergency lighting had come on. With the soldiers dispatched, Spider-Man hopped down from the ceiling, as Mystique resumed her true form. Batman simply tapped his belt-buckle, reactivating his remote-controlled Batarang, triggering it to fly to his side, where he put it away. Invisible Woman promptly walked towards the door. "We'd better shut that system down, now, before anyone else tries to come in."

Batman nodded. "Gambit: barricade the other door."

Gambit nodded, walking to the other door, and taking several lock-picks out of his trenchcoat pockets. "Gambit usually be tryin' t' _open_ locks," he quipped, as he started tinkering with the door's lock through the keyhole, "but keepin' 'em _locked_ ain' much diff'rent." With that, he twisted one pick, and then smiled, pulling the picks out of the lock, and putting them away.

Just then, the doorknob started to shake, as someone on the other side tried to open it. Seconds later, one of the soldiers' radios started to crackle. '_Come in, Nash. We heard noises, and we can't get this door open. Report._"

Quickly, Mystique took a look at the soldier, and morphed into a duplicate of him, before taking the radio. "Nash, here." she said, using his voice. "False alarm. Just a minor power outage, here, but one of our guys got jumpy; must have broken the lock."

"_Damn new recruits...roger that, Nash. We'll send a technician up there. Just hang tight._"

"Roger. Nash out." Mystique replied, before switching off the radio, and resuming her natural form.

"We've got a problem!" Sue called from the corridor beyond the door. "The control room needs a password!"

Wonder Woman then spotted one of the soldiers coming to. "As it happens, we have a solution." she called, as she promptly walked over and lifted him up by the collar. "Tell me the code to enter the control room," she snapped, clenching her free hand into a fist, "or I will knock your head from your shoulders!"

"Go to _hell_, mutie bitch!!" the soldier snarled. Angered, Wonder Woman pulled her fist back, to make good on her threat...

"Princess." Batman said, interrupting her. "Allow _me._" With that, Batman grabbed the soldier by the collar, and Wonder Woman, mildly surprised, let go. Batman dragged the soldier across the floor, a fair distance away, before lifting him up to eye level, and fiercely whispering something inaudible...

"_OKAY!!! OKAY!!! I'LL TALK!!!_" the soldier cried. "_The code is 27345!!_"

"_And that won't set off any alarms?!_" Batman thundered. His eyes narrowed, making the soldier cringe. "_Because if your boss knows we're coming...__**I'll**__ know it was __**you!!**_"

"_It won't!! It won't!! I SWEAR!!_" the soldier cried. At that, Batman slammed his knee into the goon's stomach, doubling him over, before elbowing him in the back, knocking him out.

Nightcrawler gulped. "Vat did he _say??_"

"_Trust_ me, pal; we _don't_ want to know." Spider-Man murmured.

By then, Sue had entered the code. "We're in!" she exclaimed, hurrying through the open door, and sitting at the main terminal. After a few minutes of typing, she exclaimed, "The system is offline!"

Black Widow checked her watch. "The ventilation tunnel should be opening, about now; we're right on time."

Nodding, Batman switched on his radio, and gave the signal.

"Batman to Flash: the system is down, and the tunnel is opening. You and Reed have five minutes. _Get moving._"

Outside the outpost, at the base of the mesa, two guards were standing at the entrance to the massive ventilation shaft, which was currently closed, its shutters locked tight. As the sun's last rays disappeared behind the clouds, the two guards yawned. _Nothing_ ever happened on this shift...

Suddenly, a red blur zipped in front of them, darting past, moving too fast to be seen. The guards automatically took aim...only to find that their weapons were gone. Then, they heard a large _thump_ coming from the right, where the blur had come from, and turned...to see a massive, blue rubber ball bounce towards them, knocking them over like bowling pins, rendering them unconscious.

As Mr. Fantastic unrolled himself from his ball-attack, Flash zipped back over, after ditching the guards' weapons, and they both dragged the guards out of sight, before walking back to the tunnel entrance. "Okay." Flash said. "Now what?"

"Now, we wait." Reed answered. "We can't enter until the security system goes down."

Flash frowned. "Well, they'd better hurry up; this thing is supposed to open, soon..."

"_Batman to Flash: the system is down, and the tunnel is opening._" came Batman's voice over their radios. "_You and Reed have five minutes. Get moving._"

Flash grinned. "Ask, and ye shall receive!" he quipped, as the massive shutters started to turn. "It's go-time, Stretch!"

Reed nodded, and started to fold himself into the size of a backpack, looping his arms behind his back to form straps. "I'll navigate, you run."

"Cool by me!" Flash said, looping Reed's arms over one shoulder, hoisting him onto his back, before crouching, ready to take off. "You'd better hang on...'cause _here we go..!_"

And with that, as soon as the shutters had opened, Flash was off like a shot, darting down the large, cylindrical tunnel at breakneck speed. After a few seconds, the tunnel started to turn, and Flash could see the tunnel narrow towards a series of fairly large grates, which separated this section of the tunnel from the next few sections. "Okay, we have to pass through the middle grate on the bottom level." Reed said.

"Got it." Flash said, as he doubled his speed.

Reed gulped. "Uh...Flash? Don't you think we should _slow down?_"

Flash grinned. "'_Slow down_'?" he repeated. "Sorry, Doc, but I don't know the _meaning_ of those words!"

By then, they were meters away from the grate, and Flash dropped low into a slide-kick, smashing the grate open with his heel, before darting off again, through the narrower ventilation tunnel.

After a few seconds, Reed said, "Okay, this next grate will open into the core control chamber. After we're through, take a right, and head down the corridor a few feet. Drop me by the second computer terminal on the left, and then keep going, until you come to the seventh terminal on the right; those are the terminals we need. Once you're there, radio me, and we'll shut the core down."

"You got it, Doc!" Flash replied, as he dropped into a slide-kick, kicking open the large grate, and leaping out into the core control room. Flash then quickly stopped, and turned right, dashing off down the corridor. Within seconds, he spotted the computer terminal...as well as five soldiers on patrol, heading away from them. "Uh-oh. We've got company."

Mr. Fantastic chuckled. "Luckily, this is my stop!" he said, as he unfolded his arms, resuming his normal shape, and then rolling himself into a loop; Flash darted past the soldiers, causing them to draw their weapons...completely ignoring the approaching Mr. Fantastic, until he bowled over them, knocking them out. "Keep going!" Mr. Fantastic called, as he unrolled himself, and moved to the computer, as Flash darted further down the corridor.

As he ran, Flash counted down the computers on the right: five...six..._seven!_ Coming to the seventh terminal on the right, Flash hit the brakes, stopping directly in front of it. "Okay, Doc!" Flash called into his communicator. "Now what?"

"_Okay, Flash,_" Reed answered, "_listen and type as I tell you._" Flash nodded, and cracked his knuckles, ready to type like crazy, as Reed began to instruct him on the commands to be entered.

After about a minute, the commands were typed. "It's all down, Stretch. You ready?"

"_Ready, Flash; enter the commands...NOW!_"

At that, Flash hit the Enter key; the screen instantly began showing lines of encryption being processed. "_We did it!_" Reed exulted. "_It's going to take a few minutes before the commands go through, so we'll notify the others as soon as it's done..._"

"_Reed! Flash!_" came Sue's voice over the radio. "_The security system is rebooting, and we can't stop it without setting off any alarms! Get out of there!!_"

"Well, Doc, you heard the lady!" Flash exclaimed. "We have _officially_ worn out our welcome!" With that, he darted off, back the way he had come, to pick up his comrade.

As Flash ran, he soon spotted the spot where he'd dropped Reed, and could see him folding himself into a backpack, ready to evacuate...and then Flash spotted another patrol-group walking towards them. Flash's eyes narrowed, as he _doubled_ his speed, grabbing Reed's arm as he ran, and _plowing_ into the soldiers, sending them flying before any of them realized what was happening, before leaping up to the open grate, and dashing back out through the ventilation tunnel.

Within seconds, Flash was back into the main tunnel, racing towards the exit...and then he saw numerous laser tip-beams start to flare to life; the security system was coming back. Flash kept out of the way of the beams as he ran for the exit, but the beams kept shooting up, leaving only marginal space on the sides; Flash increased speed...and ran along the walls, taking advantage of the end-spaces, until he was clear of the beams.

By then, the shutters were rapidly closing. Flash's eyes narrowed, as he ran for the exit with all he had...but the shutters were getting too narrow...

As he came to the exit, Flash leapt to the side of the shutters, and then leapt through the narrow gap, emerging into the night air, as the shutters closed.

"_YAAHOOOO!!_" Flash crowed, as he started to slow down. "We did it, Doc! We..._WHOA!!_"

As Flash slowed, his foot hit a rock...sending both himself and Reed sprawling, tumbling over the ground, skidding to a stop a few feet away from each other.

Groaning, a slightly dusty Reed sat up. "This is Reed." he said into his communicator. "The power should be down, soon; you're all good to go."

Flash, dazed and bruised, remained on the ground. "I can't _believe_ I gave up the Viewer's Choice Kung-Fu Movie Mega-Marathon and flew ten thousand miles for this _crap_." he groaned. "I _swear_, Smallville, if you're listening – and you'd _better_ be – you owe me _big time_ for this..."

In the upper levels of the outpost, in the medium-sized storage chamber that led to the main armory, a blue-white light shone right through the walls...depositing the Sentinel-demolition team inside.

After doing a sensor-sweep of this area of the base, it had been easy for Superman to program the cloaked _Argo_ to 'port them all in, and then proceed to the ground-level vehicle bay, where the team rescuing the Professor were to escape from, to provide air-support. "The coast's clear." Superman said, as the main power went out, shutting down the base's main security system.

Cap nodded. "Let's go." he added. With that, the entire team headed towards the armory.

As they crept through the adjacent corridor, Storm inquired, "What would be the best way to disable the Sentinels?"

"The Sentinels' main processors are in their foreheads." Wasp said. "One good hit to the forehead should destroy the processor and render the Sentinel inoperable."

"Strike the head, and the body dies." Thor said, nodding. "A wise tactic."

"With any luck, we'll knock these toasters out of commission before anyone wises up." Green Lantern said.

Hawkgirl nodded. "The sooner we get rid of them, the better." she agreed.

"But it doesn't make _sense_." Scarlet Witch said. "Why would my father _help_ these people?"

"We'll find out, Wanda." Power Girl said. "As soon as we take out these things and get the Professor and Logan, we'll figure that out." At that, Krypto barked in agreement.

By then, they had reached the door that led into the armory. Opening it, they walked through...

...and _stopped_.

The armory was filled with _hundreds_ of Sentinels, each held up by metal scaffolding, with fuel lines feeding them.

Giant Man scowled. "_How_ many did you say there were, kid?"

"Well," Superman answered, "I never said _how_ many more than a hundred there could be."

"Terrific." Avalanche muttered.

The Thing whistled. "That's a _lot_ of clobbering."

Johnny chuckled. "Scared, Ben?"

"You _wish_, Matchstick."

Superman sighed. "It's never easy, is it, Cap?"

Cap sighed, and shook his head. "No, son, it never is..."

Within the ground level of the outpost, at the entrance to the brig sector, two guards kept watch by the large steel door leading in. As one guard yawned, he happened to look over at his compatriot...and noticed the glazed look he had in his eyes. Just then, the lights went out, replaced by the pale orange of the emergency lighting. "Larry..?" the other guard asked...and then he screamed as a gloved hand reached _through_ the door, grabbed him, and yanked him into the door, knocking him out, as the dazed guard took out his card-key, and unlocked the door, before falling back, out cold.

As the door glided open on emergency power, the rescue team walked through, as Jean's flame-red aura faded, and as Shadowcat pulled her hand out of the door. "Jean, can you sense the Professor?" Cyclops asked.

Jean put her hands to her head, her aura momentarily flaring. "He's a few cell-blocks down. Logan's in that area, too...and so is Sabretooth. The rest of them are empty."

"Great." Spyke muttered. "And we have to save _him_, too, don't we?"

"It's what the Professor would want us to do." Cyclops said.

Rogue groaned. "_Gawd_, sometahmes bein' the good guys _sucks_." she said. With that, they headed further into the brig, to rescue their mentor.

Before long, they had reached the cell blocks that housed the Professor, Logan, and Sabretooth. "Okay," Aquaman said, "how do we get them out?"

Shadowcat walked to the locking mechanism. "I could just short them out..." she suggested.

"They might have fail-safe systems, Kitty." Beast said, as he knelt to take a look at one lock, popping open a metal panel, and tinkering with the wiring. "Fortunately," he added, "I am familiar...with this type...of..._design!_"

And with that last word, Beast crossed one last wire, causing the door to slide open...revealing Professor Xavier, strapped to a chair, a device upon his head.

"_Professor!!_" Jean cried, rushing over and hugging him.

"We're so glad you're okay!!" Shadowcat exclaimed, following Jean's lead, as the others came in, making sure their beloved mentor was okay.

"Jean?" the Professor murmured. "Scott? What...how did you all find me?"

Rogue smiled. "Jean here gave herself a power-boost, courtesy of the Phoenix."

The Professor's eyes went wide. "Jean, you did _WHAT?_"

Cyclops grinned. "That was kinda _my_ reaction, too, Professor."

"It's okay, Professor." Jean said, smiling. "The Phoenix and I...we worked things out."

At that, the Professor lightly smiled, as his students freed him from his restraints. "I am _very_ glad to see all of you." he said. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're all fine, Charles." Beast said.

The Professor nodded, and then spied Aquaman. "Prince Arthur?" he asked.

Aquaman smiled. "Nice to see you, too, Professor Xavier." he said. "After what happened, today, I and a few others figured you guys needed some backup." He then gestured to the rest of the brig. "What say we bust Logan and Sabretooth out and then get out of here?"

"Yeah!" Blob agreed. "This place is starting to give me the _creeps!_"

"An excellent idea." Beast agreed, before he quickly moved to the other locks, shorting them out, and opening the cells, revealing Wolverine in one cell, and Sabretooth in the other, both chained to the walls.

"What the..?!" Wolverine yelled, and then he paused as Cyclops and Aquaman started to unlock his shackles. "What are you doin' here??"

Cyclops chuckled. "Nice to see you, too, Logan."

Wolverine frowned. "Just when I think you kids actually have some sense," he muttered, before his frown turned into a half-grin, "you go and pull a stupid stunt like _this!_"

Aquaman laughed. "Hey, it was _Superman's_ plan!"

"Figures."

Sabretooth scowled as Shadowcat phased him out of his shackles, with Jean keeping an eye on him. "Saved by a bunch of kids...hey, Short-Stuff! We speak of this to _no-one_, got it?!"

Wolverine snorted. "Creed, I don't even want to speak of this crappy day to _you_." he muttered. "Let's just get out of here, alright?"

"No." the Professor said, as Beast lifted him onto his shoulder. "We cannot leave. Not yet."

"Professor," Shadowcat said, "we _came_ here to _get you out..!_"

The Professor smiled. "And I am _very_ proud of you all for doing so," he said, "but there is _another_ prisoner here. I briefly communicated with him after I came to, here."

"Huh??" Toad exclaimed. "Ya mean there's _another_ poor schmuck stuck down here?"

Jean's eyes widened. "Professor," she said, "when I looked for you, I sensed someone else, too..."

Professor Xavier nodded. "Whoever this being is, he is as powerful a telepath as _I_ am, if not _more_. Before I lost contact, he stated that he was being held in Sector Zero."

"Sue and the others should be able to tell us where that is." Cyclops said.

The Professor blinked. "What..?"

"Long story." Aquaman said.

Sabretooth scowled. "Count me out!" he snapped. "Short-Stuff, if you and your chump friends want to get your asses shot off, that's fine by _me_, but don't expect me to tag along!"

Wolverine frowned. "Suit yerself, Creed." With that, they headed out of the brig, as Sabretooth went his own way.

In the security control room, Sue had been monitoring their friends; so far, everything was going according to plan...

...and then, she noticed the rescue team heading out of the brig...but in another direction, heading _away_ from the exit. "Cyclops," she spoke into her communicator, "what are you doing?"

"_The Professor says that someone else is in trouble, down here._" came Cyclops' reply. "_We need to get to Sector Zero._"

Quickly, Sue checked the base layout. "There should be an elevator to your left. Take it down three levels, and take two left turns. It'll be dead ahead...but that path is crawling with soldiers..."

"_We'll improvise._" Cyclops said. With that, the transmission ended.

Mystique's eyes widened in horror at those words. "_Rogue..._" she murmured, before she ran for the bay doors, activating the controls to open them, and morphed into a blackbird, flying out before they closed.

"_Mother!!_" Nightcrawler cried, running after her.

Instantly, Batman intercepted him. "You can't help her."

Nightcrawler tried to move past him. "But she's trying to get to my sister..!"

"You won't do her _or_ your sister any good by rushing blindly after her." Batman said. "What we have to do is head to the rendezvous point and back them _all_ up as they're escaping."

"He's right, Fuzzy." Spider-Man said. "She's tough; she'll be okay."

Slowly, Nightcrawler nodded. "_Ja._"

Batman turned towards Sue. "Dr. Richards, are the fire and radiation alarms part of the main security network?"

Sue blinked. "What?"

"Did they go down when the power went down?"

"Well...no." Sue answered. "They're on the same power-system as the core security system; power or not, you need to be warned if there's fire or radiation."

Wonder Woman got the idea. "If we trigger these alarms, we can force those soldiers to flee, enabling our friends to move unopposed!"

Batman stared at her, an eyebrow arched. Wonder Woman chuckled. "Just because Themyscira does not embrace modern science does not mean we are _ignorant_ of it."

Batman's expression went neutral...before he nodded thoughtfully. "I misjudged you."

Wonder Woman smiled. "I could say the same of you."

Quickly, Sue entered the commands into the computer, triggering the alarms on that level. Smiling, she spoke into her communicator. "Cyclops, we've triggered the fire and radiation alarms on the level you're heading to! You're all clear!"

"_Thanks, Sue! We'll be out before you know it!_"

"We need to get out of here, and fall back to the rendezvous point." Batman said. "They're going to need backup." With that, the entire team headed out through the bay doors, before anyone noticed they had been here.

After getting off the elevator, the trip to Sector Zero was virtually obstacle-free, Charles observed, as the entire group headed towards a sealed-glass door – marked "Sector Zero" – with Charles being carried by Beast. As they approached it, Jean simply narrowed her eyes...telekinetically deactivating the lock, and opening the door.

Her powers had grown, indeed.

As the door slid open, they all headed through...and stopped dead in their tracks.

The room beyond was very large, resembling a vehicle hangar, but with more electronics and instruments...and there, in the middle of the room, was a huge, saucer-shaped craft, silver in color, with a central sphere-shape.

"_Holy..._" Toad murmured. "This day just keeps gettin' weirder and weirder, yo."

"I _hear_ you." Blob added.

Charles closed his eyes, listening...and heard it. "He's here." Charles said. "The prisoner is _here!_"

Everyone looked up at the saucer at that revelation. "Oh mah _Gawd..._" Rogue murmured.

"Professor..." Shadowcat said, "...are you saying what I _think_ you're saying?"

"He's been trapped here for more than fifty years..." Charles said, as half-formed thoughts came to him from the prisoner's semi-conscious mind. "...he once fought to save his people, in a great battle in space...his ship was damaged, and he crashed here...and he's been calling to them, ever since."

"And he got you, instead." Cyclops said.

"How do we free him?" Aquaman asked.

Before Charles could reply, he felt a _very_ weak thought come through: '_...panel..._' Charles then saw the image of a hand-panel on the underside of the ship, in the center...

"_Jean!!_" Charles cried. "There should be a panel on the underside of the ship, in the center! He hasn't much time! _Hurry!!_"

Quickly, Jean levitated herself over to the saucer; looking at its underside, she spied a small panel near the middle – likely none of the scientists had ever dared to look this closely at it. At once, she touched her hand to the panel.

Instantly, the bottom half of the central sphere opened, as a complex mechanical apparatus extended down, stopping just above the ground, with a cryo-stasis chamber at the end, with a control panel, blaring out a warning, to the side...and a large, humanoid shape within, hidden by the ice of suspended animation.

As soon as the chamber had lowered itself, Charles saw a series of symbols flash through his mind...which corresponded to symbols on the panel. "_Hank, get me over there!!_" Charles cried, and Beast practically _leapt_ over to the chamber, followed by the others. Quickly, Charles entered the sequence of symbols into the panel, hoping they'd been in time...

Instantly, there was a hiss of escaping gas, as the chamber popped open, and its occupant – a _very_ tall, green-skinned humanoid, of muscular frame, with two eyes, shut tight, no nose, a thin mouth, a small fin extending back from his head, and hands and feet with four fingers and no toes – toppled out, utterly still.

_Deathly_ still.

The others looked down at the alien being. "_Damn..._" Wolverine muttered. "Poor bastard."

"Professor?" Shadowcat asked. "Is...is he..?"

Charles could only lower his head. They were too late...

Suddenly, the creature gasped for air, its red eyes opening wide, darting around fearfully...

"Easy, pal." Aquaman said. "Nobody's going to hurt you."

"You're among friends." Beast added.

The creature calmed, and then rose to his feet, rising to all _seven feet_ of his height, before looking up towards the ceiling..._no_, to the sky beyond. Charles could feel him _reaching_ out telepathically, waiting for something, a reply...

...and then, the creature let out a spine-chilling cry, dropping to his knees, howling at the top of his lungs...

"Oh, _man..._" Toad whimpered, "...now he's _steamed_...how many times has this happened in horror movies?!"

Spyke also looked spooked. "I'm with Todd on this; a roaring alien is _never_ good..."

"He isn't roaring, guys." Jean said softly. Her expression turned sympathetic. "He's _crying_..."

The creature let out another howl of anguish, as tears fell from his red eyes, his fist pounding the floor in despair. After a few seconds, the creature looked to Charles; instantly, Charles felt the being's mind connect to his, instantly bypassing any telepathic blocks Charles might have raised, had he been given time...but this visitor was not malicious – he merely wished to learn.

After a nanosecond of thought-exchange, the link ended. "You...saved me..?" the creature asked, causing Charles' eyes to widen. "Th...Thank you..."

"Huh??" Spyke asked. "He talks??"

"He...learned English from me." Charles murmured.

Shadowcat turned to the creature. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I am..." the creature replied, before putting a hand to his head, lightly dazed, "...my name is...J'onn. J'onn J'onzz."

Beast smiled. "We are pleased to meet you." he said. "My name is..."

"...Henry McCoy." J'onn said. He then turned to each of them. "Charles Xavier, Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Katherine Pryde, Evan Daniels, Arthur Curry, Frederick Dukes, Theodore Tolansky, James Logan, and..."

"_Hold_ it!!" Rogue shouted. "Who said ya could poke around in our heads?!"

J'onn looked apologetic. "I...I am truly sorry..." he said. "My mind is still disordered from stasis..."

Blob lightly chuckled. "'Theodore'??"

Toad scowled. "_Can_ it."

"But what's wrong?' Shadowcat asked.

J'onn's expression became sad, again. "They're...they're all gone..."

"Who?" Beast asked.

"My _people_." J'onn answered. "My people are – _were _– telepathic. I would have been able to sense them, even from this planet...but I feel _nothing_...there is nothing left alive on Mars..."

"_Mars??_" Spyke exclaimed. His eyes widened. "Guys...J'onn's a _Martian..._"

"Guess all those sayings were _right_," Wolverine muttered, "'cept there ain't _nothin'_ 'little' about _this_ green man from Mars."

Jean's expression saddened. "J'onn...we're so _sorry_..."

J'onn nodded sadly...and then lightly smiled. "My appearance alarms you."

"What? No!" Cyclops said, smiling nervously. "You're just...a bit of a surprise, that's all..."

"Do not worry; I am not offended." J'onn said. "It can be remedied." With that, his body started to shift: his head-fin retracted, as his head rounded out; his hands gained a fifth finger, resembling human hands; his face gained a small nose, resembling a human face; his feet became covered by blue boots, as he morphed clothing: tight blue shorts, red cross-belts, and a blue cape. "There. Am I more acceptable?"

"You can _shape-shift?_" Jean exclaimed.

"Among other things."

"This is all interesting," Aquaman said, "but couldn't we talk about it _after_ we get out of here?"

"Aquaman's right." Cyclops agreed. "We have to go, now."

J'onn's expression turned firm. "Not yet." he said, as he levitated himself up to his ship. "While I was in stasis, I sensed the hatred and bigotry of the humans that now occupy this facility; I will _not_ allow my people's technology to fall into their hands." With that, he reached up into the ship, and tapped a few keys, before descending, as the saucer sealed itself, again. "I have programmed my ship's power core to overload; no lives will be lost, but my ship will be destroyed."

"But...how will you get home?" Shadowcat asked.

J'onn's expression was grave. "Katherine...I _have_ no home to return to."

"Well, let's _go_, then!" Wolverine declared. "I've just about _had_ it with this place!" With that, the entire group fled the laboratory, as J'onn's ship started to overload...

In the base's command center, Graydon Creed frowned as he looked at some of the status screens. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"We're not sure, sir." one officer reported. "First, there was a malfunction in the core security system, and then there was an unscheduled core shut-down – for maintenance – and now there are fire and radiation warnings around Sector Zero! Not only that, but energy readings from the Roswell Object are increasing rapidly! Sir, I think it's going to _explode!_"

Graydon scowled, as unease started to fill him. "Did Trask set the Juggernaut free, yet?"

"Yes, sir; about an hour ago. Cain Marko is on the rampage."

"Good." Graydon said. "And what of the land mass that just appeared on our scanners?"

"It's an island, sir; right in the middle of the Mediterranean...and it's _filled_ with mutants, sir."

Graydon smiled cruelly; a _perfect_ target for a first-strike. "Deploy the Sentinels!" he ordered. '_We may not need Xavier, after all..._'

The officer suddenly gasped. "_Sir!!_" he cried. "More than half of our Sentinels are inoperable, and we're losing the rest!! Someone is destroying them!!"

Graydon's teeth clenched; he had a feeling he knew who was behind this. "Do we still have the Sentinel equipped with the meteor-weapon?!"

"Yes, sir! The SX-01 is still operable!"

"Send the SX-01 out towards that island, along with Sentinels S-1 to S-50!" Graydon ordered. "Have the rest keep those intruders _busy!_ And send out patrols through the base! There's _bound_ to be more!" He drew his revolver. "And send one team to the armory; I'll deal with this _myself!!_" With that, he stormed off, to _deal_ with this threat once and for all.

In the armory, Superman smiled to himself as he fired a precision eye-ray through another Sentinel's metal skull. They were making good time; soon, they'd have every Sentinel offline...

"Uh, Supes?" Ben called, from his perch on one Sentinel's head, ready to rip out its processor. Ben pointed to the machine's eyes...now glowing red...like the rest of the machines were doing, now. "We've got _trouble..!_"

The Sentinel swatted the Thing off of its face, sending him flying, but Ben did a mid-air flip, landing on his feet. "_Knew_ this was too easy!" he muttered. "Well, then..._it's __**clobberin'**__ time!!_" With that, the entire team sprung into action.

Superman and Power Girl instantly took to the sky, firing their eye-rays, incinerating dozens of Sentinels with one pass. As another Sentinel started to aim at them, Thing grabbed an arm from a fallen Sentinel, and lobbed it at the would-be attacker, sending it toppling. "Hey, Supes!" he called. "Up for a little bowling?"

Superman grinned. "Sure thing!" he replied, as he darted down to Ben, who rolled himself into a ball. Superman took hold of his belt, then floated up a few feet, pulled back, and rolled Ben across the floor like a bowling-ball, knocking dozens of Sentinels over like bowling pins.

The Human Torch, in his flame-form, laughed as he took to the air. "_That_ old trick, Ben?" he quipped. "_Here's_ how you wreck giant robots!" With that, he gathered energy, focusing, and then unleashed a massive plasma-wave, superheating every Sentinel in its wake, melting them down to nothing.

The Torch smirked, before turning...to see a Sentinel fire a missile at him...

...and breathed a sigh of relief as the missile impacted against a green energy field. "Pay _attention_, kid." Green Lantern muttered, as he fired green energy beams from his ring, slicing through the Sentinel's heads, destroying their processors.

The Torch scowled. "Oh, _sure_, if you wanted to do it the _easy_ way..."

As several Sentinels approached her, Storm flew into the air, summoning storm-clouds about her. She gestured, and the clouds unleashed a deadly blizzard, coating the Sentinels in ice, slowing them considerably. "Your mastery of the weather is impressive!" Thor exclaimed, as he raised his hammer over his head, and brought it down in front of him, unleashing a wave of lightning that seared through the frozen Sentinels, destroying them.

"I could say the same to _you!_" Storm replied, as she summoned gale-force winds, knocking another few Sentinels off-balance. Thor pressed the advantage by taking aim, and _throwing_ his hammer at the Sentinels; Mjolnir whirled through the air in a perfect arc, smashing the Sentinels' heads off, before returning to Thor's waiting hand.

Turning, Thor spotted several more of the massive machines taking aim at them. "Beware, Lady Ororo!" Thor called, as he pulled his hammer back to strike...

...and then the Sentinels were suddenly coated in blue-black energy, before spontaneously disassembling from Scarlet Witch's hex. Wanda then fired hex-bolts at several more of the machines, causing their systems to spontaneously blow out.

Thor smiled. "Pay me no heed, milady. I was mistaken."

As one Sentinel closed on him, a now Sentinel-sized Giant Man slammed it with a haymaker, sending it flying into several others. As he turned, another machine decked him with a punch, knocking him back, before it turned its machine-gun on him...

...and then, smoke started coming from its head, as a miniaturized Wasp flitted out from a small vent in its head, the Sentinel freezing up from her sabotage. A third tried to get a target-lock on her, but couldn't, due to her size.

As the Sentinel tried to take aim, a feral growl cut the air, as Krypto flew at the Sentinel, biting off its machine-gun arm, before zipping to its head, ripping it open and tearing out its processor. Wasp smiled. "_Good boy!_" she exclaimed. At that, Krypto barked, panting happily.

Igniting his boot-jets, Iron Man took to the air, firing his repulsor rays with pin-point accuracy, felling one Sentinel after another, until one managed to knock him to the ground with a punch. Iron Man quickly got up, his armor's systems quickly repairing, as the Sentinel loomed over him...

...and was speared through the head by a spike made of stone, as Avalanche summoned a mini-quake. Behind his helmet, Tony Stark winced. "_Well, __**that**__ had to hurt._" Grinning, Avalanche summoned a stronger quake, bouncing several Sentinels into the air...right into Hawkgirl's flight-path, where she slammed them with her mace, utterly destroying them.

Now it was Avalanche's turn to flinch. "_Not_ as much as _that_." he said.

As one Sentinel slammed its fist at him, Captain America darted aside, before running right up its arm, and then leaping at its head, slamming his shield into its head, destroying its processor. As the Sentinel toppled backwards, Cap took aim, and _threw_ his shield, before somersaulting off the Sentinel, to land feet-first on a four-directional metal crossroads over the armory; his shield smashed on Sentinel's processor, then bounced off the wall to hit _another_, and then ricocheting off the wall to smash a _third_, before returning to Cap's waiting hand.

Before Cap could continue his attack, he stopped, as he heard a clapping sound, as a thirty-year-old man, in a black business suit, flanked by a dozen soldiers, walked into view on one end of the walkway. "Captain America." the man said, mockingly saluting. "One of the most famous _freaks_ in history."

"Who are you?" Cap demanded.

"Graydon Creed." the man replied. "I'm honestly surprised to see you; I thought the flying freak would come alone...but then you freaks _always_ stick together, don't you?"

Cap's eyes narrowed. "So _you're_ running this operation."

Graydon chuckled. "After S.H.I.E.L.D. lost interest in Roswell, it was _easy_ for the Friends of Humanity to infiltrate it!" he sneered. "It's ironic, don't you think? A facility used to study alien technology will be used to purge humanity of the mutie _filth_ that infests it?" His eyes narrowed. "And that includes _you_, 'Captain'. You've _served_ your purpose; you should have _stayed_ frozen!!"

"I joined the Army to fight racist psychopaths just like _you_, Creed." Cap shot back. "Your kind of bigotry died out when Hitler committed suicide...or at least it _should_ have!!"

"Bold words, Captain." Graydon said, smirking. "We'll be sure to put them on your grave." With that, he simply gestured to the soldiers, who rushed towards Cap.

Holding his shield in front of him, Cap lunged at the soldiers like a bullet, knocking the entire group down with one hit. Turning, he spotted another group charging at him from behind; taking aim, Cap threw his shield at them, taking down half of them with the initial strike, and the other half with the ricochet.

As he recovered his shield, Cap saw about a dozen Sentinels closing on him from all directions. Looking around, Cap got an idea. "_Superman!!_" he shouted, before he threw his shield again, aiming high; the shield ricocheted off the wall, flying out into open air...

Instantly, Superman flew towards Cap's location, catching the shield, before taking aim, pulling his arm back, and letting it fly; the red-white-and-blue shield spun through the air like a _buzz-saw_, decapitating half of the Sentinels in one pass, before bouncing off one wall, then another, and then slicing apart the rest of the Sentinels, before flying back to Superman's hand. "_Cap!!_" Superman called, before tossing the shield back to its owner.

Cap caught the shield just in time, using it to block a barrage of bullets from a group of soldiers closing from his right, before barreling into them, knocking down half of them. One swung at him, but Cap blocked it, grabbed the soldier's arm, and then lifted him up and tossed him into the rest, knocking them out.

While Cap was distracted, another group of soldiers started to approach from the other direction, taking aim at him. Instantly, Power Girl flew over, landing on the crossroads, before inhaling and blasting the would-be-attackers off the walkway with a gust of gale-breath. Snarling, Graydon drew his revolver, took aim at Power Girl, and fired.

To Superman and Power Girl, the bullet seemed to be moving in slow-motion as it left the gun. Power Girl started to turn, trying to raise a barrier...

His eyes narrowing, Superman darted between Power Girl and the bullet at top speed, easily catching it in his hand. Graydon's eyes went wide as Superman tossed the bullet aside. "Graydon Creed, wasn't it?" Superman asked. "Well, Mr. Creed, I really have to hand it to you: for someone I've never met until now..."

His eyes narrowed. "...you have _really_ managed to _tick me off._" he finished. With that, he started to walk towards Graydon.

Graydon's face twisted in rage. "Die!!" he shouted, firing his weapon...but the bullets bounced off of Superman, who didn't even flinch. "Die!!!" Graydon shouted again, as he continued firing, with no effect. "Die!!! _Die!!! DIE!!! WHY WON'T YOU DIE, YOU FUCKING FREAK?!!!_"

Finally, Superman was standing right in front of Graydon, whose revolver was still aiming at him. Graydon snarled, pointed the weapon at Superman's eye, and fired.

The bullet seemed to be moving in slow-motion, until it connected with Superman's eye...

_Ping!_

The bullet fell to the ground, flattened to a fraction of its original size, as Superman blinked, without even so much as an irritation in his eye.

Graydon's face paled, and then he snarled, preparing to fire again...and then screamed as the gun suddenly started to glow red, matching the red glow in Superman's eyes. As the glow faded, Graydon pulled back his fist, and swung.

Superman caught his fist effortlessly, before his eyes narrowed, and he lightly squeezed, causing Graydon to scream in pain...and then in horror as Superman grabbed him by the collar, holding him over the edge of the walkway, ready to drop him. "Tell me, Creed," Superman said, "if our positions were reversed, what would _you_ do?"

Graydon snarled. "I would rid the _world_ of you, you God-damn _MUTIE!!!_"

Superman's eyes narrowed in righteous fury, as he _threw_ Graydon, who screamed in terror...

_Clunk!_

Graydon landed hard on the walkway, bruised but otherwise fine. "Then _that's_ what makes us different." Superman said. Snarling, Graydon started to pull out his other revolver, but Superman fired a pencil-thin eye-ray, knocking it away, before melting it with another. His eyes narrowed. "I hope you're listening, Creed, because I'm only saying this _once_." Superman said. "_Stay away from my friends._ I _never_ want to see you _or_ your neo-Nazis ever _again_. I _never_ want to hear the letters F, O, and H mentioned in the same breath _ever_ again...in fact, it would be _very_ much in your interest if you just stayed away from mutants _altogether_, because if I _ever_ catch wind of you again, Creed, I'll be dropping by again...and I _won't_ be as nice as I am today." With that, he turned, and walked away.

Snarling, Graydon sat up. "You think that's it, you filthy _mutie?!_ You think that's the end?!" he shouted. "The Friends of Humanity will _never_ stop until every last one of you is _DEAD!!_ Our Sentinels are on their way, right now, to wipe out their first batch of mutant scum!! And now that the Juggernaut is free, _everyone_ will know _just_ what your filthy kind is capable of!!!" With that, he got up, and ran off, back into the base.

Turning, Superman's eyes widened in horror as he saw several Sentinels igniting their foot-thrusters, flying off into the sky through an open hatch...with many more having already left...

"_Go!!_" Cap exclaimed. "Stop those things!!"

"We'll rendezvous with the others!" Power Girl added. "_Go_, Kal! Give those things _hell!!_"

Superman nodded. "Green Lantern, Hawkgirl; you're with me; everyone else, clear out and back the others up!" he exclaimed. With that, he, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl flew out through the hatch, after the Sentinels, while the others ran after the fleeing Graydon.

As the three of them flew after the Sentinels, Hawkgirl said, "At this rate, we'll never catch them!"

Superman got an idea. "Green Lantern, extend your force-field around Hawkgirl!" he instructed. Green Lantern promptly did so, coating Shayera in a green glow. With that, Superman took hold of Hawkgirl's arm, and then Green Lantern's. "_Now hang on!_" he exclaimed, as he accelerated to super-speed, flying after the Sentinels, as a sonic boom echoed behind them.

_North Pole_

After the others had left, the New Mutants had started exploring the Fortress, and had stopped their exploration at a large room, with numerous computer screens...

...one of which that showed the news: anti-mutant protests were starting all over the country, as people were starting to wonder what was going on.

"It's _official_." Ray muttered. "Our life is going to _suck_ from now on."

"Don't say that, Ray." Jubilee whispered.

"Why not? We're _all_ thinking it." Roberto added.

"Knock it off." Tabitha said. "The mood's already lousy enough without you guys making it worse."

Jamie looked scared. "W-What's gonna happen?"

"I don't know, kiddo." Bobby said. "But, hopefully, the others will find the Professor, and then..."

Suddenly, a high-pitched electronic, warbling sound – resembling a computer linking to the Internet – came from Mark's speaker. "Mark?" Amara asked.

"What's wrong?" Sam added.

Mark blinked. "_Someone...was attempting to contact me._" he said. Just then, the sound came again.

"I've not heard ye make _that_ sound before." Rahne said.

"_It is a real-time deep-space transmission._" Mark replied. "_But...that would mean..._" His eyes widened. "_No..._"

"What?" Bobby asked.

Mark's expression became haunted, as his next words chilled them to the bone.

"_It's coming..._"

_International airspace_

It took Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl a few minutes at super-speed to catch up with the Sentinels – there was about fifty of them, Superman noted. Wherever they were headed, just a _handful_ could kill hundreds...

...unless they were stopped.

Superman slowed to match their speed, releasing Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, who flew beside him. "Pick your targets!" Superman instructed. "Make sure _none_ of them land!" With that, he took aim, and fired his eye-rays, incinerating five Sentinels, sending them falling towards the ocean.

Green Lantern then fired an energy-beam from his ring, lancing through another handful of Sentinels, rendering them useless as they dropped like metal flies. With her fearsome war-cry, Hawkgirl smashed the skull of one Sentinel, before flying high and diving onto another, sending it falling.

By then, the Sentinels were starting to get wise; several broke formation, and opened fire with their missiles, but Superman blew them away with a burst of his gale-breath, as Green Lantern repelled the following salvo with a barrier. Superman then unleashed his frost-breath, blinding the machines in ice, before firing a sweeping eye-ray, incinerating them, as the three of them kept at the Sentinels, felling more and more of them.

Back at the Roswell outpost, an enraged Graydon Creed stormed into the main command center. "What's our status?!"

One officer looked stricken. "We've lost over half of our attacking force, sir! Those three are knocking the Sentinels right out of the _sky!!_"

Graydon scowled. "Deploy the SX-01!" he ordered. "Have another five Sentinels cover it! _Fire the meteor weapon!!_"

By the time Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl had taken out half of the Sentinels, they were approaching the Mediterranean Sea, and dawn was fast approaching, as they had crossed several time-zones. Suddenly, Superman saw six Sentinels break formation, and head towards them. Five of the machines came right at them, and quickly fell to eye-rays, ring-beams, and Thanagarian mace-blows...but the sixth kept back, and took aim...as a strange gun extended from its arm...

...and fired a beam of toxic-green energy.

Superman's eyes widened in recognition, as he tried to evade...but the Kryptonite beam hit him dead-on; his energy instantly evaporated, as every single cell in his body felt like it was on _fire_...

Superman simply fell out of the sky, falling towards the Mediterranean. Seeing him, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl broke off their attack, diving after him...

As he saw the flying freak take the hit, Graydon smiled, as the command center erupted in cheers. "_Direct hit!!_" one officer exclaimed. "They're backing off!!"

Graydon smirked. '_Not so powerful __**now**__, are you..?_'

"Hold on." another officer reported. "It doesn't look like he's down, yet."

"If they come back, fire the weapon at _full_ power." Graydon ordered. They had the freak's weakness, and if he was stupid enough to keep coming...

...there would be one less freak in the world.

Superman kept falling towards the water, until Green Lantern caught him with an energy field. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were instantly at his side. "What was _that??_" Hawkgirl exclaimed.

Superman groaned. "Kryptonite." he muttered. "A refined crystal; it's a lot stronger than what I've encountered before." _That_ blast had made him feel as though he'd been exposed for hours...

Green Lantern looked concerned. "You okay?"

"I _will_ be." Superman answered. "I just need a little altitude..."

Hawkgirl smiled. "Allow _us!_" she said. With that, she lifted him up under his arms, and flew up higher, as Green Lantern covered them.

The morning sun was almost through the clouds...and then, it broke through, bathing Superman in light.

Instantly, Superman's energy returned – though he would be feeling the aftereffects of the blast later – and he started flying under his own power. "Thanks!" he said. "Fortunately, I came prepared!" With that, he activated his nano-suit, which covered him in seconds, before he flew at the Kryptonite-wielding Sentinel...

At the outpost, Graydon smirked as he saw the freak coming back; the SX-01 fired again...

...but nothing happened.

Graydon's smirk evaporated, as he saw the SX-01 fire the meteor-weapon again, and again, but the freak didn't go down. "What the _HELL_ is going on?!"

"I don't know, sir!" an officer cried. "T-The meteor-weapon is ineffective!! He must have some kind of countermeasure!!"

Graydon snarled...and then noticed that they had almost reached the target. "Order all Sentinels to drop altitude, maximum speed! We'll take out as many mutants as we can!"

"Sir!!" another officer cried. "The Roswell Object's power core is nearing critical mass! It's going to explode any minute, now!!"

Graydon suppressed a roar of anger; if that ship blew, Fury would be alerted. "Evacuate the base!" he shouted. At once, every officer in the command center packed up and fled, as fast as they could. Graydon looked at the screens, before fleeing, himself.

How the _HELL_ had this happened?!

In seconds, Superman had closed on the Sentinel, his nano-suit easily repelling the Kryptonite blasts. He grabbed the weapon on the machine's arm, and ripped it off, before destroying the Sentinel with an eye-ray. Superman then tore open the weapon, revealing the purified Kryptonite within, before he took the crystal, and _threw_ it into the air, tossing it out of orbit, to join its unrefined brother-crystal on its way to the sun.

By then, the remaining Sentinels were starting to descend...towards an island.

Superman's eyes widened as he recognized it: _Genosha_. _That_ was their target...and there were several hundred innocent mutants, there...

Superman's eyes narrowed behind his suit's visor as he dove after the murderous machines, followed by Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. Superman blasted Sentinels with eye-rays, while Green Lantern sliced through them with ring-beams, and Hawkgirl dove at them, smashing one after another with her mace...until only three remained...

As those last three started to touch down on Genosha, the inhabitants of that small settlement fled in utter terror. One started to take aim...but Hawkgirl, shrieking like her namesake, dove at it; the Sentinel tried to fire at her, but Hawkgirl was too fast. She landed next to its foot, before darting up and smashing its knee with her mace, before slamming its arm-joint, knocking it off, and then finishing by knocking its head _clean_ off.

The second Sentinel started to form its machine-guns, but Green Lantern fired his ring-beams, slicing its arms off, before catching it in a field-bubble, and tossing it out to sea.

Taking aim at a group of fleeing mutants, the last Sentinel started to power up its plasma-cannon, but Superman flew ahead of it, intercepting the shot, shielding them with himself, as he absorbed the force of the blast, before firing his eye-rays, utterly destroying its plasma-cannon. As the Sentinel started to overload, Superman darted over, lifted it up, and threw it far out to sea, where it exploded harmlessly.

With the Sentinels dispatched, Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl touched down. Superman promptly deactivated his nano-suit. "Well, that takes care of things."

"It most certainly _does_..."

Superman and his comrades quickly turned, to see both Magneto and Doom, standing there. "Well done, Kal-El." Magneto said. "Well done."

Green Lantern arched an eyebrow. "Friends of yours?"

"_Hardly._" Superman said. To Magneto, he asked, "_Why_, Lensherr? I _know_ you helped the F.O.H. Why did you _do_ it?"

Magneto chuckled. "The time has come for all the world to know of mutants."

"So you give weapons to the very people who _hate_ mutants?" Hawkgirl said.

"_My dear lady,_" Doom said, "_one of the key rules of warfare is to know your opponent's actions before __**they**__ do; we knew that they would send Sentinels here, once we dropped the barrier that hid the island._"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "_WHY?!_" he demanded.

Magneto smiled. "Because we knew that _you_ would _follow_ them."

By then, the citizens of Genosha had started to crowd near them, murmuring. "He...he _exists_..."

"He's real...and he _saved_ us..."

The whispers started to grow, becoming jubilant. "Magneto was _right!_"

"He's come to _save_ us!!"

The whispers turned into a cheer. "_Superman!_"

"_Superman!!_"

"_SUPERMAN!!!_"

Superman was silent, as he now started to understand Magneto and Doom's scheme.

Magneto laughed. "Do you _see_, now, Kal-El?" he said. "These people – _our_ people – are your _destiny!_"

Green Lantern glared at Magneto. "You son of a bitch."

Superman could only look at the cheering crowd; he had to stop this. "Please..."

The instant he spoke, the entire crowd went silent. "I'm sorry," Superman said, "but whatever Magneto told you was _wrong_."

Magneto's face went pale. "Kal-El, what are you _doing?_"

"No!" someone in the crowd cried.

"Please, lead us, Superman!"

"We'll do whatever you say!"

"That's exactly why I _can't_ lead you." Superman said. "I'm not here to impose my will on anyone else."

"But we _need_ you!"

"You're supposed to show us the way!!"

"_Listen_ to them!" Magneto urged.

"You're right about that." Superman said. He gestured to Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. "We can only _show_ you the right path." He then gestured to the crowd. "But it's up to all of _you_ to _follow_ it." At that, the crowd calmed, considering his words. As Superman turned to go, none of the crowd moved to stop him.

"_Kal-El, do you realize what you are doing?_" Doom said.

"I _told_ you, Victor." Superman said coldly. "A man makes his _own_ destiny."

"Wise words." Hawkgirl agreed.

"You _cannot_ walk away from this!!" Magneto cried. "You _cannot!!_"

"I think he just _did_." Green Lantern said.

Superman turned to glare at the two madmen. "_Never_ bother my friends and I ever _again._" he snapped. With that, he and his comrades turned to go...

Suddenly, Superman's belt-communicator started to beep, and Superman took it out, and unfolded it. "Superman, here."

"_Superman, it's Android. I have grave news._"

Superman's expression turned grave. "Go ahead."

"_Shortly ago, an unknown signal attempted to contact me._" Android replied. "_The signal originated from deep space._"

"What?" Superman exclaimed. "How can that..?" but he stopped, as his belt-computer started to beep, the Fortress' sensors picking up something.

"_Superman..._" Mark said, "_...the Mark VI...it is coming._"

Slowly, Superman looked up towards the sky...as his hearing picked up another sound.

The sound of re-entry.

"No, Android." Superman corrected. "The Mark VI is _here..._"

_Author's Note: Just in case anyone was wondering, Xavier's friendship with Thomas and Martha Wayne, as well as Sue's mention of the Fantastic Four visiting Gotham City are allusions to my upcoming story "Crusade." Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Coming Soon:_

_Irene Adler's prophecy foretold of them…the seven who would aid the Child of the Star…_

_One who dwells in the dark, striking fear into those who harm the innocent…_

_One born of warriors, blessed by the gods of old…_

_One who is the survivor of a dead world…_

_One who calls the ocean deeps his home…_

_One who bears a brilliant green light…_

_One who moves swifter than lightning…_

_And one who flies upon bird's wings._

_As the X-Men escape their pursuers, and strive to put things right, the Man of Steel and the seven join forces for the first time…_

_Watch their quest for justice begin, in the conclusion to the Zero Hour trilogy, "A League of Their Own," coming to your computer soon…_


	30. Zero Hour, Part Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: ZERO HOUR, PART THREE: A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

_Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Headquarters, New York_

As the S.H.I.E.L.D. gunship touched down on the airfield at the Triskelion, Nick Fury stormed out, heading inside, ignoring the guards as they automatically saluted him. He wasn't in the mood.

Someone had just let Cain Marko out of his cell, and the Juggernaut had promptly started his rampage, heading across the country, leaving only destruction in his wake. The trace program he had ordered installed had led him _right_ back to who had given the order.

Fury was ashamed for not suspecting, earlier.

As Fury stormed into the third level of the Triskelion, he signalled for two Military Police to follow him; the M.P.s promptly complied, following him into Dr. Trask's office.

Trask was in his office as Fury walked in, quickly looking up from his computer, rising to greet him. "G-General Fury, sir!" Trask stammered. "I...t-to what do I owe this honor..?"

Fury didn't let him finish; gritting his teeth, he pulled back and _punched_ the smug little bastard square across the jaw, knocking him over his desk. "_Here's_ our leak, boys!!" Fury thundered. "_PLUG HIM UP!!!_"

Instantly, the M.P.s seized Trask. "Dr. Bolivar Trask, you are under arrest for high treason..."

"_Treason?!_" Trask shouted. "_You're_ the traitor, Fury!! You're actually going to _allow_ these freaks to survive?! They'll replace _us_ in several generations if someone doesn't _do_ something!!"

Snarling, Fury walked over, grabbed Trask by the collar, and pulled him in, glaring him right in the eyes. "Listen, you smarmy little bastard, I've been serving this country since before you were even an _itch_ in your daddy's _pants_, and I will _not_ allow _anyone_ – and I mean _anyone_ – to commit genocide in the name of my country; _not_ on _my_ watch!!"

Fury then gestured to Trask's computer, and one M.P. moved to it, while the other kept an eye on Trask. After a few minutes of poring over files, the M.P. nodded grimly. "You were right, sir. Trask's been feeding data regarding the Sentinel Project to an unauthorized source; not only that, but he's been diverting S.H.I.E.L.D. funds to this same source."

Fury snarled; the little bastard had been using _their_ funding to supply those F.O.H. Nazis. "Can you trace the source?"

"Negative, sir; they're too well-encrypted." the M.P. said. "But I _can_ reverse the transactions."

"Do it." Fury ordered. At once, the M.P. went to work; in seconds, every financial transaction Trask had done on their behalf had been reversed. The F.O.H. was officially bankrupt, or damn near close to it. Fury then turned back to Trask. "All right, Trask, you have a choice; you can tell us _everything_ you know, and, if you're _very, very_ lucky, you'll get a life sentence...or I can march you in front of a firing squad right now, and have you _shot_..."

"_General, we have a situation!!_"

Fury scowled as a lieutenant rushed up to him, promptly saluting. "Dammit, son, this better be _good..!_" he warned.

"Sir, our satellites are tracking an unidentified object heading towards Earth!" the lieutenant cried. "It appears to be identical in size, configuration and velocity to the object which impacted the moon, several months ago!"

_That_ got Nick's attention. "Where's it headed?"

"It's heading towards a small island that jus appeared on our sensors, sir." the lieutenant answered. "We noticed a large group of Sentinels heading there, a few minutes ago."

Fury turned to Trask. "_Well_, Trask?!" he snarled. "If you want to have a _chance_ of living to see a trial, you'd better start talking!!"

Trask scowled. "That island is _infested_ with mutants; we had decided it was the perfect place for a first-strike...until that flying freak and his cohorts destroyed them!"

Fury frowned. That thing – sent by that "Brainiac" robot – was after the kid. "Activate our weapons satellites!" Fury ordered. "Blast that thing out of the sky!!"

"It's too late, sir!" another aide cried. "It's moving too fast! It's already re-entering the atmosphere!"

"Scramble our fighters! Get them to head to that island!" Fury ordered. "I want that thing taken out!" As the operatives in the Triskelion scrambled to obey his orders, and as the M.P.s led Trask away, Nick couldn't help but feel uneasy...

_Genosha_

Superman's eyes went wide as he saw the Trans-Warp pod at the very edges of Earth's atmosphere, starting re-entry. Mark had once told him and the X-Men about the Mark VI; where Brainiac had deemed Mark a 'failure'...he had deemed the Mark VI a 'success.'

And now that bloodthirsty mech was _here_.

"Superman?" Hawkgirl asked.

"What's wrong?" Green Lantern added.

Quickly, Superman switched off his belt-computer, before turning to his comrades. "We've got trouble." he said. "The Mark VI is here."

"The _what??_" Green Lantern asked.

Doom and Magneto had overheard that statement. "_What is this...'Mark VI'?_"

"The Brainiac Emulator Unit, Mark VI." Superman replied. "Brainiac was once an AI in the service of Krypton, until he betrayed Krypton to its demise, uploading himself away from the planet. Somehow, he learned that I survived Krypton's destruction, and is gunning for me; the Mark VI is his latest creation, designed to finish what he started."

Hawkgirl looked horrified. "_Why?_"

"I don't know." Superman answered. "For all I know, it could be just because Brainiac has a faulty program in his source code; what matters is that we have to neutralize the Mark VI before it lands and starts doing what Brainiac programmed it to do – who _knows_ what it could do to Earth in order to get to me?" With that, Superman took to the sky, followed by Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, flying towards the re-entering warp-pod.

Within seconds, they were closing on the pod, glowing red from air-friction. Superman's eyes narrowed, glowing red, as he fired his eye-rays...which impacted on the pod's shields; they were only relatively low-powered – the pod didn't have much room for much else. Superman increased the power of his eye-rays, and fired again, joined by Green-Lantern as he fired his ring-beam. The combined attacks shattered the pod's shields, exposing its hull, as Hawkgirl flew at it, and smashed its engines with her mace. The pod spun helplessly out of control, into an uncontrolled re-entry...

...and then, the pod exploded outwards, revealing a tall, lean, spindly silver nano-assembled mechanoid, with clawed hands, and sinister red eyes, with no facial features at all.

The Mark VI. It had bailed out.

Quickly, Superman dove after the falling Mark VI, firing his eye-rays; the Mark VI let out a metallic screech as the heat-beam seared off its arm...before it quickly generated a new one. Green Lantern fired an energy-beam, but the monstrous mechanoid separated itself into numerous silver globs, evading the attack, before pulling itself together.

By then, the Mark VI was getting close to the ocean; if it didn't pull up, it would smash into the water. Hawkgirl dove at it, trying to smash it with her mace, but the Mark VI morphed itself into a dagger-shape, decreasing its air-resistance and plummeting towards the water even faster. Superman could hear it let out a metallic chuckle...before it hit the water, sinking far below the surface, out of sight.

It was gone.

With the task seemingly done, Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl touched down at the shoreline. "Well, that takes care of that." Hawkgirl said.

"I don't understand it." Superman thought aloud. "The Mark VI was designed to destroy me...but it didn't even _try_...no _way_ it's that simple. Brainiac was psychotic, but he wasn't stupid."

"Well, what _could_ it have done?" Green Lantern asked. "It didn't look tough enough to take any of us on."

"Not on its own." Superman agreed. "The Mark VI was designed to land on Earth – preferably without anyone detecting it – and then assimilate Earth...technology..."

And then it hit him.

The Mark VI had been _aiming_ for the water...where fifty Sentinels lay...

"_It was going for the __**Sentinels!!**_" Superman exclaimed.

Hawkgirl and Green Lantern both froze. "But...with that many Sentinels..!" Hawkgirl cried.

"We have to evacuate the settlement!" Superman exclaimed. With that, the three of them flew to the settlement, where the crowd still lingered. "All of you, get to safety! Get as far from here as you possibly can!" Superman instructed. "You aren't safe, here!"

"What's going on?!" Magneto demanded. "I saw that..._thing_ fall..."

"It was _aiming_ for the ocean, Magneto." Green Lantern said. "It's going to assimilate the Sentinels we smashed up."

"_Hurry!_" Superman urged the crowd. "You _have_ to get out of here!!"

Just then, the water where the Mark VI had fallen began to bubble...as a titanic mechanical humanoid, over 200 feet tall, composed of countless Sentinel components, connected by silvery metal, rose out of the sea. Slowly, the mechanoid rose up, as it continued to form, its arms and legs taking shape, as a pattern began to appear on its forehead.

The pattern of a three-circle sigil, connected to form a triangular pattern.

"_MARK VI BATTLE-PROGRAM ONLINE._" the monstrosity boomed. "_COMMENCING BIO-SCAN._" The Mark VI's eyes scanned the horizon...stopping as they fell on Superman. "_LIFE-FORM KAL-EL LOCATED. TERMINATE WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE._"

At the sight of that monstrosity, the crowd ran away, screaming in terror. Angered, Magneto raised his hand towards the transformed Mark VI; almost instantly, the metal armor of the monstrosity began to shake...

"_ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE DETECTED; ACTIVATING SHIELD._" At that booming declaration, a semi-transparent energy dome raised around the Mark VI, as the shaking of its armor stopped.

Magneto kept trying to use his powers, but to no avail. "I...I can't _reach_ it through that barrier!" he muttered.

"_A defensive force-field._" Doom mused. "_But to create such a field would require considerable power..._"

"The Mark VI's original form utilized a self-perpetuating power-generator." Superman said. "It enabled the Mark VI to run indefinitely, although it couldn't fully engage its battle-systems without burning out." That was why Android could only engage battle-mode for a short time. "But after integrating with the Sentinels and absorbing _their_ power-cores, the Mark VI's generator gained a lot more power to work with. It can run all day, if it needs to."

As if to emphasize the point, the Mark VI aimed its hand at them, one of its fingertips opening into a cannon, firing a powerful laser-beam at them; Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl darted aside, while Doom raised a spell-barrier...which nearly buckled under the Mark VI's shot. "_It would appear that we have overstayed our welcome._" Doom said. "_We must withdraw, Lensherr._"

Magneto glared at Doom. "I will _not_ abandon my people..!"

"_This is not a debate, Lensherr. If Kal-El and his compatriots fail, we must develop a strategy to counter this 'Mark VI.'_" Doom said. With that, before Magneto could protest, Doom engulfed them both in green haze, 'porting them both away.

"And _we're_ stuck holding the bag." Green Lantern muttered.

Superman smiled wryly. "I guess it comes with the job." he quipped. His eyes narrowed. "Now, let's take this thing _down!_" With that, the three of them took to the air.

As they circled the Mark VI, Superman opened fire with his eye-rays...which impacted against the Mark VI's shield. Green Lantern fired his ring-beam; likewise, no effect – the self-perpetuation of the mechanoid's power-core, plus the influx of power from the Sentinels, ensured that any energy depleted was quickly replenished.

The Mark VI swiped at them with its massive fist, but they easily evaded the attack; the Mark VI's size made it too clumsy to be accurate at this range. Taking advantage of the failed attack, Superman unleashed a burst of his frost-breath; as he'd expected, a good portion of the ice-blast filtered through the shielding, coating its hull in ice...until the mech re-routed power, heating up its hull, melting the ice. The Mark VI then started to take aim with its finger-lasers, but Green Lantern quickly raised a barrier, repelling the blast. "I don't know if I can keep this up..!" he exclaimed.

Before Superman could respond, the sound of jet-engines cut the air, as a squadron of jet-fighters, bearing the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia, flew towards the Mark VI. The jets opened fire with their missiles, before breaking away to open space...but the missiles impacted against the Mark VI's shield harmlessly. The Mark VI then turned to the fleeing jets...and then Superman heard a high-frequency transmission fill the airwaves, coming from the Mark VI.

Instantly, the jets lost all power, as they started to dip towards the ocean, their engines dead, as the pilots pounded on the canopies of the fighter-craft...

"The Mark VI has hacked their systems; they've lost all power!" Superman exclaimed. "We have to get them out of there!" Quickly, he flew towards the dying fighters, followed by Green Lantern and Hawkgirl; taking careful aim, Superman fired his eye-rays, blasting off the canopies of all the fighters, before darting in and lifting two pilots out of their aircraft. To his right, Hawkgirl did the same, while Green Lantern scooped up the rest of them in a force-field bubble. The three of them flew away from the doomed fighters, depositing the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilots on the shoreline, as their aircraft crashed into the blue. "Stay here." Superman instructed. "Leave this to us." With that, Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl took to the air once more.

While the three of them had been busy, the Mark VI had turned in the direction the fighters had come from...as Superman heard the transmission go out, again, for a _longer_ period of time; his eyes widened in realization. "The Mark VI is trying to hack every single computer system on the planet!" he exclaimed. "It's trying to cripple communications all over Earth!"

"How do we stop it?" Hawkgirl asked.

Superman listened carefully. "It...it sounds like the Mark VI is having trouble; it needs more power to broadcast all over the planet." he said. "But if it gets more..."

"Total blackout." Green Lantern said. "_No_ country will be able to mount a counterattack."

"It's _worse_ than that." Superman said. "The Mark VI is placing priority on cracking _military_ firewalls; weapons satellites, missile guidance programs..._nuclear launch codes_..."

Green Lantern's eyes widened. "My _God_...if it gets hold of _those_..."

Suddenly, the Mark VI started to power up its boot-jets; slowly, it started to hover into the air, before taking off, heading west at a steady clip.

"It's going for more power." Superman said. "It's already started to hack S.H.I.E.L.D., so it decided to start with North America." His eyes narrowed. "We _have_ to stop it!" With that, he flew at the fleeing Mark VI, followed by Green Lantern and Hawkgirl; Superman fired his eye-rays as Green Lantern fired his ring-beams, while Hawkgirl tried to smash through the Mark VI's shield with her mace...but it was no use.

The three of them weren't enough...

Quickly, Superman flipped open his belt-computer, activating its communicator function; hopefully, some of the others could help...

_Roswell, New Mexico, a few minutes earlier_

Alarms blared through the Roswell outpost, as F.O.H. personnel rushed through the corridors, grabbing whatever they could and then fleeing towards the nearest evacuation point. As he rushed through the corridors, flanked by a group of soldiers, Graydon Creed snarled to himself. He still couldn't believe it; _how_ could things have gotten so out-of-hand?!

As he passed by a laboratory, Graydon stopped; this lab handled some of the data they had gleamed from the Roswell Object..."Retrieve whatever data you can from here!" he ordered. "We still have time!" At once, the dozen soldiers darted inside, and began downloading from the computer terminals inside, as Graydon kept back...

...and then, on one computer screen, Graydon spied a flash of blue from a security camera. He checked again...

It was _her_. There was no mistaking it.

Snarling, Graydon checked the map of the facility, trying to discern where she was going...and then, he spotted the group of freaks heading away from Sector Zero...with a green-skinned creature...

'_So, __**that's**__ what was in the Roswell Object..._' Graydon thought. To the soldiers, as they finished the download, he ordered, "Head to the west access to Sector Zero, and call in reinforcements; I _don't_ want those freaks to escape!" The soldiers promptly nodded, as they followed him towards Sector Zero.

Perhaps the day wasn't _completely_ lost.

As they fled from Sector Zero with the Professor, Wolverine, and their new Martian friend, Cyclops and his team ran past countless fleeing F.O.H. operatives – countless "Friends of Humanity," they knew, now. Fortunately, most of them were too busy fleeing in terror to notice them; very few had bothered to try and stop them.

'_Fine by me._' Cyclops thought to himself. "We should be getting close to the exit, now." he said.

"It's about _time_." Aquaman quipped.

Jean nodded in agreement...and then, her eyes widened in horror. "_SCOTT!!!_"

Cyclops turned, in time to see the half-dozen soldiers approach from around the nearby corner; they had just seen him, as well...and opened fire. Their bullets lanced towards him...

...and then, Cyclops felt a hand grasp his shoulder, before his entire body became semi-transparent vapor, as the bullets passed through harmlessly.

As his body became solid, with no apparent side-effects, Cyclops turned to J'onn. "Did you..?" he began. J'onn simply smiled. Cyclops smiled back. "Thanks."

As the soldiers started to reload, Jean's eyes narrowed, as her flaming aura returned. With an almost harpy-like screech of sheer _fury_, she sent pulses of psychic fire at the soldiers, engulfing them in flame. J'onn automatically flinched as the fire-blasts passed by, while the soldiers screamed as their uniforms ignited. As the singed soldiers fell back, Wolverine and Aquaman charged at the soldiers behind them. Snarling, his claws bared, Wolverine sliced apart one soldier's assault rifle, before sending him flying with a clawed uppercut, leaving him bloodied and unconscious, before grabbing another, and slamming him with a savage headbutt, his adamantium-infused skull easily knocking the soldier senseless.

As one soldier swung his rifle at him, Aquaman ducked under the attack, before slamming the soldier with a punch, following with a back-kick, and then grabbing him and tossing him aside like a sack of potatoes. As a second soldier came at him, Aquaman stunned him with a flip-kick, and sent him flying with a haymaker.

While Wolverine and Aquaman were distracted, Cyclops turned to see another half-dozen soldiers, armed with riot-shields, closing from behind them. He promptly unleashed his optic-blasts, driving them back, while Jean raised a wall of telekinetic flame, repelling their bullets easily. As the soldiers tried to reload, Spyke launched a barrage of bone-spears, while Toad unloaded a rain of slime-globs; the slime impacted the shields, blinding the soldiers, preventing them from seeing the incoming spears, which knocked them back. As another wave of armed men surged towards them from the rear, Blob charged towards them, roaring as he blocked their charge with his massive girth, giving Jean time to unleash a massive TK-pulse that knocked all the soldiers back considerably, holding them at bay, as even _more_ started to pile in...

Jean lightly winced. "They're getting a bit _heavy_..."

"You can do it, Jean!" Cyclops called. He then spied a wall-switch further back, a few meters behind where the soldiers were massed; a switch for the massive security doors that were spaced throughout the complex. "If we can just push them back enough, we can hit that switch and close the security doors!"

"Okay," Jean said, "but we're going to need _everyone's_ help on this, and if someone rushes us from the _other_ direction..!"

"_RRRRRAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!!!!!_"

A massive roar cut the air, interrupting them, as a huge grizzly bear burst in from a side-corridor, plowing into the soldiers, driving them back, sending several flying with each swipe of its massive paws...until the switch was within range. As the soldiers started to regroup, the bear started to morph...revealing Mystique. "_Go!!!_" she shouted. "Pryde; short that switch out!! Get _out_ of here!!!"

Shadowcat looked stricken. "But...what about _you?_"

"_DO IT!!!_"

Beast looked on helplessly, with Professor Xavier over his shoulder. "We do not seem to have much choice..."

"Are ya _nuts?!_" Rogue cried. She turned to Mystique, her eyes sad. "Mystique, _what_ are ya _doing?_"

"_Saving my daughter's life!!_"

Rogue suppressed a tear. "There...there's gotta be another way..."

"_GO!!!_" Mystique screamed, as she resumed her bear-morph, driving back the soldiers' charge...but she was losing ground, little by little...

The Professor looked at Mystique sadly. "Raven...thank you..."

"_No._" Rogue said. "Mystique...Mama..._don't_."

Cyclops looked at Mystique grimly. "Shadowcat..." he said softly, "...you heard the lady." At that, Shadowcat looked stricken, as she walked towards the switch...and phased her hand through it.

"_NO!!!_" Rogue cried, as she ran towards Mystique – her _mother – _as the massive steel doors slammed shut. "_No..._" Rogue sniffled, as she crumpled next to the door, behind which was her mother, who, despite everything, had sacrificed her life for theirs...

"We _have_ to go!" Cyclops declared, now that their path was clear. "We don't have much time!"

With that, they all hurried away from that corridor, towards the exit...except Rogue who lingered at the door. Sensing Rogue's anguish, J'onn turned and doubled back, before easily picking up the protesting Rogue and lifting her under his arm, and then sprinting away at an impressive pace, not impeded by her extra weight at _all_.

"_Put meh down!!_" Rogue screamed. "We _can't_ leave her there!! We _have_ ta _help_ her!!!"

Once they had caught up with the others, J'onn put her down, before placing his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye. "If you stay, your mother's sacrifice would be for _nothing_." he said. "What _you_ must do is escape; _that_ is what she wanted."

Rogue tried to suppress her tears. "But...but Ah _can't_ just..."

"You will not abandon her." J'onn said firmly, as he turned back. "Now _go_."

Rogue blinked. "What..?"

"No parent should lose their child," J'onn said softly, "and no child should lose their parent." With that, he floated a few inches off the ground, and _flew_ back towards Mystique. Rogue could only watch...and then run after her friends.

Like her mother had wanted her to.

As the steel door closed behind her, Mystique, in her bear-form, had fought the soldiers with everything she had, buying precious time for her daughter to escape, ignoring the pain of both bullets and knife-wounds, until she was _certain_ that Rogue and her friends were heading towards safety.

And that realization came not a moment too soon; she was _exhausted_. Slowly, Mystique sagged, resuming her normal form, her blue skin dotted with splotches of red from her injuries, as blood trickled from her mouth. Her wounds were quite severe; if the soldiers didn't shoot her, right now, she would likely die, very soon...

"_Well_, this is turning into a good day, after all..."

Mystique slowly closed her eyes; she knew that voice.

A smirking Graydon Creed walked to the front of the crowd. "Easy, boys; _this_ mutie bitch is _mine._"

Mystique found her voice. "Graydon...I'm sorry..."

Graydon snarled, as he raised his gun. "_What_ was that, mutie?!"

Mystique managed to look her son in the eyes. "For...for what I did to you..." she gasped, "...I am _truly_ sorry..."

At that, Graydon paused, surprised by Mystique's words – his mother's words...and then his face twisted in hate, as he took aim. "Not _yet,_ you're not, you _worthless_ mutie _BITCH!!_" he spat. Slowly, his finger tightened on the trigger...

"_SSSNNNRRREEEEEYYAAAAAAARRRRRKKKKK!!!!!_"

That bone-chilling alien roar froze Graydon and his men to the _spot_, as a seven-foot-tall, powerfully built, fin-headed, green-skinned creature walked through the door, as if it was not even _there_. The creature roared again, its pure red eyes narrowing balefully, its deadly teeth flashing.

"_IT'S THE ALIEN!!!!_" one soldier screamed in utter horror. "_THE MUTIES LET IT OUT!!!_"

"_Shoot it_, you idiots!" Graydon barked. "_Shoot it!!_"

The creature growled, as its eyes started to glow an unearthly white...

The soldiers began to aim their weapons at the alien, as they looked into its eyes...and started to _scream_. They screamed in mortal terror, dropping their weapons, clutching their heads...

"_Idiots!!_" Graydon snarled, as he took aim. "It's just another God-damn fre..." but he stopped in mid-curse.

The alien was looking at him.

It was _LOOKING_ at him!!!

Graydon could feel it; its unearthly thoughts, its unnatural mind scrabbling at his own, tearing at his thoughts, _eating his brain alive..!!!_

Graydon screamed in sheer horror, firing wildly at the creature, but its body morphed and shifted, twisting and bending away from every shot, as if Graydon were firing a _water-pistol_ at a creature made of _oil_. The creature roared again, its eyes glowing brighter, and Graydon could feel its rage as it came at his mind again..!!

Graydon screamed, and ran after his men, dropping his revolver, leaving his mutie bitch of a mother to the alien.

Mystique had been absently watching the creature frighten away her son, too injured to really be interested...until the creature turned its crimson gaze to her. Mystique closed her eyes, accepting her fate...

'_Your fate is not to die here, Raven Darkholme; your daughter still needs you._'

Mystique's eyes widened in surprise at that powerful mental voice; she looked up, in time to see the fearsome alien monster start to morph, losings its fangs and fearsome nature, becoming more human-like in appearance, until it became the green-skinned being that she had seen assisting her daughter and her friends. "Who...are you..?" Mystique gasped.

"A parent, like you." the being answered, lifting her into his arms. "Your injuries are severe; do not try to move." With that, he turned towards the security door, as he and Mystique, in his arms, turned semi-transparent, before he walked right _through_ the door, taking her with him, and then _flying_ after Rogue and her friends. Mystique could only watch, as her vision began to get blurry...

After J'onn had gone back to get Mystique, the rest of the rescue-team had kept going, racing towards the escape point. As they neared the exit, a large squad of soldiers moved to intercept them...but were sent flying by the combined force of repulsor-rays, flame-blasts, eye-rays, and double-thunderbolts, as the Sentinel demolition team, minus Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl, charged in from a corridor to the side. "We figured you could use a little backup!" Captain America exclaimed.

Wolverine laughed. "Well, I didn't think _they'd_ be dumb enough to come get me, but I should've _known _that _you_ would be, Steve!"

Cap chuckled. "'Never leave a man behind,' remember, Jim?" he said. "_I_ didn't think you'd be careless enough to get _stuck_ in a situation like this!"

"I'm _old_. Sue me."

"_Can you two catch up later, Cap? We need to get out of here!_" Iron Man exclaimed, as he fired a repulsor-ray down the corridor behind them, driving back a handful of soldiers.

"Tin Grin's right." the Thing agreed. "I'd say it's time for us to _vamoose_."

Cyclops looked down the corridor that led into the vehicle bay they had planned to escape from...which was starting to flood with soldiers. "That _might_ be easier said than done."

Power Girl nodded grimly...and then smiled. "Ben?" she asked. "I know you and Kal played a round of bowling, a few minutes ago...but how about a quick game of _soccer?_"

Ben blinked...and then grinned. "Why not?" he chuckled, before he crouched down, rolling himself into a ball-shape. Power Girl darted behind him, and gave him a solid _boot_, sending him rolling down the corridor, knocking over every soldier unlucky enough to be in his way, clearing their path all the way into the vehicle bay, as the entire group dashed after Ben. As two soldiers started to recover, Cap pulled his arm back and threw his shield; the shield arced towards one, knocking him unconscious, before bouncing off the wall, then ricocheting again to take out the other one, and then flying back to Cap's waiting hand.

By then, they had emerged into the vehicle bay, meeting up with a somewhat-dizzy Ben Grimm. "_Jeez laweez_, that's one heck of a soccer-kick you got there, kiddo." Ben said, before shaking off his dizziness.

The Human Torch chuckled. "Ben Grimm out-muscled by a _girl?_"

"Looks like it." Ben quipped back. "Guess I know how _you_ always feel, Matchstick."

"_Hey!_"

"Can you two clowns save the jokes for _later?_" Wolverine muttered, popping out his claws. "We've got _company._"

Cyclops looked towards the end of the vehicle bay, as numerous high-tech-looking tanks rolled towards them, blocking their path to the open bay doors, while dozens of soldiers started to swarm into the bay.

"Hank, Thor!" Cap ordered. "Take 'em out!"

"On it!" Giant Man replied, before he grew to titanic size, stomping towards the tanks.

"The villainous pawns of Ufgard shall advance _no_ further!!" Thor boomed, as he pulled his hammer back, and slammed it on the ground, sending a wave of lightning surging through the floor, knocking countless soldiers to the ground...but more kept coming...

As the tanks tried to elevate their cannons to target him, Giant Man stomped on one tank, before kicking another like an empty soda can, sending it flying. As he turned, he saw one tank start to get a fix on him...

...and then a golden lasso looped around its cannon, as Wonder Woman flew in, before pulling on her lasso, and whirling the tank around, and then flicking her lasso, releasing the loop, letting the tank fly into several others, turning them all into scrap. As several soldiers opened fire on her, Wonder Woman raised her arms, deflecting their shots with her armlets, the bullets bouncing harmlessly away...while another tank started to get a lock on her...

Suddenly, a whirring noise cut the air, as two explosive Batarangs whirled towards the tank, striking its cannon and exploding, collapsing the cannon-shaft...before the cannon fired, and blew out completely. Seconds later, a shadow darted from behind another tank, throwing a bola at the soldiers; the bola whirled around them, knocking them to their feet, as Batman took aim at another tank, and threw a handful of tiny capsules at it; the capsules clinked as they hit the ground, skidding under the tank...and then exploded, coating it in endo-thermic chemicals, freezing it solid. Batman then turned to see a soldier coming at him...and then Wonder Woman's lasso looped around him, as the Amazon princess yanked the unsuspecting soldier off his feet towards her, before sending him flying with a punch.

By then, even more soldiers were starting to flood the bay from stairwells to the sides of the bay...but then several silenced shots struck the joints of one stairwell, collapsing it and sending its occupants sprawling, as Black Widow provided a bit of long-range sniper-support from outside the bay.

Raising her hand to the other stairwell, Scarlet Witch gestured, causing the stairwell to spontaneously corrode; in seconds, it simply fell apart. Calming, Wanda scanned the bay for additional targets...oblivious to the soldier taking aim at her from behind...

"_WANDA, LOOK OUT!!!_"

_BANG!!_

Wanda heard the gunshot seconds after Toad had leapt towards her; she felt him shield her back...and then fall away with a sickening thud. "_Todd!!_" Wanda screamed, rushing to his side, her face paling as she saw blood leaking from his armor. Turning to the attacker, her eyes narrowed in fury as she made his gun backfire, exploding in his hands, making him fall to the ground screaming. Turning back to Toad – _Todd_ – her expression became terrified. "_Todd?_"

"_Ow, ow, ow..._" Toad whimpered, clutching his shoulder.

Wanda managed a weak smile. "You stupid little wart..." she murmured. "Are you okay?"

Todd smiled back. "Huh?" he said softly. "Oh, sure, Wanda; I'm fine. Are _you_ okay?" At that, Wanda could only smile...

As several soldiers closed on them, they were instantly hit by high-powered silenced rounds in the shoulders, disabling them, as an invisible force-field surrounded Wanda and Todd, before Sue became visible, again. "_Captain!!_" she cried out.

At once, Captain America darted over, promptly followed by Blob, who had seen his friend get hit. "You okay, little pal?" Blob asked.

Toad lightly frowned. "Someone just tried to use my butt as a pincushion, Fred. What do _you_ think?"

"Easy, there, son." Cap said, taking a careful look at Toad's injury. "It didn't hit any major arteries, but we still need to take a look at it."

Sue nodded. "We need to get out of here, _now..._"

As if on cue, the _Argo_ de-cloaked just outside the vehicle bay, firing pulses of electrostatic energy into the bay, shorting out every tank in the bay. As the soldiers tried to regroup, a crimson blur darted into the bay, sending about a dozen of them flying as it barreled through, before the Flash came to a perfect stop next to Sue. "Anybody need backup?" he asked. He then glanced to Toad, and winced. "_Ouch._ You okay, pal?"

Toad frowned, as Cap lifted him up onto his shoulder. "What kinda stupid question is _that?_"

"Flash, where's Reed?" Sue asked.

"Oh, Stretch?" Flash answered. "He's outside jimmying the door to close behind you guys..." Just then, a massive loading crane whirred to life, and dropped low, crashing to the floor, scattering the soldiers. "..._and_ hot-wiring some of the stuff in here." Flash amended. He gestured to the open bay doors. "You guys had better split. We'll cover you." With that, he called out, "Hey, Web-Head! Blue-Boy! Let's _go!!_"

At that, Spider-Man dropped down from the ceiling, landing in the middle of a group of armed-men, before snaring one with a web-line and swinging him around, using him to knock over all the others, and then tossing him into the air...where Nightcrawler 'ported in, giving him a quick kick, to send him crashing into _another_ bunch of them. Nightcrawler then 'ported off again, to hang by his tail from another loading crane, where he flipped a switch, and 'ported off again...as the crane dropped to the ground, sending more soldiers flying, making them easy pickings for Flash's high-speed dash-attacks.

Within seconds, the way was clear, and not a moment too soon; Cyclops and the rest of the rescue-team, along with everyone else, ran for the bay doors as they began to close. Before long, they were through, leaving only Nightcrawler, Spider-Man, and Flash; as the doors were only inches apart, Spider-Man fired a web-line, and zipped through, while Nightcrawler simply 'ported through...and then Flash dashed towards the doors, zipping through _just_ as the doors slammed shut.

"Fall back to the evacuation point!" Cap exclaimed. "We have to clear out before they get through!"

Rogue looked stricken. "But what about..?"

And then the semi-transparent form of J'onn passed through the bay doors, holding an injured Mystique, before becoming solid, again. "We should leave." he said. "By my calculations, my ship will self-destruct, very soon..."

Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the mesa-outpost, erupting from the other side of the mesa – Sector Zero – and shaking the ground, causing smaller explosions to burst from the rest of the base. No-one needed any more convincing, as the entire team darted off, falling back to their evacuation point, while the _Argo_ flew after them, following its program.

Within minutes, the entire team had regrouped at the Blackbird, as the _Argo_ touched down beside it and the Fantasticar. Cap and J'onn had promptly taken their two injured teammates into the Blackbird, taking them to its infirmary, followed by Wanda, Blob, Rogue and Nightcrawler while the others regrouped outside.

Toad groaned as Cap set him on one medical cot. "Jeez, Cap, have you no respect for the _dead?_"

Cap frowned. "You're not dead _yet_, son."

"Well, you could've fooled _me_."

Wanda managed a smile. "Serves you right." she teased. Her expression saddened. "Why did you...do something so _stupid?_"

Todd frowned. "Look, Snookums, gettin' shot in the arm, or the shoulder, or even in the butt – _that_ I can live with..._hopefully_." he said. "The _alternative_ was a _different_ story."

At that, Wanda lightly blushed.

Cap reached for a medical kit, opened it, and took out a vial of disinfectant and some gauze. "Brace yourself." Cap warned. "This is going to sting..." He poured a bit of the fluid onto the wound.

Toad's scream could have been heard for miles.

"_God_, Cap!" Toad cried, as Cap finished bandaging his shoulder. "You got anything to take the edge off this?"

Cap looked to the med-kit, shaking his head...and then paused. "How old are you, kid?"

"About 17."

Cap chuckled to himself. "Close enough." he said, as he opened a pouch in his belt, and took out a small metal flask. "_One_ sip." he said, as he opened it. "Anesthetic." He then handed the flask to Toad, who took one tiny sip...

"_Yeecch!!_" Toad gagged. "_Man_, that's nasty! And _that's_ from a guy who eats _flies!!_"

Cap chuckled, as he put the flask away. "Well, the last time _I_ had this hooch was back in Germany, in the last days of the war." he said. He grinned. "Wasn't much better back then, come to think of it...but it _should_ dull that shoulder until we can fix you up proper."

Toad grimaced. "Thanks...I _think_."

In another medical cot, J'onn was tending to the unconscious Mystique's injuries, while Rogue and Nightcrawler watched. "Is she gonna be okay?" Rogue asked.

"Her wounds are serious." J'onn answered. "She needs proper treatment."

"Zhank you...for saving her." Nightcrawler said softly. "But...vat...who are you?"

J'onn simply smiled. "My name is J'onn J'onzz," he replied, as he recalled how the others had code-names, "but you may call me...the Martian Manhunter."

Nightcrawler froze. "_Mein Gott_...you're...a _Martian?_"

Rogue lightly smiled. "Ah'm surprised the green skin wasn't a dead giveaway!" she said...before she froze. "N-No offence."

J'onn chuckled. "None taken." he answered. His tone turned grave. "I have done all that I can; we must get your mother to a medical facility as soon as possible."

Nightcrawler's expression turned sad. "I...don't zhink zat any hospital vill admit her."

J'onn blinked. "Why?"

"'Cause we're mutants." Rogue said.

"And?"

"That's it." Rogue said bitterly. "We aren't too popular, these days."

J'onn looked horrified. "But...surely your physicians would not refuse treatment simply because of that..."

Rogue sighed. "J'onn, Ah wouldn't put money on that, if Ah were you."

"Guys, we've got trouble!"

Cyclops' call bade Cap, Wanda, Blob, Rogue, and Nightcrawler to hurry outside, where everyone else had gathered. Cyclops looked grim. "We've just detected a security alert from S.H.I.E.L.D. detention center." he said. "Juggernaut is loose."

"You're _kidding_." Wolverine said flatly.

"Merciful _Goddess_..." Storm whispered.

Reed nodded gravely. "It's true; I can confirm it – that's a S.H.I.E.L.D. signal." he said. "He's rampaging through New York state, heading for an upstate dam."

"If he takes out that dam..." Jean murmured.

"It gets _worse_." Cyclops said. "There's also an emergency meeting of the U.S. Senate in Washington, to discuss how to deal with the 'mutant problem'."

"Terrific." Rogue said. "And with Juggernaut loose, we're _all_ going to look like psychos."

The Professor's eyes narrowed firmly. "We have to go there." he said. "Mutants across the planet need _some_ representation."

Beast nodded. "The Blackbird has a spare wheelchair..."

Just then, another signal came through on their communicators. "_Hello? Can anyone hear me?_"

Power Girl was the first to respond. "Kal?!" she cried. "Baby, are you okay?"

"_I'm fine, taushi...but we've got a situation, here._"

"Same with us, Superman." Cyclops said. "We have wounded."

"_I'll program the Argo to take them back to the Fortress; the Infirmary there can handle them._"

At that, the _Argo_ whirred to life, receiving its master's commands. "Blob and I will go with Todd and Mystique." Scarlet Witch said. Cyclops nodded in agreement, and Wanda and Fred promptly hurried into the Blackbird, and emerged, with Wanda helping Todd walk, and with Fred carrying the unconscious Mystique. As they walked towards the _Argo_, the Speeder automatically activated its teleporter, 'porting them inside, before taking off, heading for the Fortress.

"Okay," Cyclops said, "what's the situation, Superman?"

"_The Mark VI is here._"

At that, everyone froze. "_What?!_" Jean cried.

"Oh, _great!_" Spyke muttered.

"Wait...is that like that thing that crashed into the moon, a while back?" Giant Man asked.

"_Yes._" Superman replied. "_Except __**this**__ Emulator-Unit is just as psychotic as its maker; it's assimilated the Sentinels we were tracking, and is headed for North America. It's trying to hack every database on Earth...including military databases._"

Thor closed his eyes. "All-Father be _merciful..._"

"_We're trying to stop it, but we can't do it alone._" Superman finished. "_We need a little help._"

"_Hold on._" Iron Man said aloud. "_I'm picking up a message from General Fury...but it's garbled; this 'Mark VI' must have already started hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm getting reports of anti-mutant riots starting all over the country, including New York. He wants the Avengers to try and quell them, and he said he needs Reed and his team to assist, if possible; the riots are starting to spread to New York._"

Reed and Sue both looked stricken.

Cyclops' expression saddened. "Sorry, Kal, but I don't think the X-Men can assist you; not with Juggernaut running loose."

"_I know, Chief; I heard the transmission, a few minutes ago._"

"I'm afraid the Avengers cannot assist, either, Superman." Cap said. "We have our orders."

"Nor can we." Reed added. "Riots are spreading across the country..."

"...and New York's hit with 'em, too." Spider-Man said. "Sorry, Big Blue; besides, I wouldn't be much good over open sea, anyway..."

"_No problem, guys. We'll do what we can..._"

"_I_ could help." Flash said. "I could get out there in _no_ time!"

"Same here." Aquaman agreed. "That thing's flying over _my_ turf; it'd be _rude_ not to say hello!"

"I will assist." Wonder Woman said.

Batman simply nodded

"As will I." J'onn added. "I will help however I can.".

At that, Cyclops smiled. "Hear that, Kal? You've got some backup, after all!"

"_Good to hear, Chief...but, I didn't recognize that last voice..._"

"That's J'onn." Cyclops said. "Suffice to say that you're not the _only_ alien on Earth, anymore!"

Superman chuckled. "_Well, it's a big planet, and right now, we need every hand!_"

"You can say _that_ again!" Shadowcat said.

"Good luck, Kal." Cyclops said.

"_You, too._"

"Be careful, _tausha._" Power Girl said.

"_You too, taushi. Superman out._"

As the transmission ended, Flash turned to Batman. "So...need a lift, Bats?"

Batman said nothing; he merely tapped a button on his utility belt. Seconds later, a black, bat-shaped stealth jet darted out of the night sky, touching down a few feet away.

"Do _you?_"

Gambit chuckled. "Gambit _wondered_ 'ow 'e got out 'ere so fast."

Aquaman turned to J'onn and Wonder Woman. "Either of you mind dropping me in the Atlantic on the way?"

Diana smiled. "I'm sure we can manage."

"Well, I guess I'll just hoof it on out there." Flash said.

"Good luck." Cyclops said. To Cap, he added, "We'll just give you guys a lift back to the Quinjet before parting ways."

Cap nodded. "Godspeed, _all_ of you."

"Be careful." Reed added. With that, the Avengers and the X-Men headed into the Blackbird, while the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man headed to the Fantasticar. As both vehicles took to the sky, heading off, Batman hopped into his jet, activating it and taking off, while Wonder Woman and J'onn – the Martian Manhunter, now – each took hold of one of Aquaman's arms, before taking to the air, flying after him, while Flash followed from the ground, speeding after them.

_Triskelion_

"Did the Avengers get that transmission?" Nick Fury demanded.

"Yes, sir!" one lieutenant reported, as he worked frantically on his dying computer terminal. "But it doesn't look like we'll be able to send any more transmissions!"

Fury scowled. "How bad is it?"

"_Bad_, sir! Whatever that thing is, it's heading right for us, and this...this..._whatever_ this is, it's just getting _worse_ the closer it gets!"

"Can we strengthen our firewalls, and keep it out?" Fury asked.

"Sir, our firewalls are _completely_ ineffective! Whatever signal it's sending, we can't block it!" the lieutenant cried. "Every time we try to insert an anti-virus, it just mutates and _speeds up!_ There's nothing on Earth like this, General!"

'_Ain't that the truth._' Fury thought. "How far has it spread?"

"In our country, _our_ system got the worst of it, so far, sir." another lieutenant said. "But this..._thing_ is spreading to other countries, sir! We're getting reports from our allies, saying that their communications are going down! Even Wakanda and Latveria are getting this!"

Suddenly an alarm klaxon filled the air. "_Sir!_" a lieutenant cried. "This thing...it's...it's starting to hack our weapons systems!!"

Fury froze. "_What?!!_"

"It's trying to crack into our defense satellites, sir! Not only that, it's trying to access our nuclear launch codes!" the lieutenant continued. "The only reason it _hasn't_ yet is because it needs more power...but once it reaches our shores and heads to a power plant..!"

"_Dammit_, people, tell me we have _SOMETHING!!_" Fury thundered. "We _have_ to mobilize our forces and shoot this thing _down!!_"

"It's no good, sir!" an aide said. "Our comms are _completely_ gone! We're sitting ducks!"

Fury scowled to himself. It was out of his hands now.

'_Well, kid..._' Fury thought grimly, '_...it's up to you, now..._'

_U.S. Congress, Washington, D.C._

As the emergency meeting of the U.S. Senate came to order, the mood within the Congress Building was a tense one.

"My fellow Senators," U.S. Senator Robert Kelly declared, "we are here to address an intolerable threat, not only to our own nation, but the entire world." Robert, in his early fifties, was fairly tall, and lean, with short, white hair, and green eyes framed by glasses, clad in his usual grey business suit and tie.

Robert gestured to the viewing screen built into the wall behind the gathered Senators; instantly, the screen showed a massive machine stomping through New York City, as numerous young people, clad in black uniforms fought it...

"These individuals," Robert continued, "are what are called mutants; they each possess a genetic mutation which imparts abilities that most humans – _normal_ humans – do not." A soft murmur echoed through the Senate, and Robert _knew_ he was on a roll. "Our reports have shown that there are several factions of these mutants, and that _some_ of them intend to overthrow and, ultimately, _replace_ the rest of the human race. Not only that, but there may very well be many more of them, and we have no _idea_ who they are and what they're capable of..."

"Senator Kelly," another Senator spoke up, "we also have no idea of their true intentions. You may very well be right about some of them, but we cannot conclude the same of _all_ mutants..."

Robert frowned. "My friends, I have _long_ argued for stricter controls and restrictions placed on individuals with...'abilities,' and this revelation shows the need for this _more_ than ever." he countered. "What is to prevent one of these mutants from walking into a convenience store or a bank and demanding cash, threatening to use their powers, without even _needing_ a firearm? We have no way of _knowing_ what they could do!"

"Senator, some of these 'super-humans' are in the employ of our government, and are some of our most productive citizens." another Senator argued. "How many times have Captain America and his Avengers defended U.S. interests, on and off our soil? How many scientific advancements have Dr. Richards and his team made on our behalf?"

"I have no problem with the Avengers." Robert said. "The Avengers have _superiors_; they have people that they _answer_ to. And, yes, I recognize the Fantastic Four's scientific contributions...though I still feel that too much...free reign is given to them, as I have often said."

"But these mutants...they are _completely_ uncontrolled." Robert said. "They are _dangerous_, and they are completely undetectable, unless we do something, today. I propose that we introduce a bill requiring all individuals with this...'mutant gene,' we'll call it, to register with the government..."

"How does one register life, Senator?"

Robert turned at that reply, startled, to see three individuals walk into the Congress Building. One was an older man, in a wheelchair, in a brown sweater and black pants. The second was an African-American woman, in a dark navy bodysuit and cape. And the third was a blue-furred, ape-like creature, in a black bodysuit.

"Who are you?" one Senator asked. "This is a closed session..!"

"Forgive our intrusion," the man in the wheelchair said, "but under the circumstances, we felt we had no choice. I am Professor Charles Xavier, Headmaster of the Xavier Institute, and these are two of my instructors, Miss Ororo Munroe, and Dr. Henry McCoy. And, in case you were curious, we are mutants."

The boldness of Xavier's declaration momentarily threw Robert, but he quickly recovered. "Well, Xavier, I must say, you three certainly have a _lot_ of nerve, coming here, after what your kind did!"

"What _have_ we done, Senator?" Ororo said. "We haven't done _anything._"

"You are, no doubt referring to the machine that was spotted in New York." Charles continued.

"Senator Kelly has a point, Professor Xavier." one Senator interjected. "That machine in New York..."

"...attacked _us_, not you." Hank corrected gently. "That machine – the Sentinel – was constructed by an organization dedicated to wiping mutants out."

"That is why we came here." Charles added. "We came here to tell you all the _truth_, as well as provide a voice for mutants in this country, who cannot speak for themselves."

"The _truth?!_" Robert laughed. "You concealed your existence from our society for _years_, and you talk about the _truth?_"

"Senator Kelly, calm down." another Senator – Senator Martin, one of Robert's long-time political opponents – said. "Please, Professor, continue."

"Thank you." Charles said. "Yes, Senators, we _did_ conceal our existence from the rest of the world, because we feared that, once our existence became public, there would be many who would persecute us, for the crime of being born with an X-Gene."

"Look at this country's past with regards to African-American citizens, Senators." Ororo added. "Look at how it took _years_ for the persecution of 'colored' people to quell. And you _wonder_ why we were hesitant to go public?"

That statement sent murmurs through the assembled Senate. "I suppose we _can_ understand." Senator Martin agreed thoughtfully. "Under similar circumstances, I think that a lot of people might have done the same." Several other Senators murmured in agreement.

Charles smiled. "All we wish is for mutants and humans to peacefully coexist." he said. "We mean you no harm."

Robert smirked at that. "'No harm'?" he repeated. He tapped a button on the controller at his side, causing the screen above to change...showing the fully armored Juggernaut stomping towards a dam over looking a fairly-large town. "Isn't _that_ one of your fellow mutants, Professor? Does it look like _he_ means 'no harm'?" The Senate started to murmur. "What about the object heading towards our shores, blacking out communications and defenses all over the _world?_ My sources tell me that it originated from a _settlement_ of mutants; do _they_ mean 'no harm'?"

Charles held his ground. "Senator, these individuals do not represent _all_ mutants..." he began.

"Oh, no? What about your _own_ students? They attend Bayville High School, correct?" Robert continued. "How do you explain the sudden surge in unexplained incidents at that school – the school that my own _brother_ supervises?" He laughed coldly. "And what about this 'Superman' individual? Besides the fact that he seems to be one of the most powerful 'super-humans' we know of, we know next to _nothing_ about him! How do we know that he won't go psychotic, like the _rest_ of you seem so prone to do?!"

"Senator, that isn't fair!" Ororo shouted. "You can't judge _all_ mutants by the acts of a handful!"

"I – and many others – judge by what I _see_, Miss Munroe." Robert said. "And from what I've seen, Professor Xavier's claim – his statement that you mean 'no harm' – has no weight _whatsoever._"

Charles closed his eyes, refusing to let the Senator's ignorance phase him. He'd known that this would be a difficult battle.

But it was one that he – and all other mutants – could _not_ afford to lose. Not now.

Not _ever_.

_Castle Doom, Doomstadt, Latveria_

After receiving her father's summons, Siryn had promptly teleported back to Castle Doom. Siryn couldn't help but feel mildly confused by the change in plans; she had thought that her father would summon her to Genosha, after Kal-El had seen the light about his destiny.

Had something gone wrong?

As she walked into the throne room, she automatically curtsied to her father, who was sitting at his throne, with several of his Doom-bots flanking him. "Father?" Siryn asked, as she walked towards him. "I...I thought that you would still be at Genosha. What has happened?"

"_Something which I had not anticipated, my child._" Doom replied. "_It appears that, though Kal-El is the last of his kind, he was not the only one to flee his world; from what he told, the planet Krypton's __**destroyer**__ survived, as well...and has sent one of its minions here._"

At Doom's gesture, several computer screens lowered, showing a massive machine flying from Genosha towards North America...with Kal-El and two of his comrades trying to stop it. As Siryn looked closely, the screens flickered with unknown symbols.

_Alien_ symbols.

"_I later determined that this machine is broadcasting an invasive code across the entire planet; even __**my**__ systems are not immune._" Doom continued. "_I have been constantly attempting to purge this invasive signal, but this...machine continually adapts its programming, countering every attempt I make. I have even resorted to constantly changing our country's nuclear launch codes, but every time I do so, this machine quickly starts to crack them. Worse still, it is getting __**faster**__; the only reason it has been unsuccessful thus far is that it lacks sufficient energy – once it reaches a power plant..._"

Siryn was horrified. "But...surely, there is _something_ we can do..!"

Suddenly, one of the Doom-bots began to spark. "D-Doom's w-w-word is-is-is l-l-laaaaaww...D-Doom's wooooordd..." Then, the Doom-bot's eyes went from green to cold blue, as it turned towards Doom, weapons raised...

Doom promptly fired a spell-bolt, destroying the mutinous mech. "_Even my Doom-bots are falling prey to this subversive transmission._" Doom continued. "_I have exhausted every possible counter-measure, Anita. I had thought that by withdrawing with Lensherr, we could determine an effective strategy...but Lensherr had been reluctant to leave. Suffice to say, our alliance is formally dissolved; we have gone our separate ways...though it matters little, now._"

Siryn couldn't believe what she was hearing; her Papa was the smartest man _alive_. He _had_ to have an answer. "_P-Papa..?_"

Doom looked to his daughter sadly. "_It is out of my hands, my sweet child._" he said. "_It is up to Kal-El, now..._"

_International waters_

As the Mark VI flew over the Atlantic Ocean towards North America, Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl kept in hot pursuit, trying desperately to stop it.

After several attempts, they had determined that the Mark VI's self-perpetuating shield wasn't _quite_ as impervious as they had originally thought; the shield's energy cycle kept gradually lowering, and then building back up to a maximum, where its energy was renewed – if they attacked full-force during the 'down-phase' of the cycle, they could have a chance to breach it.

"Aim for the head! Wait for my signal!" Superman shouted, flying above the Mark VI, evading its rear-mounted laser-turrets, keeping his eyes trained on the Mark VI's shield, his eyes glowing electric blue. He saw the shield shimmer, growing brighter and brighter...and then significantly dim...

"_NOW!!_" Superman yelled, as he fired his eye-rays, just as Green Lantern unleashed his ring-beam at the same spot, striking as one; the shield started to flicker under their attack...and then it buckled, giving Hawkgirl the opening she needed. Hawkgirl dove through the crack in the shield, and smashed her mace into the Mark VI's hull, repeatedly slamming the Mark VI, tearing open huge gashes in its armor, before she quickly flew out as the shield replenished itself.

The three of them quickly regrouped. "Okay, guys," Superman said, "we just have to keep this up..." but he stopped, as he saw glowing white rims form around the Mark VI's damaged spots...before they instantly started to heal themselves.

_Nano-bots._

Superman frowned; the Mark VI – like Android – was composed of countless nano-bots, now spread throughout the Sentinel components, making it easy for the Mark VI to repair any structural damage. Hawkgirl shook her head. "So much for _that_ strategy."

Green Lantern looked to Superman. "Got any more ideas? Because I'm fresh _out_."

Superman's eyes narrowed in determination. "We do _whatever_ it _takes!!_" he declared. With that, he flew ahead of the Mark VI and fired his eye-rays, at _sixty_ percent maximum power; the shield started to buckle...

...and then it collapsed as two black missiles lanced from behind Superman, impacting on the spot where he was firing. Turning, Superman smiled as he saw Batman – in a black, bat-shaped jet – fly to his left. As Green Lantern and Hawkgirl took advantage of that brief window, inflicting whatever damage they could, Superman saw Batman's jet start to lose power – the Mark VI's signal. Quickly, Superman darted towards the jet, ripped open the canopy, and grabbed hold of Batman's arm, lifting him out of the jet, as the doomed aircraft crashed into the sea.

Superman grinned, as he held onto his comrade's arm. "We could have handled that alone." he quipped, echoing Batman's words, the night before.

Batman half-smiled. "I know." he answered. "I was just in the neighborhood."

As the Mark VI started to aim its finger-lasers at Superman and Batman, a golden lasso looped around its arm, weakening the shield as the lasso tightened, before Wonder Woman flew in and _yanked_ the arm to the side, causing its shot to go wild. Before the Mark VI could recover, a green, blue-cape-clad humanoid – J'onn, Superman guessed – flew close to the arm, seemingly going semi-transparent...as he phased _through_ the shield, before going solid. He then morphed his arm into a long blade – he was a shape-shifter, as well as capable of altering his body's density – and then cleaved right _through_ the Mark VI's arm, before flying away. The Mark VI's arm started to fall away...and then numerous silvery nano-fibrils shot out from the severed sections of the arm, pulling the arm back into place, joining with the rest of the Mark VI seamlessly.

Wonder Woman frowned. "Quite the _resilient_ monstrosity."

"_Tell_ us about it." Superman agreed.

Just then, a red blur darted towards the Mark VI, actually _running_ across the water's surface – moving too fast for buoyancy to take effect. As Flash closed on the Mark VI, he started to run around it as it passed over him; he ran faster...and _faster_, until he started to kick up a whirling mass of water around the Mark VI, stopping it in its tracks, disorienting it. Flash kept running and running...and then slowed, as a low, mournful call echoed up from the deeps; Flash then ran in _wider _circles around the dazed machine, keeping well out of range, without losing momentum, which would cause him to sink...

...as a massive blue whale – with Aquaman on its back – breached the surface of the water, practically _flying_ towards the Mark VI, before it started to fall back over the machine...as the Sentinel-Emulator hybrid met several hundred _tons_ of naturally grown _belly-flop_.

Nature won.

The blue whale body-slammed the Mark VI into the water, knocking it _well_ below the surface. The whale then swam to the side, under Aquaman's directions, as Flash zipped up onto its back, as well, taking a brief rest. "Sorry we're late!" Aquaman called. He then patted the whale's back, as the whale let out a puff of air from its blow-hole. "This old girl was just taking a brief nap!"

Superman smiled. "Better late than never!" he called back. Turning, he looked to J'onn. "Thanks for the help."

J'onn nodded, smiling. "After your friends rescued me, it was the _least_ I could do."

"Don't congratulate anyone _yet_." Batman said, his expression back in its usual semi-scowl. "Look."

Superman looked down at the water; sure enough, the Mark VI was starting to rise up out of the sea.

Flash groaned. "You know, once – just _once_ – you'd think that the bad guys would get lazy in building their death-machines." he muttered. "But, oh _no_; _they_ had to spring for _rust-proof_ killer robots!!"

Suddenly, Superman's belt-communicator started to beep, and Superman quickly answered it. "Superman here."

"_Superman, it's Android. I believe I have located a potential weakness in the Mark VI._" came Android's voice. "_I believe that you can use your Fortress to send a virus into the Mark VI; its anti-viral systems are not robust enough to successfully defend against a viral attack of Kryptonian design._"

"It won't work; we'd need the Mark VI's comms frequency." Superman answered.

"_**I**__ have the frequency._" Android continued. "_I can contact the Mark VI on the basis that I have information about Earth technology; you can program the Fortress to send the virus through __**me**__ once I have opened an upload transmission, and activate it once it has been sent!_"

Superman's eyes widened. That could work...except..."Android, can your systems handle that big of a transmission?"

"_They will have to._" Mark replied. "_However, in order for this to work, you will have to deactivate its shielding, so that I can contact it; the shield-generator should be located in its cranial region – it is a large, blue, spherical device. If you can momentarily disrupt the shield, you should be able to reach it._"

"Understood." Superman said, as he typed a few commands into his belt-computer with his free hand. "I'll order the Fortress to activate a remote comms terminal at your location; it'll scan for any transmissions; once the shield's down, you can contact the Mark VI – the terminal will scan your frequency, and send the virus through you once you activate an upload command. Wait for my orders to proceed. Superman out."

Quickly, Superman gestured to the others in the air, before descending to touch down on the whale, before letting go of Batman's arm. As the others followed, Superman said, "I think we might be able to transmit a virus into the Mark VI, but we're going to have to destroy its shield generator."

Batman instantly picked up on the idea. "J'onn," he said, "didn't I see you pass _through_ its shield?"

J'onn nodded. "If its shielding were weakened, I should be able to pass through it?"

"Could you take someone _with_ you?" Batman asked.

"I believe so."

Batman nodded. "If you can get me past the shield, I think I can get inside it and disable the generator."

Superman nodded. "It'll be up to the rest of us to weaken its shields enough so that J'onn and Batman can get through." he agreed.

"Well, we'd better do it _fast_." Flash said. "Metal-Head here's getting kinda close to home." He gestured to the horizon...and to the shoreline of New York that was becoming visible.

"Aquaman," Superman said, "do you think any more of your sea-pals can slow the Mark VI down?"

Aquaman grinned. "I know _just_ who to ask!" he exclaimed, before he walked to the edge of the whale's back, and opened his mouth, as if to call; to the others, he seemed to be making no noise, but Superman could tell that he was emitting high-frequency sounds – _sonar._

"Okay." Superman said. "Batman, the shield generator is a large, blue sphere in the Mark VI's head, so as soon as you're through, head _up_. J'onn, you'd better get ready to get Batman into position, because we might only have one shot at this. As for the rest of us, we have to hit that shield as hard as we can! Let's _do_ this!"

By then, the Mark VI had risen up from the water, and was starting to resume course...until a massive tentacle shot up from the surface, grabbing hold of its leg, as a giant squid rose from the deeps, answering Aquaman's call, before grabbing hold of the Mark VI's legs with the rest of its tentacles; it wasn't going anywhere.

Quickly, Flash darted towards the monstrous mech, zipping across the water and running right up the squid's tentacle, onto the Mark VI's back. He ran right up to its head, and unleashed a high-speed flying kick to its head, before running right back down, towards the whale; the kick hadn't damaged its shielding...

...but it _had_ gotten its attention.

As Flash ran back down, the Mark VI started to turn towards the annoyance...giving Superman and Green Lantern the opening they needed. Eye-rays and ring-beams lanced towards the machine's torso, impacting its shield, draining its power to near-failure...and then Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl dove at the Mark VI, heading for its torso. Amazonian fist and Thanagarian mace struck the shield, driving it to the brink of collapse.

That was Batman and J'onn's cue; J'onn flew at the weakened shield, holding Batman by the arm, phasing the two of them through it. Batman promptly grabbed hold of the torso's armor as he became solid again, while J'onn phased himself back out. Batman tossed a freeze-capsule at the torso, freezing a part of it, before jabbing an explosive Batarang into the ice, and then moving to the side; the Batarang soon detonated, blowing open a hole in the hull plating. As it started to heal, Batman drew his grapnel-launcher, and fired it into the hole, pulling himself inside as it closed behind him.

As Superman and the others pulled back momentarily, the Mark VI started to get free of the squid's hold on it. Quickly, Superman took a deep breath, and unleashed a burst of gale-breath, pushing it back. Following his cue, Wonder Woman flew behind the Mark VI, and snagged its head with her lasso, pulling it back, while Green Lantern formed a massive green force-field fist, and slammed it into the mech's torso, stunning it, and allowing the squid to get another hold...but the Mark VI was still trying to kick loose...

Suddenly, the Mark VI's shield started to flicker...and then vanished altogether, before an explosion erupted from the Mark VI's neck...and a black shape leapt out, aiming for the whale below. After clearing the Mark VI, Batman spread open his cape, activating the memory cloth it was made of; instantly, the cape spread into a wing-shape, allowing him to partially glide, slowing his fall, until he touched down on the whale's back, letting the cape go slack, once more.

The Mark VI then burst free of the squid's hold, flying towards the shore at high speeds. Superman and the others quickly gave chase, as Superman flipped open his communicator. "_Android!!_" he exclaimed. "_The shield is down! Upload the virus, now!!_" With that order given, all that they – their new _team_ – could do was chase after it, and hope that the virus worked...

_North Pole, a few minutes earlier_

In the chamber of the Fortress where he and the other New Mutants had gathered, Android could only stare worriedly at the comms terminal that had promptly assembled before their eyes. "Mark?" Jubilee asked. "Are you...are you actually going to transmit this virus into that thing through _yourself?_"

"_There is no alternative._" Android answered.

"But...what'll happen to ye?" Wolfsbane murmured.

Multiple gulped. "W-Won't that virus hurt you, too?"

"_The virus will be programmed to activate __**after**__ the upload. It will not be active while I am sending it._" Android said.

"You can't be _sure_ of that." Berzerker said. "You might be _wrong_."

"Ray, lay _off_ him!!" Sunspot shouted.

"_No. Ray is correct._" Android said. "_The virus might activate before I finish sending it._"

Magma looked worried. "And...and if it does?"

Android looked sad. "_My purpose was to help destroy Kal-El, as well as this planet, inevitably._" he answered. "_Now, I have a chance to help save it, including all of you – my family. If doing so causes my program to be deleted...that is an acceptable loss._"

Boom-Boom lightly sniffed. "Well, you'd better _not_ get fried, you nutty little toaster." she quipped.

Cannonball nodded. "'Cause as far as _we're_ concerned, you're _not_ an 'acceptable loss'!"

Android lightly smiled. "_Thank you..._"

Suddenly, Superman's voice came through the Fortress' comms system. "_Android!! The shield is down! Upload the virus, now!!_"

Iceman lightly smiled. "You're on, Metal-Head." he quipped. "Good luck."

Nodding, Android closed his eyes, and opened a transmission to the Mark VI; up until now, he'd been ignoring its transmissions...

_**Alert. Mark VI Unit is under attack. Attempting to reinitialize shield program.**_

_Mark V Unit calling Mark VI Unit. Distress beacon received; preparing to transmit data-files regarding Earth technology._

_**Unable to comply; Mark VI Unit engaging life-form Kal-El and companions...**_

_Objection understood. Note: integration of data-files initially of paramount importance to mission parameters. Download highly recommended._

_**Recommendation received. Mark VI Unit prepared to download data-files.**_

_Confirmed. Stand by for upload._

Android felt the Fortress' systems scanning his frequency, could feel the inactive virus being uploaded to his systems...and then, it was ready.

_Initiating upload._

At that command, Android felt the massive wave of data surge through his systems, arcing straight across his processors and out through the air-waves towards the Mark VI. As the last of the viral file left him, Android could feel his structural integrity collapse...and then...

_Mark V Unit offline._

_International waters_

As the Mark VI flew towards the advancing shoreline of New York City, Superman and the others chased after it; Superman and the other five flight-capable teammates flew around it, attacking it repeatedly with eye-ray, ring-beam, fist, and mace, while Aquaman and Flash followed them atop the back of the whale Aquaman had summoned. They kept attacking it, tearing chunks out of its armor, but the Mark VI just kept repairing itself. It was only a few miles away from shore...

Suddenly, the Mark VI stopped in mid-air, its head shooting backwards, as if it had just had a fatal _stroke_, as Superman heard its high-frequency invasive transmission _cease_.

"_NOW!!_" Superman shouted. "_Hit it with everything you've got!!!_" With that, he opened fire with his eye-rays, searing through the Mark VI's armor, and piercing its power core; _this_ time, the Mark VI didn't repair the damage. Green Lantern followed Superman's example, firing his ring-beam and cleaving off the Mark VI's left arm.

Now the Mark VI was frantic; coasting forward on auxiliary power, it armed its numerous assimilated missile-launchers, but Hawkgirl dove at it, smashing off every single one with her mace. The Mark VI tried to raise its remaining arm to fire its finger-lasers, but Wonder Woman flew over, grabbed the arm at its shoulder, and simply _ripped_ it off.

With the Mark VI distracted, J'onn flew at its head, phased his hands into the metal skull, grasped hold of some sensitive electronics, and just _pulled_, ripping them out. By then, the Mark VI was only meters from the shoreline, approaching an empty dock. As it approached, the Mark VI' torso began to open, as it started to charge its plasma-cannon, but Flash simply zipped off the whale's back, ran up the Mark VI's leg, and hopped into the open chest cavity, darting to and fro at high speed, yanking wires, ripping out circuit boards and trashing transistors, until the chest cavity began to smoke, the cannon utterly ruined. As Flash leapt out, darting onto the dock Batman drew grapnel, and fired, pulling himself to the rooftop of a nearby warehouse, throwing two explosive Batarangs into the open torso; the Batarangs detonated, causing smaller explosions to start to erupt throughout the doomed machine. At the sonar-command of Aquaman, the blue whale dove deep, and then rapidly ascended, smacking the Mark VI with its massive tail, knocking its legs _clean_ off, as Aquaman hopped out of the water onto the dock.

As the Sentinel-Emulator hybrid began to fall into the water, it started to simply fall apart; bits and pieces of the cannibalized Sentinels began falling off...as a fairly large, silvery, metallic glob leapt off, landing on the dock, while the rest fell into the water.

"The Mark VI bailed out!!" Superman shouted. "Get it!"

The glob rapidly morphed into the spindly mechanoid that Superman had seen earlier, before it darted towards an alley...but was froze, as Batman swooped down from a rooftop in front of it, before Wonder Woman touched down next to him. The Mark VI tried to flee to the left, but Aquaman and Flash blocked it. Turning the _other_ way, the Mark VI saw that Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were blocking it. In desperation, the Mark VI turned to the sea...only to find Superman and J'onn standing there.

"Give it up." Superman said firmly. "You've got _nowhere_ to go."

The Mark VI backed up, emitting a mechanical snarl...and then froze, as its right claw started to turn to a grey clay-like powdery substance. Snarling, the Mark VI cleaved off the afflicted hand, assembling a new one...and then its left leg started to crumble. Frantically, it ripped off the leg, trying to assemble another...but it would do no good.

The Fortress' virus had spread to its core program.

The Mark VI was emitting panicked mechanical howls, now, as it tried to stay ahead of the spreading viral attack...but it was too late. In seconds, the virus spread through its entire body, leaving only the head untouched...and as the virus infiltrated its head, the Mark VI let out an electronic _scream_...and then went silent as its head turned to powder...before its body crumbled into dust, its nano-bots completely disassembled – as far as anyone was concerned, the Mark VI had been vaporized, leaving no trace.

Wonder Woman looked at the powder with pity. "Merciful Hera...what a _horrible_ way to die..."

"It was a _machine_." Batman said. "Nothing more."

"That may be true, Batman, but it was a _machine_ that gave us the idea how to stop it." Superman replied. Taking out his communicator and opening it, Superman said, "Great idea, Android! The Mark VI is down! We couldn't have done it without you!"

There was no response.

Superman blinked. "Android?" he repeated. "_Mark?!_"

Nothing.

His eyes wide with horror, Superman switched off his communicator. "I...I can't reach him..."

Flash gulped. "Hope the little guy's okay..."

Superman nodded...and then _froze_ as his hearing picked something up. "The others need our help!" he exclaimed.

Batman's expression hardened. "_Where?_"

"They're at a dam at upstate New York!" Superman replied. "They're fighting Juggernaut!"

"Well, doesn't _he_ sound like a pushover." Green Lantern said.

Superman chuckled at the joke. "So...can I convince you all to tag along?"

Hawkgirl smiled. "Well, we've all come _this_ far."

"I'm not about to bail on a pal!" Flash said.

"Same here!" Aquaman agreed.

"Amazons _never_ run from battle." Wonder Woman said. "_Especially_ when our comrades need us."

"I'm convinced." Green Lantern added.

"The X-Men saved my life." J'onn said. "I would be glad to help."

Batman nodded. "I'll help."

"Thank you." Superman said. His expression turned grave. "We'd better go; there's no time to lose!" With that, he, J'onn, Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl took to the air, while Green Lantern generated a force-field bubble around himself, Batman, and Aquaman, before the entire group of them took off towards the upstate dam, with Flash darting after them at top speed.

_Upstate New York_

Night had long fallen over the modest town in upstate New York; all the citizens were sound asleep, the entire town snoozing peacefully in the shadow of the massive dam several miles back.

Juggernaut, in his full armor-suit, complete with PSI-shielded helmet, grinned to himself as he stomped towards the dam. It felt _great_ to be free, again. Originally, he'd planned to pay 'Little Chuck' a visit, but shortly after busting out, he'd met up with this 'Magneto' guy, who'd told him that his dear step-brother was MIA. Magneto had then told him that, if he _really_ wanted to make Xavier pay, he could just attack this dam here, causing the entire world to be afraid of mutants..._ruining_ Charlie's precious dream.

Cain _liked_ being feared.

Looking up, Juggernaut smiled as he saw the news helicopter circling him. '_Right on time._' he thought. As he stomped onto the dam itself, Cain absently touched the small, disc-like device that Magneto had given him; apparently, it would amplify his powers...but it could only be used _once_ before burning out. Cain didn't see why he needed it, at first...and then he remembered that punk kid 'Superman.'

A little extra muscle couldn't hurt, so he'd decided to save the gizmo until that flying do-gooder showed up.

Juggernaut smiled savagely as he pulled back his fist, to start smashing the dam to bits, with the chopper catching everything. '_Mom was right; I should've gone into show-biz..._'

Suddenly, a bright red beam lanced towards Juggernaut, knocking him off-balance, as the X-Men, plus Krypto and Wolverine, darted into view. "Sorry, Marko," Cyclops said, "but it's time for you to _go_."

Juggernaut laughed. "And who's gonna _make_ me? _You_ pipsqueaks?" he sneered. "Where's that powerhouse of yours?"

"Superman's a bit busy." Shadowcat said. "_We'll_ be kicking your butt, tonight!"

Wolverine snarled, as he popped out his claws. "So we suggest you take a _hike_, bub, or things are gonna get _ugly!_"

"Big words, runts." Juggernaut growled. "_Let's see you back 'em UP!!_" With that, he charged at them.

Focusing, Jean telekinetically grabbed Juggernaut, and lifted him right off of the ground, easily holding him up, as a roaring Wolverine leapt at him, slicing with his claws, aiming at one of the five latches on Juggernaut's helmet. Wolverine grabbed hold of the collar of Cain's armor, and slashed at one latch, damaging it, but Juggernaut backhanded him, knocking him aside. With expert aim, Cyclops fired an optic-blast, hitting the latch and knocking it open.

As Jean let go of Juggernaut, the enraged Cain barreled straight at them, forcing the X-Men to scatter, but as she dodged to the side, Power Girl fired her eye-rays, searing off a second latch, before flying at Juggernaut from the side, tackling into him and knocking him slightly off-balance. Snarling, Juggernaut swung at her, but Power Girl darted under the attack, and punched Cain right in the stomach, leaving small cracks in his armor...before Juggernaut unleashed a knee-kick at her; Power Girl managed to raise a hard-light shield, but the impact of the strike still knocked her back a few feet.

"Not bad, Blondie," Juggernaut sneered, "but the Boy Scout you _ain't_." He started to pull back his fist for a punch...and then screamed in pain, as Krypto leapt at his arm, biting his forearm, the Superdog's teeth going right _through_ his arm-guards. Snarling, Juggernaut managed to shake Krypto off, but Krypto darted at Cain again, biting his _leg_, this time. Juggernaut howled in pain, as he tried to shake the Krypton-born canine off...

Spyke instantly took advantage of the distraction Krypto provided; forming bone spikes on his forearms, he threw them like darts at Juggernaut, striking the cracks in his chest-armor with pin-point accuracy, widening the cracks slightly with each hit. As Krypto leapt away, Spyke called out, "All yours, LeBeau!"

"_Merci._" Gambit quipped, as he dashed right at Juggernaut, rolling under Marko's punch to stop right in front of the cracks in his armor, where he jammed a charged card into the cracks. Gambit then rolled to the side, extending his bo-staff and striking the backs of Juggernaut's ankles, causing him to turn...just as the card detonated, blowing open his chest-plate.

That was all the cue Rogue needed; pulling off her glove, she ran at Juggernaut and touched his bare chest, copying his powers...but Juggernaut swatted her away before she could _really_ drain him. Now armed with the might of a Juggernaut, Rogue easily shook off the hit, and came at Marko again, slamming him with a punch. Cain was stunned momentarily, before he unleashed a knee-kick, knocking Rogue off the ground momentarily; Rogue came back with a low-punch-uppercut combo, driving Marko back. Enraged, Juggernaut charged at Rogue, who matched his speed...

_CRACK!!_

The two unstoppable forces – Juggernaut and the powered-up Rogue – collided, and were knocked back by each other's momentum, dazed, but otherwise fine. Rogue, being smaller, fell back on her rear. "Ah am _neva_ doing _that_, again!" she exclaimed.

Juggernaut managed to stay on his feet, though he was still considerably loopy after that collision...giving Nightcrawler a chance to 'port over to him. "Excuse me, Herr Marko," he said, "but zhese need to come _off!_" With that, he snapped open two latches, and started reaching for the last one...

...and then Cain recovered, and started reaching for Nightcrawler, who quickly 'ported away. As Juggernaut started to come at them, Avalanche quickly summoned a tremor beneath his feet, causing the surprised Cain to sink into the ground up to his ankles. Shadowcat quickly ran at him, and phased the _rest_ of him into the ground up to his _neck_, before she phased up out of the ground, and snapped open the last latch.

With a roar of sheer _rage_, Juggernaut burst out of the ground, prompting Shadowcat to retreat before she could start to get the helmet off. "When are you pathetic little runts gonna _GET_ it?!" he exploded. "_Nothing_ stops me!!! I'm _RAW POWER!!!_"

Cyclops gritted his teeth; enough was _enough_. "That right, tough guy?!!" he yelled. "Then why don't you _TAKE it raw?!!!_" With that, he pulled off his visor...and took a good, long _look_ at Juggernaut.

A _wall_ of pure, red energy _exploded_ from Cyclops' open eyes, slamming into Juggernaut with unfathomable force. Juggernaut was forced back a good fifty feet from the constant optic-surge, his helmet blasted off...before he started to walk towards Cyclops...

Cyclops opened his eyes _wider_, increasing the strength of the force-surge. Juggernaut was pushed back _again_, but he kept coming. His eyes on _fire_, Cyclops opened them as wide as he _could_. Juggernaut was knocked back...and then got up, coming right for him, slowly...

Cyclops' gave everything he had as Cain slowly stomped towards him...and then clamped his massive hand over Cyclops' face, cutting off the surge. "Say your _prayers_, runt..." Cain snarled, as he pulled his free hand back...

With a shriek of utter _fury_, Jean levitated into the air, her fiery aura stronger than it had ever been, as the aura _grew_ into the shape of a deadly bird of prey – a _Phoenix_ – before she unleashed an endless torrent of psychic flame at Juggernaut, forcing him to let go of _her Scott_...

Cain howled in agony, as the psychic fire seared both his body and his mind, in a way that would have made Charles _envious_. Before he blacked out, Cain reached for the power-boosting gizmo at his side...

After about a minute, Jean collapsed, her aura spent, as Juggernaut fell over, landing flat on his back with a _THUD._ "_Jean!!_" Cyclops cried, as he quickly put his visor back on, rushing to catch his beloved Jean as she fell. "Jean, are you okay?!"

Opening her eyes, Jean weakly smiled. "Hi." she cooed.

Cyclops smiled back. "Hi, beautiful." he answered. "You were _amazing._"

"You, too." Jean murmured.

"_Whoa!!_ Jean, you _nuked_ him!!" Shadowcat exclaimed.

"_I'll_ say!" Spyke agreed. "And way to let him have it at the end, there, Cyke! You couldn't have _picked_ a better time to cut loose!"

Cyclops chuckled, as he helped Jean to her feet. "Well, guys," he said, "let's get out of here..."

Cyclops' voice was drowned out, as Juggernaut leapt to his feet, surging with power...from an electronic device clipped to his side.

"You're _kidding_." Avalanche said flatly.

"What does it _take_ for this guy to stay _down?_" Power Girl exclaimed.

With a roar of sheer rage, Juggernaut grabbed a nearby generator, ripping it out of the ground, and _threw_ it at them; the X-Men quickly dodged it, causing the throw to go past them...and strike the tail-fin of the news chopper circling them, sending it into an uncontrolled spin, dropping towards the ground far below.

Cyclops tried to come up with a plan, but they were all drained...they needed _help_...

...and then, a sonic boom echoed in the distance...and Cyclops knew that they would _have_ it.

Superman reached the dam a few seconds ahead of his new teammates, and saw the helicopter starting to spin out of control; flying towards it at top speed, he grabbed hold of its landing struts, and guided it safely down to the ground, setting it down on the clear field just in front of the dam. "Please, all of you, get to safety!" he instructed the news crew inside. "Hurry!" The crew needed no further instruction, and quickly ran towards the town. By then, the others had caught up with him, and Superman took to the sky, and saw a powered-up Juggernaut start to charge at his beleaguered friends...

His eyes narrowed, Superman flew at Juggernaut, slamming him with a high-speed haymaker, stopping his charge cold, and driving him back. Juggernaut just laughed. "'Bout _time_ you showed up, pipsqueak!"

"After all the trouble you went through to come, Marko? It'd be _rude_ not to!" Superman shot back. Looking back at the X-Men, Superman smiled. "Sorry I'm late, guys; you know how visitors can be!"

Wolverine chuckled. "Help us cream this chump, Flyboy, and we'll call it even."

"I'd like to see you wimps _try!_" Juggernaut sneered. "You think _one more_ of you is gonna make any difference?!"

Superman shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not." he replied...before he grinned. "But who said I came _alone?_"

At that, the whirring of two Batarangs cut the air, as they struck Juggernaut in the back, exploding and causing him to stumble forward. Snarling, Juggernaut turned to see Batman, who had silently crept up on him from where Green Lantern had deposited him. Juggernaut charged at Batman, who ducked under his punch, and threw a black sphere in his face, which burst into red powder – _mitsubishi_, or ninja blinding-powder.

Juggernaut howled as the powder clouded his vision...preventing him from seeing Batman dart to his side, shattering his left knee with a side kick. Juggernaut swung wildly, but Batman was as evasive as a shadow; he unleashed a precision chop to Cain's side, under his rib-cage, bruising his kidney, before grabbing his arm and twisting it behind Juggernaut, finishing with a leopard-fist strike, dislocating his shoulder. With Juggernaut distracted, Wolverine ran at Juggernaut, slicing off the last shreds of his armor, while Batman darted away...as Gambit threw a handful of charged cards at Juggernaut. Wolverine leapt clear as the cards detonated, driving Juggernaut back.

As Marko stumbled backwards, Shadowcat leapt at his ankles and phased them into the ground, trapping Juggernaut, before phasing herself out...as the Martian Manhunter rose up out of the ground in front of Juggernaut, becoming solid. Cain snarled, and swung at him, but J'onn became intangible, letting the punch pass through him, as he placed his intangible hand into Cain's head...and then turned solid, but kept his hand semi-intangible. Cain screamed as he felt J'onn's hand in his head, but J'onn quickly phased his hand out...and made his _other_ hand ultra-dense, before _slamming_ it into Juggernaut's exposed chest.

Juggernaut roared, and swung at J'onn, who phased himself away...as Flash ran at Cain, full speed, before leaping into a mid-air flip, to _slam_ into Juggernaut, feet-first, right in Cain's _face_. Cain stumbled back, out of control, as Nightcrawler 'ported into his path, crouching behind him, causing the supposedly-unstoppable mutant to trip and fall flat on his back.

As Juggernaut struggled to his feet, a green force-field engulfed him, as Green Lantern lifted him up, and slammed him against the ground, and then spun him, before tossing him into the air, where Jean, having gotten her second wind, peppered him with fire-pulses, knocking him into the dam's reservoir.

In the water, Juggernaut sank like a stone...but was knocked senseless by Aquaman, who had leapt into the water after him. The Atlantean Prince slammed into him like a _torpedo_, knocking him this way and that, before grabbing him and _booting_ him right out of the water. Juggernaut sailed into the air...and then a golden lasso looped around his arm, as Wonder Woman yanked him towards her, sending him flying with a punch. Cain hit the ground hard, trying to get up, but before he could recover, Rogue, using the last of her copied powers, grabbed him and tossed him across the dam.

Juggernaut skidded to a stop as he hit the ground, and quickly got to his feet, before he charged at Rogue...but Avalanche unleashed a tremor, generating a pillar of stone under Cain's feet, tossing him into the air...where Hawkgirl slammed him with her mace, knocking him back to the ground.

Cain roared in sheer fury, but Cyclops silenced him with several optic-blasts. Power Girl followed up the attack with a flying haymaker, and Krypto followed _that_ by curling into a ball as he flew at Juggernaut. Both hits knocked him back about thirty feet, but he didn't stay down; he only got _angrier_, as he charged straight at Power Girl...

Superman instantly intercepted Juggernaut, slamming him with a punch to his face, stopping him and sending him flying _fifty_ feet. Juggernaut quickly recovered, glaring at Superman, who glared back. "The _last_ time we fought, Cain, you said you wanted me to 'quit sandbagging you'." he snapped. His eyes narrowed. "Well, _be careful what you wish for!!!_" With that, he flew straight at Juggernaut.

Cain swung at Superman as he approached, but Superman easily evaded it, and _slammed_ him with a punch to the chest, using _thirty_ percent of his maximum strength. Juggernaut was clearly shaken, but he still wasn't going down. Juggernaut punched Superman in the face, driving him back a few feet...before Superman countered with an uppercut, knocking Cain a few feet into the air...but Cain landed on his feet.

Superman's eyes narrowed. He'd had _enough_. It was time to _end_ this. He flew at Marko, top speed, and tapped _sixty_ percent of his max power.

_**WHAM!!!!!!**_

Superman's punch shook the air, even the _ground_ as it connected solidly with Juggernaut's face, sending Cain Marko _flying_ into the open air. But Superman wasn't finished; he flew after Cain, flying _ahead_ of him, intercepting his flight, before pulling his arms up, and unleashing a double axe-handle strike to Marko as he came near, sending him crashing towards the field below.

The ground _rippled_ as Cain hit it, the impact shaking the earth for several miles around.

Slowly, Superman touched down at the edge of the dam, as the others walked over, looking down at Cain; he was still alive...but it was unlikely that he'd be doing any more rampaging, tonight.

Flash whistled. "I don't care _what_ kinda genes you got...that _had_ to hurt!"

"You can say _zat_ again!" Nightcrawler agreed.

"You guys officially _rock!!_" Shadowcat exclaimed.

Wonder Woman blinked. "Um...thank you?"

Cyclops grinned. "Quite the team you guys have, here."

Superman nodded. "Yep."

"We get the job done." Green Lantern said.

"We'd better get down there," Superman continued, "in case Marko gets his second wind."

Cyclops nodded. "We'll follow you." he agreed. With that, Superman and the rest of their new team headed down into the field, as the X-Men followed.

Superman and his friends quickly encircled the spot where Juggernaut lay, dazed...before he slowly started to get back up. As he stood up, Juggernaut glared at Superman. Superman met his gaze. "_Well_, Marko?" he asked. "Had enough?"

Juggernaut snarled...which turned into a groan, as he collapsed back to the ground, landing flat on his face.

"Guess so." Aquaman said.

Wonder Woman smiled. "We _do_ make a good team."

"That we do." Hawkgirl agreed. "I'm going to _miss_ working with all of you."

As he looked among his teammates – his _friends_ – Superman felt as he did when he'd been fighting crime with his pals in Metropolis. He couldn't explain it, but..._somehow_, teaming up with them...it just felt...

..._right_.

"Who says we have to stop?" Superman said.

Flash blinked. "Come again?"

Superman gestured to all of them. "All of us...we're all different, yes, but we all have the same _goal_: to help people, and make the world _better_." he said. "As much as each of us can do individually, we can do so much more _together_."

Green Lantern arched an eyebrow. "So what are you suggesting?"

Superman took a deep breath. "I'm suggesting that we all _stay_ a team; that we work together, to help people, and to fight for what's _right_." he answered. "Look, I know this may sound crazy, but I really feel that, together, we can do some real _good_ in this world." He looked to all of them. "Well? What do you say?"

There was silence for a moment...and then Green Lantern smiled. "Well, after what's happened today, this world is going to need all the help it can _get_." he said. "I'm pretty sure the Guardians will let me be indefinitely assigned to this system; sign me up."

Hawkgirl nodded. "I still have yet to hear back from Thanagar, so until I'm otherwise ordered, I'm on leave." she said. She smiled. "I'm up for it."

"I had originally intended to assist on the request of my old friend Thor," Wonder Woman said, "but, after today, to simply retreat to Themyscira and ignore the cries of the innocents here...to do so would be dishonorable." She smiled. "There is indeed much we could teach the people of this world...and much that Themyscira could learn." Her smile grew. "I would be _honored_ to stand with all of you."

Aquaman sighed. "Cousin Namor would have a _hernia_ if I did this." he admitted...before he smiled. "But with the way things are now, I figure I can serve Atlantis just as well _above_ water as below it, so he'll just have to _lump_ it. I'm _in._"

Flash grinned. "Are you _kidding?_" he laughed. "You _know_ you can count on me!"

J'onn smiled. "I have no home to return to; Mars is completely lifeless." he said. "I must make _Earth_ my home, now...and how better to serve it than by joining all of you?" He lightly bowed. "I would be glad to join you."

Only Batman, who had kept a slight distance from the rest of their circle, remained silent. "Well?" Superman asked. "What about you?"

Batman arched an eyebrow. "What _about_ me?"

Flash chuckled. "Seven _may_ be a lucky number, Bats, but _eight_ feels _luckier_."

Wonder Woman nodded. "We could surely use your expertise."

Batman's expression hardened. "My first duty is to _Gotham._"

Superman shrugged. "I'm okay with that." he said. He looked to the others. "Any objections?"

No-one spoke.

Batman's expression turned neutral...as he stepped into their circle. "If you ever need my help...you can have it."

Superman smiled, as he held out his hand in the middle of the circle, palm down. Batman half-smiled, and extended his hand, placing it on top of Superman's. Wonder Woman followed suit...then Flash. Then Aquaman. Then Hawkgirl. Then Green Lantern. And then Martian Manhunter. Superman then placed his other hand on top of all of them, as they all looked to each other, smiling at their new teammates.

Superman grinned; he couldn't resist. "One for all, all for one."

Flash and Aquaman both groaned exasperatedly, while the others looked on in confusion. "Long story." Superman explained.

By then, the X-Men had caught up with them. "Well, sounds like you guys made it official." Power Girl said, smiling.

Superman smiled back, as they turned towards their friends. "You could say that."

"_Merde_...bad guys watch out." Gambit quipped.

"Yeah!" Shadowcat agreed. "You guys are, like, in your own _league!_"

Shadowcat's statement sent echoes of thought through Superman's mind...as he smiled. "You can call us...the _Justice League._"

Aquaman blinked. "'Justice League'?"

"Hey, I _like_ it!" Flash said. "Got a nice ring to it!"

As the rest of the team – of the _League_ – nodded in agreement, Superman smiled. "Well, names tend to stick, so 'Justice League' it is."

With that, the X-Men and the Justice League all looked down at the unconscious Juggernaut. "So...what are we gonna do with Sleeping Ugly, here?" Flash asked.

Superman smiled. "I think I know _just_ where to drop him..."

_U.S. Congress_

As their debate continued, Charles could only watch the screen, as the Juggernaut closed on the dam...and then smiled as he saw the X-Men move to stop him.

"What on Earth..?" one Senator exclaimed. "What are those kids _doing?_"

"What they were _trained_ to do." Charles said. "Those 'children,' Senators, are my students, the X-Men. We taught them to use their powers for the good of _all_ mankind, human _and_ mutant alike."

As the live-feed continued, the X-Men continued to fight Juggernaut, until they had seemingly defeated him. "And as you can see," Ororo added, smiling, "they are _very_ good."

Suddenly, Juggernaut got back up, and threw a generator at the X-Men, missing, but hitting the news chopper, cutting off the video.

Senator Kelly sneered. "Obviously not good _enough_." He turned to the assembled Senate. "Fellow Senators, this illustrates the point I was making _far_ more eloquently than _any_ words I could have chosen. Mutants are completely out of control; you've just _seen_ so, yourselves!"

"Senator Kelly..." Charles began.

The ignorant Senator steam-rolled right over him. "We have to get _control_ of this situation; otherwise, the mutant threat will only become a _more_ serious problem, in this country _and_ the rest of the world! By having mutants register with the government – as _any_ U.S. citizen would register to own a firearm – we can have a better idea of what mutant citizens are capable of, and thus be better prepared to deal with any problems that arise."

"We can understand your concern, Senator," Hank said, "but what you are proposing is a serious violation of individual human rights..."

Senator Kelly sneered. "Mr. McCoy, you have just said yourselves that mutants are _not_ human." he replied. "A lot of people would argue, _especially_ after today, that mutants do not _deserve_ any rights." He laughed. "And what choice do _any_ of us really have? Your students have just demonstrated that they are _incapable_ of handling these kinds of situations..!"

"I wouldn't say _that_, Senator."

At that voice, Charles turned...and smiled, as he saw Superman and the X-Men, along with the others who had gone to help, walk into the building...with an unconscious Juggernaut over Superman's shoulder.

"What is the _meaning_ of this?!" Senator Kelly shouted.

"Forgive the intrusion, Senator," Cyclops said, "but we _are_ capable of handling things." He smiled at Superman and his comrades. "With some help."

Superman nodded. "See for yourselves." he added, as he tossed Cain onto the floor, in front of the Senate.

"Are you _insane?!_" Senator Kelly shouted. "If he wakes up..!!"

"If he wakes up and causes trouble, we'll just cream him, again." Flash said.

Superman smiled at Charles. "It's good to see you, Professor."

Charles smiled back. "It's good to see you, too, Superman."

Senator Kelly scowled. "And who _are_ all of you?" he demanded.

"Senator, these are my students, the X-Men." Charles said, gesturing to the X-Men.

Cyclops nodded. "And as for these guys?" he asked, gesturing to Superman and his comrades.

Superman smiled. "You can call _us_ the Justice League." he finished. "We came here to tell you that you don't have to be afraid of mutants, Senators; even if anything happens, all of us together can handle it."

Charles nodded. "As I said, Senators, all we wish is to live beside humanity in peace." he said. "That is all we wish to say." With that, he, Ororo, and Hank turned, as they all started to leave the Congress Building.

"_Hold_ it!!" Senator Kelly barked. "You just barge in here and expect to just _walk_ out?! People like you should be _strictly_ controlled by this government!! Do you honestly think you can just _walk_ out of here?!"

Batman turned, skewering Senator Kelly with a glare, causing him to freeze. "Do _you_ honestly think you can _stop_ us?" With that, they kept walking.

"Wait! Wait, please!" Senator Martin exclaimed. He looked to the Justice League. "Please...who _are_ all of you, really?"

Superman paused, and looked to the rest of the League, and then looked back to the Senate. "Who we are doesn't matter." he said. "What matters is who all of _you_ are." And with that, the League, the X-Men, and the rest of them headed out, leaving the Senate behind.

_North Pole_

Within the hour, the Blackbird and the _Argo_ – the latter being summoned by Superman – had returned to the Fortress, and headed into the Main Hall. As they entered, the New Mutants all ran up to them. "_Professor!!_" Jubilee exclaimed, rushing up to hug their mentor. "You're okay!!"

The Professor smiled. "I am very glad to see all of you." he said. "We certainly have a lot to do, after what happened, today."

Superman nodded...and then froze, as he realized that Mark wasn't there. "What about Mark?"

Amara looked stricken. "After he sent that virus," she began, "he...he just turned into metal goo...and...and..."

"_Was...was the virus successful?_"

At the sound of that electronic stammer, everyone turned...to see Mark hobble into the Main Hall.

"_MARK!!_" Amara exclaimed, as she and the other New Mutants rushed over to hug him.

Ray laughed, his mistrust forgotten. "You stupid little metal _nut!!_" he exclaimed. "Only a _real_ New Mutant could do something _that_ stupid and live through it!!"

Mark weakly smiled. "_I am glad that I was only knocked offline temporarily._"

Superman smiled. "Well, Mark, _yes_, it worked." he said.

Cyclops nodded. "Well, everyone, for tonight, at least, it looks like all's well that ends well."

"Fine by me," Wolverine muttered, "just as long as it _ends_." With that, he walked off. "You all do whatever; I'm going to see if this place has a _bar._"

Everyone chuckled at that. "Perhaps we should all turn in, as well." the Professor said.

Superman nodded. "The Fortress' teleporter will take you to your rooms." he said. "We just have a few things to take care of." The X-Men all nodded, and headed into the teleporter; Power Girl and Krypto were the last to 'port – Power Girl smiled at him, waving, and Superman waved back, before she 'ported away.

Now, only the Justice League remained in the Main Hall. "We all have much to discuss," Superman said, "but I understand that many of you have lives you should put in order. Please, return to your homes, and put things in order; we can meet up, again, tomorrow morning, at the ruins of the Institute. If anyone needs a lift, the _Argo_ can take you back."

"My ship went down." Batman said, and Superman nodded in agreement.

"I will remain here." J'onn said. "I have nowhere else to go."

The rest of the League nodded at that, and headed out, to either fly or run home, as Batman headed to the vehicle bay.

"J'onn," Superman called, as their Martian teammate turned to go, "I...I heard you say you were from Mars. Is that true?"

J'onn nodded sadly. "My people are extinct, now." he said. "I am the last Martian left alive."

Superman nodded. "J'onn...I am the last survivor of the planet Krypton." he replied. "If...if you ever want to talk, I'll listen."

J'onn's eyes widened. "Then...this place...is _yours?_" he murmured. Superman nodded. "It is _amazing_...my people never even came _close_ to anything like it..."

Superman smiled. "Well, you're welcome to stay." he said. "I'll be back, soon; I need to give Batman a lift." With that, he headed for the vehicle bay, letting J'onn head further into the Fortress.

When Todd came to, he sat up...and groaned. '_Ugh...'anesthetic,' my ass...you'd think this would be an easy habit to break..._'

Looking around, Todd saw that he was in Superman's crystal hangout, in the infirmary, he guessed. He was lying on a crystalline cot, with Wanda and Fred sitting at his bedside, both asleep, and across from him, unconscious, but otherwise fine, was Mystique. After testing his arm, he found that his shoulder was completely healed. '_Whoa...whatever medicine this place uses, it's a hell of a lot better than the stuff in any hospital..._'

As Todd sat up, Wanda and Fred stirred. Wanda smiled sleepily. "Hey." she greeted. "How are you feeling?"

Todd groaned. "My _shoulder's_ fine," he said, "but my _head_ is killing me. For future reference, if I ever get hurt again, and the only 'anesthetic' is the kind you _drink_, do me a favor and let me _die._"

Wanda smiled. "Hopefully, that _won't_ happen again, you goofy _wart_." she teased.

"Hey, you should've seen this place patch you up!" Fred exclaimed. "It was really cool; this place shone this beam on your shoulder, and then this white circle formed around your wound, and started closing it up! I think this place called 'em 'medical nano-bots' or something!"

Todd whistled. "Nice; pretty high-tech."

Wanda smiled. "Todd...for what you did back there..._thank you._" she whispered. Her smile turned a bit shy. "Look...don't get _too_ worked up about this, okay? It's just because...I'm _really_ glad you're okay."

Todd blinked. "Don't get too worked up about what..?" he began...but he _froze_ as he felt a pair of silk-soft lips touch the side of his face.

Todd didn't dare move, or even _breathe_ for almost a minute. '_Okay, it's official; I DID die, and went to Heaven..._'

"Todd, _breathe!!_" Wanda cried.

Todd quickly took a breath, and then a few more; he'd been holding his breath longer than he'd thought. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I didn't turn into a prince."

Wanda's smile grew. "You _goof._" she said. "You already _were_ a prince."

Todd felt that if he smiled any wider, his face would cramp up. "You know," he said, "_one_ kiss didn't turn me into a _real_ prince...but, you know...maybe _two_..."

"Oh, shut _up!_" Wanda laughed, before playfully hex-blasting him off the cot. "I'm turning in, you guys. See you in the morning!" With that, she left the infirmary.

"Todd!" Fred cried. "You okay, little pal?"

"_YAHOOO!!!_" Todd exclaimed, hopping up onto his feet. "I have a _chance_ with her!!"

"Huh??" Fred said. "But...she just _blasted_ you..."

"Well, yeah." Todd admitted. "But _before_, she blasted me 'cause I ticked her off; _that_ time, she did it with _love_."

Fred chuckled, as he and Todd started to leave the infirmary. "Whatever, Todd. Whatever."

After the three children had left, J'onn phased out of the wall, smiling to himself. He couldn't help but find their antics amusing; Todd and Wanda reminded him very much of how he had acted around Xi'aa at that age...

The thought of his perished wife turned J'onn's expression sad. Turning towards the cot where Mystique lay, J'onn walked to her side, to ensure that she was alright, as the azure-skinned metamorph began to stir.

Slowly, Mystique opened her yellow eyes...which widened as she saw his red eyes. "_You_..." she murmured, sitting up. She paused, as she looked herself over, and then at her surroundings. "How...what am I doing here?"

"We managed to get you out." J'onn said simply.

Mystique's eyes widened. "M-My children!" she exclaimed. "Are they..?!"

"They are both safe." J'onn said.

Mystique calmed. "Thank you." she said softly. "But...who are you?"

J'onn smiled. "I am J'onn J'onzz, of Mars." he answered. "Recently, I have begun calling myself the Martian Manhunter."

Mystique's eyes went wide. "You're..?"

"...a Martian." J'onn said. His expression saddened. "The last one."

"I'm...I'm sorry to hear that." Mystique said softly. "But...why did you save me?"

"Because _no_ family should be separated." J'onn whispered. "Not if it can be helped."

"You...you said you were a parent." Mystique said.

J'onn nodded. "I had a wife, Xi'aa, and we had a daughter, K'imm." he whispered.

Mystique lowered her eyes. "Were...were you all..._happy?_"

"Oh, yes." J'onn whispered.

Mystique suppressed a sob. "I'm...glad to hear that." she said. "At...at least you did _right_ by your child..."

"You made mistakes." J'onn said. "Now you have a second chance, to _correct_ them."

Mystique frowned sadly. "How _can_ I? How can I even _hope_ to make up for what I did?"

J'onn smiled. '_You could start by talking to your children._'

Mystique gasped in surprise. "You...how did you...not even _Xavier_ can..!!"

'_We Martians have been refining our telepathic talents for many generations, Raven Darkholme._' J'onn said. "I hope you do not mind my use of your name; do you prefer Mystique?"

Mystique blinked. "Raven will be fine." she said softly.

J'onn nodded. "And, if you wish, you may call me J'onn." he replied. "For now, I will let you and your children converse."

Raven blinked. "How do you..?" she began, but J'onn simply became intangible, phasing through the wall.

Seconds later, Kurt and Rogue walked into the infirmary. "Mother?" Kurt asked. "Are...are you okay?"

Raven weakly smiled. "I'm fine." she said. "Are you both alright?"

"We're fahne." Rogue said. "But..._Gawd_, Mama, whah did ya do somethin' so _stupid?_"

Raven chuckled. "I'm a mother. Occasional bouts of stupidity are a job-requirement."

Kurt and Rogue both smiled. "Just...just don't do zat again, okay?" Kurt asked.

Raven nodded. "Okay." she agreed. Her expression turned sad. "Kurt? Rogue?" she whispered. "There's something I need to tell you both..."

After a long talk with their mother, Kurt and Rogue left the infirmary, letting Mystique get her rest. "_Gawd_..." Rogue murmured. "...we have a half-brother...a human, mutant-hating half-brother."

"_Ja._" Kurt agreed softly.

Rogue then grimaced. "But...then that means...that she and _Sabretooth_..."

Kurt shuddered. "Rogue, some things are just _too_ scary to zhink about."

"Good point." Rogue agreed. Sighing, she started to walk towards the nearest teleporter. "Night, Fuzzy." she said, before she 'ported to her own room. Suppressing a yawn, Kurt followed his sister's example, and took the teleporter to his room.

The room Clark had generated for him – and all the others, Kurt reasoned – was of comfortable size, with a single bunk and two terminals: one for food synthesis, and one for communications, doubling as a phone and computer console. Yawning again, Kurt removed his uniform, stripping down to his boxers, and started towards his bed...

Kurt then froze. '_AMANDA!!_' he thought. He hadn't spoken with her since _yesterday_. '_Mein Gott, she must be worried sick!!_' Kurt darted to the comms terminal, and tapped it, activating the audio communication function. Instantly, the console brought up four holographic screens; one was a speaker designed for input, while two were designed for output, and the fourth was a map of the entire world. Kurt simply touched the North American continent, then the United States, then New York, and then Bayville, the map zooming in each time, until it was centered on Bayville. Fifth screen popped up, showing a holographic phone key-pad. Kurt quickly typed in Amanda's number, and waited...

"_Hello?_"

Kurt mentally smacked itself. It was still late at night. Too late now. "Uh...h-hi, 'Mandy."

There was a momentary pause. "_Kurt?!_" Amanda cried. "_Oh my gosh, where __**are**__ you?! Are you okay?!_"

"I'm fine, 'Mandy." Kurt assured her. "Ve're _all_ fine."

"_Why didn't you __**call**_" Amanda cried, her voice tearful. "_Do you have any __**idea**__ how __**worried**__ I was?! I __**saw**__ you all fighting that big robot-thing, Kurt!! You...you could have been __**killed!!**_"

"Please, _liebe_, don't cry." Kurt soothed. "Ach, I vish I _could_ have called, but zhe Institute vas attacked, and ve all had to run for it...and _zen_ ve had to rescue zhe Professor..." Kurt stopped, as he realized that this wasn't making Amanda feel better. "Zhe _important_ thing, 'Mandy, is zat ve are all _fine_. Ve just...have to hide out until ve can fix zhe Institute."

"_Okay._" Amanda whimpered, calming. "_But...what __**was**__ that thing?_"

Kurt sighed. "_Zat_, 'Mandy, vas a Sentinel, a mutant hunter-killer robot."

Amanda gasped. "_WHAT?!!_" she cried. "_WHY?! There's nothing __**wrong**__ with you!!!_"

Kurt laughed. "Oh, 'Mandy, if _only_ zhere vere more people zat thought like you."

Amanda lightly giggled. "_Will...will I see you soon?_"

"I _hope_ so." Kurt said.

"_Me, too._" Amanda replied. "_Bye, Kurt. I love you so much._"

"I love you, too, _mein liebe._" Kurt whispered. "Take care." With that, the call ended.

As the terminal powered down, Kurt walked to his bed, and lay down. The bed was surprisingly comfortable – it felt something like that 'memory material' advertised on TV, Kurt observed. Yawning again, Kurt pulled the silver blankets up over him...and simply became unconscious.

As she retired to her room, Jean couldn't help but feel strange. As the strange sensation grew, Jean looked down at herself...her eyes widening as she saw her fiery aura slowly kindling over her; as the aura passed over her, it began to change her uniform back to its normal colors, as her powers began to return to their normal levels. '_Phoenix?_' she called through her mind. '_What's going on?_'

Phoenix lightly chuckled within Jean's psyche. '_**Oh, don't worry, Jeannie. I'm still here. I'm just...pooped.**_'

Jean blinked in confusion. '_What..?_'

'_**I've been running on about ten years' worth of repression, Jean; I wasn't sure I'd last this long.**_' Phoenix said. '_**I just need a break.**_'

Jean frowned sadly. '_But we just reconciled, Phoenix; I don't want to lose you..._'

'_**Oh, I'll still be here, Jeannie. Like it or not, you're stuck with me.**_' Phoenix laughed. '_**I'll always be there, to give you a pep-talk, and when you're REALLY in trouble, I'll help you out, like I did, tonight.**_'

Jean smiled. '_Thank you, Phoenix._'

'_**Any time, Jean.**_' Phoenix answered. '_**Oh, and one more thing before I doze off; I'm sure the teleporter will let you visit Scott's room.**_'

Jean blinked, her face going rosy. '_Well...I guess so..._'

Phoenix chuckled. '_**Then why don't you drop by and make this little trip north a MEMORABLE one?**_'

'_PHOENIX!!!_' Jean mentally cried. '_I...I COULDN'T!!!_'

'_**Why not?**_' Phoenix asked. '_**You love him, you want him, and you KNOW he feels the same for you. What's the problem?**_' Phoenix's tone turned grave. '_**If there's ANYTHING we should have learned from losing Annie, Jean, it's that we should cherish our loved ones while we still have them, because we never know when we might lose them.**_' She sighed. '_**It's your choice, Jeannie; whatever you decide, I hope it makes you happy.**_' With that, Phoenix departed, retreating to the corners of Jean's unconscious, to rest up.

Alone with her thoughts once more, Jean considered Phoenix's words. She had nearly lost Scott, today; if she hadn't blasted Juggernaut when she had...

Not only that, but their lives were now more dangerous than _ever_. Mutants had been exposed; they could be attacked at any time, by people just _like_ the Friends of Humanity. Nothing would _ever_ be the same; every second that she and Scott had at peace was _precious_...

Standing up, Jean walked to her room's teleporter, and instructed it to take her to Scott's room; the blue light instantly engulfed her, taking her there. Jean smiled as she saw Scott, still in uniform, lying on his bed, lost in thought, trying to take in everything that had happened.

As he saw her, Scott automatically sat up, getting to his feet. "Jean?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

Jean smiled. "I...I just needed to see you." she replied. Her expression saddened. "Scott...I...I almost _lost_ you, tonight..."

Instantly, Scott walked over and embraced her. "But you _didn't_, Jean." he whispered. "You saved me."

Jean smiled weakly. "You would have done the same for me." she cooed. "But...nothing will ever be the same, Scott..."

Scott sighed. "I know, Jean. I know."

Jean smiled. '_Anything could happen to us._' she sent to him through their link. '_We should cherish every peaceful moment we have together._' Her smile grew, as she was pleasantly surprised by her own boldness; she would have to thank Phoenix, later. '_Why don't we make this little northern vacation a __**memorable**__ one?_'

Scott's eyes widened behind his visor. '_Jean...are...are you sure..?_' he mentally whispered.

'_Very._' Jean replied, smiling as she kissed him.

In the back of her mind, Jean heard a chuckle. '_**That's my girl!**_' Phoenix said. '_**Just let me help you out a little...**_'

Jean smiled as Phoenix whispered her idea. '_Jean?_' Scott thought. '_Was...was that Phoenix?_'

Jean's smile grew, as she nodded. '_She had an idea._' she thought back, as she sent it to him. Scott froze, unable to even _think_, as Jean smiled, and gently removed his visor; Scott automatically closed his eyes tightly, causing Jean to giggle. '_Scott...open your eyes..._'

Slowly, Scott's eyes opened, as a stream of red energy spilled from them...and crashed against the telekinetic wall Jean had generated. Jean kept smiling, as she slowly pushed the optic force back using her TK, aided by Phoenix and fueled by her love for this wonderful man...until she was holding the blasts back within Scott's eyes, with no damage to her lover's eyes...allowing her to see something she had only seen once, before, only too briefly.

_Blue._

Scott's eyes were a pure, pristine, iceberg blue, as deep as the Arctic Sea. Scott's awed smile mirrored her own, as he gently cupped her face. "Jean...you are so _beautiful..._' he murmured. Jean smiled radiantly, her eyes closing in bliss, as she and Scott inched closer, until their lips touched, in a kiss more loving and passionate than any kiss they had ever shared.

Their kiss lasted for several minutes, as their passion grew to levels they had never dared reach...but _this_ time, Jean tossed her inhibitions to the wind, as Scott did the same. Slowly, shyly, Jean reached for Scott's belt, never breaking their kiss, as she unbuckled it and tossed it aside...smiling as she felt Scott's wonderfully strong arms encircle her, and slowly undo her uniform's zipper, before slowly sliding it off her shoulders...

A single, logical thought managed to struggle to the front of Scott's mind. '_Jean...wait...we...we aren't...I don't have any..._' he thought.

Jean mentally giggled. '_Don't worry, Scott._' she shushed him, loving him for his consideration. '_I've been on the pill for several months. We're safe._'

With that, she pushed any other silly worries from his mind, as they stayed in this sacred moment...one that they would remember and cherish for the rest of their lives, no matter what happened to them.

After giving Batman a lift back to Gotham City, it only took minutes for Superman to take the _Argo_ back to the Fortress. After docking the Speeder in the Fortress' vehicle bay, Superman walked into the Main Hall...and smiled as he heard a familiar bark, seconds before Krypto leapt at him, knocking him off his feet, as Krypto licked his face. "Okay, okay!" Superman laughed, sitting up and scratching Krypto's ears. "I'm glad to see you, too, boy!"

As Superman stood up, he smiled as he saw Alison, still in uniform, walk up to him. "Hey." she cooed. "It's been quite a day, hasn't it?"

Superman nodded. "It sure has." he agreed. Then, he paused, putting a hand to his head, still woozy from the Kryptonite blast he'd taken.

Alison instantly noticed. "It's the Kryptonite those _bastards_ used, isn't it?" she whispered, moving to his side. "_God_...the thought of that stuff in _their_ hands..."

"It's the same as having the Sentinels in their hands, _Alia_." Superman soothed. "We can't let our fear rule us."

"You're right." Alison cooed. "Besides, you have a new team to back you up."

Superman nodded. "I really feel that we – the League – can do some _real_ good out there, Ali."

Alison nodded, her smile becoming a bit wistful. "I...I guess everyone has to leave, sooner or later..."

Superman froze...and then smiled warmly. "_Taushi_, who said _anything_ about _leaving?_" he said.

"Well..." Alison whispered, "...now that you have a new team, why would you need to stay with us..?"

Smiling, Superman embraced his precious _Alia_, holding her close. "Ali, you – _all_ of you – are my _family_." he promised. "Yes, sometimes I'll need to take care of League business, but I am _not_ leaving the Institute...and I am _never_ leaving you." His smile grew. "Things have just changed, a bit, that's all."

Alison smiled back, and then sighed. "_I'll_ say." she agreed. Her expression became sad. "I guess my career is officially _over_, now; so much for that concert I had, tomorrow night."

Superman arched an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked.

"Well...nobody's going to want to hear me sing, with all the anti-mutant sentiment around..."

Superman chuckled. "Give people a _chance_, Ali." he gently chided. "That sounds like _Magneto_ talking."

Alison chuckled at the joke. "Even...even if my career _is_ over, Clarkie," she cooed, "as long as I'm with you, as much as I love singing...I'll be okay."

Superman smiled. "Don't count yourself out, just _yet_, _taushi_, that's all." he said. At that, Alison smiled, as her hand went to her neck, as she absently traced the pendant that he had given her for Christmas.

Alison noticed his gaze falling to the pendant. "I've taken to wearing it for good luck." she cooed. "It was a good thing, too, after the Institute was destroyed." Her smile turned shy. "This is my most precious possession, Clarkie; you gave it to me...when you told me you loved me."

Slowly, Krypto walked out of the Main Hall, smiling his canine smile, letting Young Master and his Mate have their time together.

Alison's smile grew. "Clark?" she whispered. "There's...something I wanted to tell you." She took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Superman blinked. "Ready? For what..?" he began...and then he understood. "_Alia_," he whispered, "are you _sure?_"

Alison nodded. "I was planning to tell you, today...and then...all _this_ happened." she cooed. Her expression turned worried. "And after what happened, I want to make every moment we have _count_." She smiled again. "I want you, Clark Kent."

Superman felt like he'd been hit with Kryptonite...except that the dizziness that Alison had just caused in him was accompanied by a sheer joy that only _flight_ could produce. Smiling, Superman leaned down to his _taushi_, and kissed her. "I want you, too, Alison Blaire." he replied softly.

Alison's blissful smile mirrored his own. Slowly, their hands entwined, as they stepped onto the teleporter, before 'porting to Clark's room.

Clark's room was identical to the ones he had created for his friends, except that it housed some of the things he had left in the Fortress, such as the red flannel jacket he had worn the day he'd left home, and his Pa's prized Clint Eastwood movie collection. Alison smiled as she looked around. "I like your room." she cooed.

"Thanks." Superman – Clark – replied, smiling. Slowly, he and Alison sat at the edge of the bed, as Clark tried to calm his thoughts, which were wonderfully jumbled by Alison's statement. "Well..."

"Yeah." Alison agreed, lightly blushing. "I'm...a little scared, _tausha_."

"I am, too, _taushi_." Clark admitted. Then, he smiled gently. "Ali, I love you, and I don't want to pressure you..."

"I love you, too, Clark, and you're _not_ pressuring me." Alison said. She smiled. "I'm ready." At that, Clark smiled with goofy joy, as he and his beloved Alia leaned towards each other, their lips meeting in a loving kiss.

Their kiss slowly kindled in passion, as Clark lovingly embraced Alison, his hands exploring her slender back, finding the zipper of her uniform, and undoing it, before tenderly slipping it off of her, sliding it completely from her, before slipping her long gloves off, revealing his precious _taushi_ in nothing but her blue panties, the pair with his crest on the front, her pendant around her throat, resting just above the swell of her bare breasts.

Alison lightly giggled, momentarily breaking the kiss, before her hands moved to his belt, unbuckling it, and tossing it aside, as she helped him remove his uniform's upper part, exposing his chiseled torso. Alison smiled as she gazed upon him, giggling as Clark pulled her close to him, snaring her in another kiss, savoring the softness of her breasts pressing against him, as he tenderly slipped off her panties...revealing his beloved Alia in all her glory.

Clark momentarily broke the kiss to gaze upon her...and almost forgetting how to breathe. He smiled. "_Radiana..._" he whispered intimately, in Kryptonian. _Beautiful..._

Alison smiled shyly, before she answered...making Clark _immensely_ glad that he'd started to teach her the Kryptonian language. "_Ia paruno Iu._" _I am only for you..._

Smiling with stupid joy, Clark momentarily stood up, and removed his boots, uniform pants, and boxers, before sitting back down with his _taushi_, pulling back the silvery blankets, letting her climb in, and then lying next to her, never breaking his gaze upon her for a _second_.

Clark embraced his Alia, holding her close, as Alison wreathed her slender arms around his neck, their noses touching. Alison smiled. "I...I can't believe this is happening..." she whispered.

"Neither can I, _taushi_." Clark whispered, smiling, before he kissed her, savoring her blissful moan, as she responded with equal fervor.

Their kiss grew in passion slowly, as they savored this sacred moment, this sharing of each other. Holding her close, Clark began to caress his _taushi_'s bare breasts, causing her to gasp with pure pleasure. Their desires began to kindle, flaring to levels undreamed of; slowly, Clark rolled Alison to his side with loving care, before moving on top of her, as their passion grew more and more heated...

Alison broke their kiss for a moment. "_Amia mias..._" she whispered, her eyes closed in utter bliss. _Love me..._

Clark smiled at her lovingly. "_I'tu'ri'la._" he replied. _Forever. _With that loving declaration, Clark leaned down, to seal his _taushi_'s lips with a kiss...

...and no more words were needed.

_Coming Soon:_

_The Professor has been rescued._

_The Sentinels are gone._

_But the hardest truth remains: mutants have been exposed worldwide._

_Will hatred and prejudice make the X-Men's future a harsh one?_

_Or will the world's newest super-team make a difference?_

_Find out, in the final chapter of this epic story, coming to your computer soon…_


	31. Public Relations

EPILOGUE: PUBLIC RELATIONS

_North Pole, July 12, 2008_

As a soft, whirring alarm echoed through the Fortress of Solitude, Alison lightly stirred, still trapped in that blissful oblivion between sleep and the waking world. The alarm echoed again, and then once more, before going silent, but not before it had fully woken her.

"Morning, beautiful." Clark said, smiling.

Alison smiled sleepily, her eyes still closed, as she nuzzled into her lover's bare chest, savoring the feel of his strong arms, oh-so-perfect for cuddling, as they encircled her. As she stirred, she started to recall the night before...and her smile only grew, her memory bolstered by her light dizziness, and the tingling of her skin. "Morning." Alison sleepily cooed. She groaned to herself. "What _was_ that?"

Clark lightly chuckled. "That was the Fortress' morning-alert; when I was living here, I'd programmed it to go off at sunrise. Now that we're all here, it's reactivated." he confessed. "Sorry."

Alison giggled. "Don't worry." she assured him. Then, she frowned, as she imagined what she must look like. "Oh, _God_, Clark," she groaned, "I must look like a total _wreck_..."

Clark blinked in confused incredulity at her statement, before he smiled lovingly, as he moved her to his side, moving atop her, as he gazed upon her; her hair was prettily mussed, with a few strawberry-blonde tendrils flowing down in front of her face, partially hiding her crystal eyes, as well as curling around her shoulders, her skin coated in a light sheen, giving her a lovely glow. "_Alia_," he whispered, "you're absolutely _stunning..._"

The sweetness of her _tausha_'s declaration, and the way he was holding her now completely banished any insecurity from her mind, instead flooding her thoughts with memories of their time together; their first time made sweet by innocence, and searing by pure passion and love. They had gone so wonderfully slow, their first time, learning to please each other, only setting an utterly _perfect_ tone for their next tryst, after which Alison had been wonderfully drained, and fallen asleep right on her Clarkie's chest. Alison smiled. "Were you watching me?" she cooed.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "A little." he confessed. "You looked so peaceful; I couldn't help it." His expression became a bit worried. "Ali...are...are you okay?" he asked. "With everything?"

Now it was Alison's turn to smile, as she gave her beloved a passionate kiss. "_Yes_, Clark." she declared, as the kiss ended. "I am _very_ okay with everything."

Clark smiled, his expression still tinged with loving concern. "I'm glad," he replied, "because...that first time...I...I was worried that..."

Alison's smile became a bit guilty, as she recalled how very _vocal_ she had been, their first time..._and_ the second time, she amended. "Well, for women, the first time _does_ hurt a bit." she admitted. Then, before her _tausha_'s expression grew more concerned, she sweetly kissed him, adding, "But it wasn't as painful as I had thought it would be, Clark; it was just a bit of a shock, at first, that's all." She smiled sweetly. "I will _never_ regret what we shared, Clark."

Clark smiled back. "Neither will _I_." he promised. With that, he gave her a soft, loving kiss, before moving to get up.

Alison was confused. "Clark..?"

Clark smiled boyishly. "As mind-blowing an experience as being with you is, Ali, I promised the rest of the League that I'd meet them, this morning, and if I stay much longer, I don't think I'll be _able_ to leave." he said. Alison smiled at that, her smile only growing as she took in her lover as he stood up. "Fortress," Clark instructed, as he picked up his uniform, "activate electron-shower chamber."

Instantly, a door slid open in the wall of Clark's room, revealing a shower-like chamber beyond. Clark smiled at Alison. "I'll only be a few minutes, Ali, okay?"

Alison smiled back. "Okay." she cooed. With that, Clark headed inside the chamber, the door closing behind him, as Alison laid back down on the bed, the silvery sheets tangling more around her body, as she closed her eyes, to claim a few more minutes of precious sleep...and to let the thoughts of her and Clark's wonderful first time together turn to dreams...

Clark felt like he was in a perpetual daydream as he stepped into the electron-shower, letting the ionized waters wash him clean. '_Did last night really happen?_' he thought, not even bothering to try and keep the goofy smile off of his face.

Being with Alison had surpassed any fantasy that he had dared to have...

And all through the night, he hadn't heard so much as a _peep_.

Clark's smile only grew, as he promptly lowered the temperature of the shower-water. He'd been right; if he'd remained with Alison for much longer, he wouldn't have had the willpower to leave her side.

Still, he'd probably need to have his head examined for leaving his beautiful _taushi_'s side.

After his shower had ended, Clark quickly donned his uniform, and stepped out of the shower-chamber, smiling as he saw that Alison had gone back to sleep, the sheets tangled around her. Quietly, Superman walked to the edge of the bed, gazing upon her for but a moment, and then heading for the teleporter, 'porting to the Main Hall.

As Superman emerged into the Main Hall, he saw that J'onn was already there, waiting for him. "Good morning." the Martian Manhunter greeted pleasantly.

"Good morning." Superman replied...still trying very hard not to grin like an utter _goof_.

J'onn lightly smiled. "I trust everything is well?" he asked. "I sense joy..."

Superman froze. "What?" he asked. "I...I thought..."

"_Martian_ telepaths have a slightly wider telepathic 'range' than human telepaths." J'onn explained, lightly smiling. "I have previously spoken with the Professor, and he has explained your immunity to X-Gene-based powers."

Superman slowly nodded. "I...see..." he said softly.

J'onn looked mildly apologetic. "I hope I did not alarm you." he said. "I will respect your privacy...but I simply could not help but sense your joy." He chuckled. "It was the same kind of overwhelming joy that I felt every time I was with my wife, Xi'aa."

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that sounds about right." he said. His tone turned more serious. "Well, we'd best get going; the rest of the League are likely waiting for..." and then he paused.

J'onn blinked. "What is wrong?"

Superman frowned, and sent his thoughts to J'onn, explaining the situation. "Tell the others I'll be a little late, J'onn. There's something I need to look after, first..."

_Helicarrier, S.H.I.E.L.D. Mobile Supreme Headquarters_

Over the Atlantic Ocean, the massive Helicarrier hovered, surveying the previous path of the bogey that had been heading towards the States...and had actually _reached_ New York...before it had been stopped.

On the bridge of the Helicarrier, Nick Fury frowned. "Have we found any trace of that thing?" he asked. They _had_ to know what they were dealing with, in case this ever happened again.

"Negative, sir." one lieutenant reported. "No trace whatsoever."

'_Damn._' Fury thought. "And what about Xavier's students?" With the destruction of the Institute, satellites had tracked the Blackbird heading out to sea...being chased by F.O.H. fighters, and then, the fighters had just been shot down – by the kid's space-ship, no doubt – and then, the Blackbird had just vanished, and Fury _knew_ it didn't have stealth capabilities _that_ sophisticated...

"No sign of the Blackbird's exhaust-trail, General." an aide reported. Fury scowled; he needed to locate Xavier. He knew for sure that Xavier's students had rescued Xavier, by now. After this recent attack, and mutants being exposed, they needed to get control of the situation, _fast_...

"General, sir!" the lieutenant cried. "_Look!_" Stirred out of his thoughts, Fury walked to the main view-screen...

There, hovering in front of the Helicarrier, was Superman, arms folded.

'_Well, that saves me the trouble._' Fury thought. "Switch on the external speakers." he ordered. In seconds, the speakers were on. "Kid, I thought I asked you to keep your head low." Fury said, smiling wryly.

Superman frowned. "_Under the circumstances, General, I didn't have much choice._" he replied, over the speakers.

"I know." Fury said. "Right now, we have a _lot_ to talk about."

"_Yes, we do._"

"Good. Then we're on the same page." Fury said. "Why don't you come aboard, and tell us where Xavier is? There are a few things I need to discuss with him, as well."

"_I have a counter-proposal for you, General._" Superman said. "_Why don't __**you**__ come with __**me**__, and we can __**all**__ discuss things?_"

Fury frowned. "You're talking about that little hideaway of yours." he said. "Sorry, kid, but I'm going to have to _insist._"

"_So am I._"

Fury thought about it for a moment. "I'm going to have to bring a bodyguard."

Superman arched an eyebrow. "_You don't trust us?_"

"I don't trust _anyone_ completely, kid. You know that."

Superman chuckled wryly. "_I suppose so._" he agreed. "_Okay, General; who did you have in mind?_"

"Captain America." Fury replied. To the bridge-crew, he added, "Is Rogers back from pacifying the latest riot?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then get him up here." Fury ordered. To Superman, he asked, "That fine with you, kid?"

Superman nodded. "_It's okay with me, General._"

After a few minutes, Captain America walked onto the bridge. "General." Cap greeted, saluting. "What's the situation?" Fury simply gestured to the screen. "Oh."

Superman lightly smiled. "_Hey, Cap._" he greeted.

Cap nodded. "Superman." he said. To Fury, he added, "General? What's going on?"

"The two of us are going to have a little talk with Xavier and his students." Fury answered. To the crew, he added, "As soon as we leave, I want you to follow our path via satellite..."

"General Fury, sir, we have another radar-contact!"

Turning, Fury saw the kid's space-ship suddenly appear out of thin air next to Superman. Fury sighed. "Belay that order." he amended. So _that_ was how the Blackbird had disappeared; the kid's ship had hidden its path. "Okay, then, Superman," Fury relented, "you seem to be holding all the cards, right now. We're good to go." At that, Superman nodded, before a beam of blue light shone from the ship, taking him inside it. The beam then shone into the Helicarrier's bridge, engulfing Fury and Cap.

'_Damn it..._' Fury thought as the light engulfed him, '_...I'm too old for this..._'

_North Pole_

Shortly after Clark had left, Alison, unable to get back to sleep, had gotten up, and headed into the electron-shower chamber. Inside the shower-chamber, Alison smiled contentedly, her eyes closed, enjoying the tingling sensation of the ionized water as it glided over her skin, cleansing her completely.

She still couldn't stop thinking about the night before. She had occasionally fantasized about her and Clark's first time together...only to discover that the reality was _so_ much better...

''_Man of Steel' is __**right...**_' Alison thought, blushing as she smiled to herself, hugging her arms around herself...as she imagined Clark's strong, loving arms around her, holding her close in their most intimate embrace...

Alison quickly shook herself out of her little daydream, lowering the temperature of the water. She sighed, as the coldness of reality banished her happy thoughts. Mutants were exposed. People were rioting...

Her singing career being over was the _least_ of her problems.

But then Clark's earlier words came back to her. '_Give people a chance, Ali..._'

Her shower finished, Alison switched off the shower...and gasped in surprise as gusts of warm air filled the chamber, drying her off in seconds. Alison smiled. '_The wonders of Kryptonian ingenuity..._'

Once she had dried off, Alison walked out of the chamber, and quickly donned her uniform. She was about to leave the room, when her earlier worries came back. Her concert...it was supposed to be tonight...but there was no _way_ she could go on stage...

Spying the comms terminal in the wall, Alison walked over to it, and activated it, dialing Aunt Bridget's number. The dial tone rang for a few seconds, and Alison hoped that her Auntie was available...

"_Hello?_"

Alison paused. "_Daddy??_"

"_Alison?!_" Carter Blaire cried on the other end. "_Oh my God, sweetheart, are you okay?!_"

"I'm okay, Daddy." Alison replied. "But...I thought I had called Auntie Bridget's number..."

"_You did, honey. As soon as I saw you – all of you – on the news, I dropped everything and came straight to Bridget and Mike's home, hoping that they knew more. We've been trying to contact you ever since...but something must have happened to your phone..._"

Alison smiled weakly. "Yeah...it was in the Institute when it blew up." she said, absently touching her pendant, still around her throat.

"_Well, honey, the __**important**__ thing is that you're okay._" her father answered. "_All of us have been worried __**sick**__ after what happened._"

"I know, Daddy. I'm sorry I worried you all." Alison said. "It's...kind of a long story..."

"_I'm sure it is, sweetie; you and Clark will have to tell us about it when this all dies down._"

Alison blinked. "W-What..??"

Carter lightly chuckled. "_It's okay, honey; Bridget filled me in on just what a 'super' young man Clark is._" he said. "_Sweetheart, why didn't you __**tell**__ me about what Clark was doing with his abilities?_"

Alison chuckled. "Well, after what had happened at our dinner with Aunt Embeth, and telling you about Krypton, we didn't want to shock you _too_ much."

Carter chuckled. "_I suppose I can understand._" he said. "_And from what we all saw yesterday, Clark shouldn't let anything stop him from doing what he's doing. His father would be proud._"

Alison's smile grew. "Yes, he would." she agreed. Her smile became a bit embarrassed. "Dad, I was...also hoping to talk to Aunt Bridget..."

"_Of course, Alison. I'll go get her._"

"Okay." Alison said. "I love you, Daddy."

She could hear the smile in her father's voice. "_I love you, too, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you._" he replied. "_Don't ever forget that._"

"Okay." Alison answered. "I'll talk to you soon."

After a few seconds, her Auntie's British lilt replaced her father's voice. "_Hello, honey._" Bridget said. "_Well, you've had quite the day, yesterday._"

Alison chuckled. "_Tell_ me about it!"

Her Auntie's tone became sad. "_Alison...I know you probably don't need any more bad news...but, after yesterday...Tom tore up your contract._" Bridget sighed. "_I felt like kicking that wanker __**right**__ between the legs!_"

Alison chuckled sadly. "I kinda figured that he might do that." she admitted. "I guess my concert tonight is a wash, anyway..."

"_Well...not really._" Bridget said, a sly smile in her voice. "_The bookings and rentals for the concert were done, weeks ago; that concert is a done deal – Tom couldn't cancel it if he __**wanted**__ to._"

Alison sighed. "Well, he might as _well_ have." she said. "It's not like I can go."

"_Why not?_"

"Aunt Bridget, are you _serious?_" Alison cried. "After yesterday?! I'll get booed right off the stage!!"

"_**That**__ doesn't sound like the fearless little spitfire who stood up to that helmet-clad brute, yesterday._" Bridget lightly scolded.

Alison blinked. "You...you saw that?"

"_Of course!_" Bridget replied. "_Sweetheart, after facing off with someone like __**him**__, as well as Lord-knows-what-else yesterday, what could your fans __**possibly**__ do to scare you away from what you __**love**__ doing?_"

Alison hesitated. "I...I don't know..."

Bridget sighed. "_Well, Alison, I can't decide for you._" she said. Her tone turned a bit sly. "_But there __**is**__ someone else who wants to talk to you._" With that, Bridget left the phone, and Alison paused, confused...

"_Hi, Ali!_"

The sound of her younger cousin's voice brought an automatic smile to Alison's face. "Hi, Jenny." she replied. "How are you?"

"_I'm fine._" Jenny said...before she went into overdrive. "_Did you really fight a giant robot? And what about that big mean guy on that dam? Where did you go? Why did those mean people blow up your school..?_"

"Jenny, slow down!" Alison laughed. "Yes, we did fight a big robot and that big guy. We had to hide at Clark's old hangout, because our school was gone." She sighed. "And I can't really say why they blew up our school, Jenny; some people just...hate other people, for no reason at all."

Jenny was quiet for a moment. "_Mommy says that...that people are saying that you guys are bad._" she whispered. "_But...but they're __**wrong**__, okay, Ali? Don't believe them, okay?_"

Alison smiled. "I won't, Jenny."

"_Okay._" Jenny said. "_Are you ready for your concert?_"

Alison smiled. "Actually, Jenny...I'm not sure I'm going to go."

Jenny paused. "_But...but why not?_" she cried. She started to sniffle. "_I...I thought you were going to! Mommy even said I could stay up late to watch you!_"

Alison looked stricken. "Part of me wants to, Jenny," she said, trying to console her cousin, "but...I don't think anyone wants to hear me sing, anymore..."

"_**I**__ do!!_" Jenny cried, her sniffling growing. "_I wanna hear you sing, Ali! You're my favoritest cousin in the world, and I don't care what anybody says about you! And you shouldn't either, okay?_"

Alison smiled weakly. "I'll think about it, Jenny."

"_Okay._" Jenny said, her sniffling calming. "_I'll let you go, now, Ali. I love you, and Mommy says she does, too!_"

Alison smiled. "I love you, too, Jenny. I hope to talk to you all, soon. 'Bye!"

"_'Bye!_" With that, the phone call ended.

Alison smiled to herself; Auntie Bridget really knew how to pile on the guilt when she had to. And part of Alison _did_ want to continue her career in music...

Sighing to herself, Alison activated another part of the comms terminal, linking to the Internet, and logging into her MSN account. She had no new e-mails – surprise, surprise. Sighing again, Alison went to sign out.

_Lila-Singer has signed in._

Alison froze. She didn't dare sign out or try to talk to Lila; she couldn't bear to have her friend wig out at her for being a mutant...but she was also afraid that Lila would just leave...

_Lila-Singer says: Hi._

Alison took a deep breath...and started typing.

_Care-Blaire says: Hi._

_Lila-Singer says: I...kinda saw yu on TV..._

Alison gulped.

_Care-Blaire says: Yeah._

_Lila-Singer says: Are yu...a mutant?_

_Care-Blaire says: Yes._

_Lila-Singer says: Really?_

Alison suppressed a sob. This was it; her friend was about to ditch her...

_Care-Blaire says: Yes._

_Lila-Singer says: That's so COOL!_

Alison blinked.

_Care-Blaire says: What?_

_Lila-Singer says: Well...you see...I'm one, too._

_Care-Blaire says: OMG are you SERIOUS?_

_Lila-Singer says: Yeah._

_Lila-Singer says: I'm sorry I didn't say anything; I was so scared..._

_Care-Blaire says: Don't worry. I was scared a bit at first, too._

_Care-Blaire says: When did yu find out?_

_Lila-Singer says: A few months ago. I had this big headache in my bedroom, and then I was suddenly in the bathroom._

_Care-Blaire says: Yu can teleport?_

_Lila-Singer says: Yep._

_Care-Blaire says: Cool!_

_Lila-Singer says: But not as cool as yu, Ali! You're an actual SUPERHERO! Yu GO, girl!_

_Care-Blaire says: Thanks!_

_Lila-Singer says: But what about those other guys?_

_Care-Blaire says: They're the X-Men, the other students that go to the Institute._

_Lila-Singer says: Cool!_

_Lila-Singer says: But did I actually see SUPERMAN with yu guys?_

_Care-Blaire says: Yeah._

_Lila-Singer says: He's REAL??_

_Care-Blaire says: Yep._

_Lila-Singer says: lol What does your boyfriend think about yu being on the same team as Super-Hottie?_

Alison fought to keep the smile off her face; as much as she wanted to, she didn't want to risk it. Not yet, at least.

_Care-Blaire says: He doesn't mind. He knows I love him._

_Lila-Singer says: Wow, he must trust yu. I'd sure be tempted. lol_

Alison suppressed a chuckle.

_Lila-Singer says: Hey...is that Institute a kind of...school for mutants?_

_Care-Blaire says: Yeah._

_Lila-Singer says: Do yu think...I could join up?_

_Care-Blaire says: Sure! We'd love to have yu! I KNOW the Professor would agree!_

_Lila-Singer says: Thanks!_

_Lila-Singer says: What about your concert?_

_Care-Blaire says: I don't know..._

_Lila-Singer says: Yu SHOULD go! Don't let those jerks make yu give up your career!_

_Care-Blaire says: I'll think about it._

_Care-Blaire says: I gotta go. We'll talk later._

_Lila-Singer says: Okay._

_Lila-Singer says: Bye!_

_Care-Blaire says: Bye!_

_Lila-Singer has signed out._

After signing out from MSN, Alison couldn't help but smile; it was a considerable relief to find out that her friend Lila was okay with her being a mutant, as well as being one herself...though she felt a bit guilty about not telling her the _whole_ truth about her relationship with Clark.

Still, it wasn't as if Lila would have _believed_ her if she'd told her friend her boyfriend was Superman...

Alison smiled to herself, as she headed to the teleporter.

Since yesterday, life had _certainly_ gotten more interesting.

After taking the teleporter to the Main Hall, Scott and Jean, in uniform, shared a brief, sweet kiss as they stepped off the teleporter pad.

Scott's mind was still trapped in a wonderful fog after last night. Waking up next to Jean was the _best_ way to wake up, as far as he was concerned. The night before had just been _perfect_...

'_My sentiments exactly, lover._' Jean mentally cooed, smiling sweetly. '_And being reminded we needed a shower was kinda funny._'

Scott chuckled. After they had woken up – with Scott's visor safely on – the Fortress' computer had, politely but emotionlessly, informed them that hygiene was important, and opened some kind of high-tech shower chamber in their room. '_Yeah, that was...interesting._' he agreed. '_But if we keep smiling like idiots, someone – like __**Logan**__ – is going to catch on._'

'_Well, I'm __**sorry!**_' Jean mentally laughed. '_Is it __**my**__ fault that __**somebody**__ made me so happy, last night, that I __**can't**__ stop smiling?_'

'_I guess not._' Scott admitted. '_I'm just saying that we should be careful; do you __**really**__ want to get 'The Talk' from Logan?_'

Just then, the teleporter activated, depositing Alison, in uniform, on the teleporter pad. "Hey, guys." she greeted, smiling...and then paused. "What's going on?"

Scott blinked. "What do you mean?"

Alison's smile grew. "Why are you both smiling?"

'_**Told**__ you._' Scott mentally chided.

But Jean arched an eyebrow. "Why are _you_ smiling, Alison?"

Alison's face flushed. "Um...well..." she stammered. "D-Don't change the subject!"

Jean smiled. "I think each of us _know_ why the other is smiling."

Alison's eyes widened. "You and Scott..?"

"Yes." Jean said, smiling happily as her and Scott's hands laced together. "And you and Clark..?"

Alison's smile mirrored Jean's expression. "_Tausha_ was _wonderful_..." she murmured...and then blushed fiercely. "You're not going to blab, are you?"

Scott smiled. "_I_ won't."

"Neither will I." Jean promised.

"I won't tell on you guys, either." Alison promised. "I'm really happy for you guys."

"Thanks." Scott said.

"We're happy for you and Clark, too." Jean added. Her expression turned concerned. "So...what about your concert, tonight?"

Alison sighed. "I still don't know..."

"Ali, you shouldn't let a bunch of small-minded bigots keep you from a career you _love_." Jean said.

"I know," Alison said, "but what if it's _more_ than just a _bunch_ of them..?"

'_Students, please report to the Meeting Chamber._' came the Professor's powerful mental voice. '_Clark has just informed us that we have a guest._'

Scott sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that something's up?" he asked aloud.

"Because something's _always_ up." Jean said, shaking her head.

"At least, with _us_ it always is." Alison agreed. With that, they stepped back onto the teleporter, instructing it to take them to the Meeting Chamber, before it 'ported them away.

The teleporter deposited them within the comfortably large Meeting Chamber, where the rest of the X-Men, the New Mutants, Wanda, Todd, Fred, Mystique, Logan, Ororo, and the Professor were waiting. After the three of them each sat upon a crystalline chair, as the others were doing, Superman 'ported in on the teleporter pad...followed by Captain America and General Fury.

Fury looked around. "So _this_ is why you kept that little space-buggy of yours blinded." he said, frowning as Krypto started to growl at him.

"Considering S.H.I.E.L.D.'s previous status, General, I felt it was best for everyone if the Fortress' location remained secret." Superman said, as he gently shushed his pet.

"We'll see." Fury said. Looking to the Professor, he added, "It's good to see you, Xavier."

"General." the Professor replied politely.

"I can see that we have a lot to discuss." Fury said.

"We certainly do, General." Superman said firmly. He frowned. "I think we should _start_ with the Sentinel Project...including the fact that it was _initially_ a S.H.I.E.L.D.-sanctioned project."

Logan frowned. "You were _always_ a mistrustful S.O.B., Fury, but those things are a _new_ level of paranoia, even for _you_."

"General...how _could_ you?" Kitty said. "How could you _build_ those things?"

Fury shook his head. "We only _designed_ the Sentinels; the Project was never allowed into the production phase." he replied. His expression hardened. "At the time, the rationale was that, sooner or later, mutants were going to go public. And when that happens, some mutants – like Magneto – are going to realize that conventional law enforcement won't stop them."

"So you develop mutant-killing robots." Mystique spat. "You son of a bitch..."

"_Watch_ it, Darkholme." Fury replied. "The Sentinels were intended to be a _deterrent_, and – in the worst-case scenario – a method of _law enforcement_. They're deadly, yes, but so are police-issue firearms; they were to be used as a _last resort_."

"Perhaps, on some level, I can understand your reasoning, General," the Professor said, "but developing such weapons, to be used against a _single_ group of people..."

"...which was why the Project was scrapped, Xavier." Fury said. "The only way to make the Sentinels effective as a countermeasure was to equip them with deadly weapons...which, in the hands of those who _wanted_ the Project developed, could have turned them into engines of _genocide_." His eyes narrowed. "I wasn't _about_ to let that happen, so I ordered the Project killed...but _some_ of our people assigned to it disagreed."

"Your mole." the Professor said.

Fury glared at the Professor...and nodded. "Bolivar Trask, Ph.D. in genetics and cybernetics. He was on the Project from the start; he believed that, within a few generations, mutants could replace humans as the dominant species on the planet, and that the Sentinels could counter mutants..."

"...so when you killed the Project, Trask hooked up with the Friends of Humanity." Scott said. "Thanks."

Fury frowned at Scott, before he continued. "The _point_ is that, though we've collared Trask and put Marko back into deep storage, the damage is _done_. What we have to do now, Xavier, is get control of the situation."

The Professor nodded. "And I presume you had a plan in mind?"

"Correct." Fury said. "Now that we have Trask in custody, and that the F.O.H.'s funding is practically _gone_, we should be able to handle things from a public perspective. We just have to issue a public announcement that the New York attack was the work of a new terrorist faction, and that it, as well as the attack on the dam, was repelled by a new government task force, which should take care of any rumors of people being _born_ with special abilities."

Fury then frowned at Superman. "But keeping the _Senate_ quiet...that's going to be a little harder. That prick Kelly's foaming at the mouth to try and push his agenda through; he's not going to shut up so easy." he continued. "I've been content to let you act as an independent in the past, son, but from now on, if you want to keep doing what you're doing, you're going to have to join the Avengers. Your abilities could prove very useful to S.H.I.E.L.D., and Kelly will have a tough time complaining, once you're government-sanctioned." He looked around the Fortress. "And as for _this_ place...well, I'm sure we can find _some_ way to make use of it..."

"I'm sorry, General Fury," Superman said firmly, his eyes narrowed, "but the answer is _no_. The Avengers do good work, I admit, but if I had to wait _every_ time for the green light, I wouldn't even be able to help _half_ the people I can help, now." He crossed his arms. "And, perhaps more importantly, the Fortress' technology is _off-limits_, to _any_ Earth organization. If you'd read the Avengers' report closely, you'd know that I made it clear that introducing _any_ Kryptonian technology would, ultimately, do a _lot_ more harm than good."

Cap lightly chuckled. "What did I tell you, General?" he said. "I _told_ you he wouldn't go for it."

Fury frowned. "Son, this isn't up for debate. If you want this plan to happen, you're going to have to..."

"General, that's part of _why_ I won't do this." Superman said. "I couldn't disagree with your plan more _completely_."

Fury's eyes narrowed. "Come again?"

"Telling people that everything that's happened was the work of terrorists or government agents isn't going to help." Superman continued. "People need to be _reassured_, not _lied to._"

"Son, I think we know a bit more about this than you do." Fury said.

Superman arched an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. "What about Area 51?"

Todd laughed. "_Good_ one, Supes!"

"Denying what happened will only increase people's distrust, both of mutants _and_ the people who lied to them." Superman continued.

Fury groaned. "Xavier, for God's sake, talk some _sense_ into him!"

"Superman is _right_, General." the Professor said. "We may not like it, but the world knows of us, now. There _is_ no going back; we must face the world, now."

Fury put his hand to his forehead. "And you expect S.H.I.E.L.D. to just go along with this?" he asked flatly. "You expect us to walk _right_ into chaos, and to walk away from the greatest technological treasure-trove this planet has ever _seen?_"

"Yes, General." Superman replied. "Because there is no other _choice_." He smiled back at the X-Men. "I'm already _on_ a couple of winning teams."

Fury frowned. "Son, this is the biggest mistake of your life..."

"Maybe." Superman said. He smiled. "Maybe not."

Logan chuckled. "Well, what are ya gonna do, Fury? _Make_ him join up?" he laughed. "You just tell me when and where; I'll pay good money to see _that_ fight!"

Fury scowled...and then half-smiled wryly, shaking his head. "Well, kid, I'll say this for you: you've got _balls_." he said. "Okay, then; we'll try it your way...for _now_." His frown returned. "But like I said, kid, the thought of what you can do is a damn spooky one, _especially_ now that you've formed that...'Justice League,' of yours; _seven_ Alpha-Class super-powered beings, and _one_ Omega-Class, under unified command, with no guiding authority..."

"We _are_ guided, General." Superman replied. "By our _consciences_. I know you don't trust us...but _give us a chance._"

Fury sighed. "Dammit, I'm too _old_ for this..." he muttered. "I just _know_ I'm going to regret this...but okay, I'll agree to it...for _now_."

Superman smiled. "That's all we ask, General."

Fury nodded, and turned to Mystique. "And you, Darkholme? You ready to resume your mission?"

Mystique was about to reply, but the Professor spoke up. "With respect, General, I was hoping to offer Raven a position as an instructor with the Institute, once we have rebuilt it."

If Superman's plan had startled Fury, _that_ statement utterly _flabbergasted_ him. "You're _kidding_."

"I assure you, I am not." the Professor said pleasantly. "I believe that our students could benefit from her training and expertise...provided she agrees, of course."

Fury frowned. "As long as she does a few odd-jobs for S.H.I.E.L.D., every so often, I'm fine with it." he said. "Well, Darkholme? That okay with you?"

Mystique had been too surprised to say anything until then. "I...I will consider it."

"Fine, then." Fury said. "I think we're done here."

Superman nodded. "I've programmed the _Argo_ to take you back to the Helicarrier...without revealing the Fortress' location."

"Of course." Fury muttered, as he stepped onto the teleporter, 'porting back to the vehicle bay.

As he turned to follow his commander, Cap turned back. "Superman!" he called, smiling. "I'll see you out there!" With that, he snapped up a salute.

Superman smiled back. "See you out there, Cap." he replied, returning the salute. With that, Cap stepped onto the teleporter, and was gone.

Mystique turned to the Professor. "Charles?" she asked. "Were you _serious_ about offering me a position as an instructor?"

Professor Xavier smiled. "Of course, Raven." he answered. "After you helped us, it is the very _least_ we could do." His smile grew. "Besides...I think that, now more than ever, your children need their mother."

Mystique's expression turned sad. "I...will consider it."

The Professor nodded. "Right now, I think we had best head back to the Institute...or rather, what remains of it. There should be some emergency rooms on the Danger Room levels that we can use, and we have the hard task of rebuilding ahead of us."

Ororo nodded, before she lightly smiled. "And we don't want to overstay our welcome."

Superman chuckled. "Hey, I don't mind having guests!"

Todd chuckled. "Oh, yeah? Just wait until Freddy here eats ya out of house and home!" he quipped.

"Hey!" Fred protested. "I'm a growing boy!"

Wanda chuckled, before her expression became worried. "Professor?" she asked. "I...I was just wondering...is it too late for me to...join the Institute?"

The Professor smiled. "It's _never_ too late, Wanda." he said. "We'd _love_ to have you."

Kurt chuckled. "Ve just vish zat zhere _vas_ an Institute to join!" he joked.

Superman smiled. "Like I said, you can all stay as long as you need to." he said. "Right now, I have to go meet up with the rest of the League; I'm running late as is!"

Scott smiled. "It's okay with us."

"Give them our best!" Jean added. With that, Superman headed to the teleporter, 'porting out, to meet up with the rest of the League, while the others started to make preparations to leave.

_Xavier Institute ruins_

It only took Superman a few minutes to reach the ruins of the Institute; by then, the rest of the League had assembled there. "Sorry I'm late." Superman said, as he touched down. "Something came up."

"No problem." Flash replied.

Superman smiled at his new teammates. "Thank you all for coming." he said. "I trust that everything went well?"

"Guardian Krallen agreed to letting Earth be my permanent assignment." Green Lantern said.

Aquaman chuckled. "Cousin Namor wasn't too thrilled to hear that I was joining up." he said. "But 'Nita and I managed to convince him that having a representative of Atlantis topside could be a good idea...for now, at least."

"My mother was similarly apprehensive." Wonder Woman admitted. "But I was able to persuade her that it was time for Themyscira's isolation to end, and that we could perhaps become part of the global community. She agreed to letting me join you all, as our first step towards rejoining Man's World."

"We're all glad to hear it." Superman said. He looked to his teammates. "We have a lot to talk about...but perhaps we should start with trust." His tone became serious. "With what we hope to achieve, we _need_ to be able to trust each other, to watch each other's backs. We choose to conceal our true identities from the public...but each of us should be able to trust the others with our secrets." He took a deep breath. "I'll start." he added. "My birth name is Kal-El...but my friends and family call me Clark Kent."

After a few seconds, Flash followed his lead, and pulled back his cowl. "Wally West."

Green Lantern nodded. "John Stewart."

"Shayera Hol." Hawkgirl said.

"Arthur Curry." Aquaman added.

Wonder Woman lightly smiled. "Truthfully, I do not really _have_ an 'alternate identity.' I am simply Diana, Princess of Themyscira."

"The same could be said for me." J'onn agreed. "I am J'onn J'onzz, survivor of Mars."

Batman frowned...and then pulled back his cowl. "Bruce Wayne."

Wally blinked. "Huh...who'd've thought..."

"Okay." Superman said. "The next issue should be establishing a headquarters."

"It can't be the Institute." Batman said, sliding back his cowl.

"I agree." Wonder Woman said. "It would be unfair of us to further endanger the good Professor."

Superman nodded in agreement. "We should establish our HQ somewhere neutral; we plan to help the entire _world_. Our HQ should reflect that."

"Well, then we can't use your Fortress." Aquaman said. "It's on the North Pole, which is part of Atlantis' turf."

Superman nodded, before glancing upwards into the morning sky...and smiled.

The others followed his gaze.

"Oh, _duh!_" Flash said, putting his cowl back on. "What better place to watch over the world from than _there?_"

Green Lantern arched an eyebrow. "But how exactly do you plan to _do_ it?"

Batman half-smiled. "I think Wayne Enterprises will be feeling fairly charitable towards such a worthy cause."

Wonder Woman blinked. "But will people not be curious as to why your company would fund such an endeavor?"

"I'm also a businessman, Princess; moving large amounts of money around without anyone noticing is _essential_ for me, _especially_ in my line of work."

Superman nodded, and then his expression turned grave. "We'll also need to work out patrols...but, right now, there is a more pressing issue." he said. "Ever since mutants were exposed worldwide, riots have been growing. We have to _do_ something about it."

"I agree." Wonder Woman said, frowning. "It makes me sick at heart, to see such discrimination and hatred..."

"People's hatred is born of fear." J'onn said. "They fear what they do not understand."

"_Exactly_." Superman said. "We need to alleviate their fear."

"Well, what _can_ we do?" Flash asked. "We can't just go on TV and say, 'Hey, don't be afraid!'"

Superman just smiled. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." he replied. "One of us should make a public announcement, and reassure people; tell them that there's nothing to fear."

"While the rest of us remain on stand-by, in case it fails." Batman said.

"Okay." Flash said. "So, who's gonna do it?"

"I would not be the best candidate." Wonder Woman admitted. "I do not know enough of this world to convince people."

"Nor do I." J'onn said.

Batman arched an eyebrow. "Does _anything_ about me seem reassuring?"

Hawkgirl smiled knowingly. "I think _I_ know who should go."

One-by-one, the rest of the League looked to Superman. "_Please_ tell me you're joking." Superman said.

"Hey, you _started_ this little band, Clark!" Flash said.

"Plus, you've been saving people's lives for the better part of the past two _years!_" Aquaman agreed.

Wonder Woman nodded, smiling. "You're the best choice."

Superman sighed, smiling to himself. "I guess I don't have much choice, do I?" he chuckled.

"So, how are we gonna set this up?" Flash asked. "We can't just walk into a studio and _ask._"

Superman thought for a moment...and then smiled. "Maybe _we_ don't _have_ to..."

_Daily Bugle, New York City_

In the main office of the Daily Bugle, the entire newspaper was abuzz with activity. After the events of yesterday – the earth-shattering double-revelations of the existence of both mutants and Superman – the paper was trying to catch up.

"I want all our photographers out there, _now!!_" J. Jonah Jameson thundered. "_Someone_ get downtown and cover the riot that's starting there! And _where_ are those photos of Superman I asked for?!"

Robbie Robertson frowned. "JJ, the guy moves at speeds faster than Mach 5; _nobody's_ been able to get shots of him."

"Dammit, Robertson, Channel Six already got the drop on us, yesterday, with that attack!" JJ bellowed. "And where the hell is Parker?!"

"You called, Mr. Jameson?" Peter said, as he walked into the office.

JJ's frown _grew_. "Dammit, Parker, where the hell have you _been?!_" he exploded. "We need every photographer we have on the streets in case Superman makes a fly-by!! I ought to fire you right now..!!"

"Before you do, Mr. Jameson," Peter said, smiling, "I have something for you." At that, he took out a cell-phone...just before it started to ring. Peter handed the phone to him, smiling. "_Trust_ me, sir; it's for _you_."

Frowning, Jonah took the phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"_You're a good man, J. Jonah Jameson._"

Jonah scowled. "Dammit, who _is_ this?!"

"_Would you mind stepping into your office? We have a few things that should be discussed in private._"

His teeth clenching, Jonah stormed into his office, closing the door behind him, with the back-window blinders closed. "Okay, buster, this _better_ be good..!!"

The voice on the other end chuckled pleasantly. "_I think so, sir._" he replied.

"Who _IS_ this?!" Jonah roared.

"_Oh, I'm sorry about that, sir; I'd be happy to introduce myself. If you'd be so kind as to open your window blinders..?_"

Scowling, Jonah obliged the stranger. "Okay, pal, I've had _enough_ of this! Either you tell me who this is _right now_, or I'll..!"

With that, he pulled back the blinders...and _froze_.

There, hovering right outside his office window, holding a high-tech communicator to his ear, was none other than Superman.

Jonah didn't dare _move_.

Superman smiled pleasantly, and switched off his communicator, the dial tone sounding from Jonah's phone as he did. Superman then folded the communicator up and clipped it to his belt, before simply sliding open the window pane. "I hope I didn't alarm you, Mr. Jameson, but I wanted to speak with you without drawing _too_ much attention."

Jonah managed to blink several times. "Think...think nothing of it." he half-stammered. "But..._why..?_"

Superman's expression turned serious. "Because you _are_ a good man, J. Jonah Jameson; despite the issues you have with Spider-Man, you _care_ about the truth." he answered. "I'm not exactly fussy about your paper's portrayal of Spider-Man in the past, but lately, you seem to have learned from your mistakes."

Jonah gulped. "I...I'm not following you..."

"I hear that you're looking for photos of me, Jameson." Superman replied. "Well, I'm about to give your paper something _better_: an _exclusive_ interview with me, today, at the 1:00 news...on _one_ condition."

Jonah nodded slowly. "And that would be..?"

"...that the interview is _live_." Superman said. "No taping. No editing. No mis-quotes. Just the _truth_."

Slowly, Jonah smiled. "That's fine with me."

"1:00, this afternoon. On the _dot_." Superman repeated. "Be ready." With that, he flew off, heading right into the sky.

Just then, Robbie and Peter opened the door, and walked in. "Jonah?" Robbie asked. "What's going on..." but his voice trailed off as he saw Superman flying off.

Jonah half-glared at Peter. "Parker, why didn't you _tell_ me that phone came from Superman?!"

Peter grinned. "I didn't think you'd believe me, sir."

Robbie blinked. "Jonah...you _talked_ to him?"

"Damn straight! Managed to get a live interview out of him!" Jonah laughed. "My God, _that's_ what a hero is _supposed_ to look like! Red-and-blue, the colors of a _real_ hero! And talk about stature: why, one glare from him would make the _Kingpin_ wet himself! And no mask! Takes a _real_ man to show his face, and not hide behind some glorified ski-mask!"

Peter frowned. "Mr. Jameson...I thought you said you were _through_ trashing Spider-Man..."

"One step at a time, Parker. One step at a time." Jonah replied. He frowned. "Now, if _someone_ had gotten photos of him..!"

"I figured you'd say that, sir," Peter said, grinning and holding up his camera, "so I managed to snap a few photos after Superman gave me the phone, as he was flying off."

Jonah laughed. "That's more _like_ it!" he declared. "Now we've got a _real_ attention-grabber! Exclusive photos and an exclusive interview with Superman...the Man of Tomorrow!"

Robbie blinked. "'The Man of Tomorrow'??"

Jonah grinned. "Catchy, isn't it?" he said. With that, he strode out of his office, shouting, "_Stop the presses!!_ We've got a new head-liner, people! A Daily Bugle exclusive: _Superman Speaks!_" He glared at the Bugle staff. "Well? What are you waiting for?!" With that, the Bugle staff got to work.

_North Pole_

It was early afternoon when Alison had gotten the call from Clark, telling her and all the others to watch the 1:00 news. Alison had promptly told the others, and they had all gathered in the Meeting Chamber, sitting in front of the holographic TV-screen that had extended out from the wall. It was only about five minutes before the news started, and everyone was curious.

"Wonder what the big guy wanted us to see?" Todd wondered aloud.

"Beats me." Fred agreed.

Wanda chuckled. "Well, if you two goofs don't keep it down, we'll never find out!"

As she watched the screen, waiting for the news to start, Alison sighed to herself, still unsure what to do as far as her concert was concerned. Singing was _part_ of her; it had _always_ been her dream...but now..?

"_Sshh!!_" Jamie exclaimed. "It's starting!"

Looking to the screen, Alison saw a smartly-dressed news anchorwoman sitting at a news-desk, smiling at the camera. "_Good afternoon!_" she greeted. "_This is Elizabeth Brant with the Daily Bugle afternoon news! Well, viewers, today we have an exclusive that you won't believe...in fact, I don't believe it, myself!_"

Remy arched an eyebrow. "Well, 'dis gon' be int'restin'."

Rogue lightly elbowed him. "Hush up, Cajun; Ah'm tryin ta listen." she teased.

"_For the past two years, we've heard about him,_" Elizabeth continued, "_but we still know next to nothing about this mysterious individual. Well, viewers, today, that changes! Today, we get the news straight from the hero's mouth, as we finally answer the question that's on our minds: 'Who is Superman'?_"

"_Holy_..." Logan muttered. "Flyboy, what have you gotten yourself into, _this_ time?"

Just then, a sonic boom echoed in the TV's background. "_Oh my gosh, viewers, I think he's here!_" Elizabeth exclaimed. At that, the camera turned to the left...in time to see Superman calmly walk in through the open window.

Superman smiled pleasantly. "_I'm awfully sorry if I'm late._" he said. "_There was a cat stuck in a tree, and her owner was pretty upset._"

Shadowcat giggled. "That's our Kal!"

Elizabeth smiled back, clearly a bit flustered. "_N-No problem at all, Superman! It's an honor to have you here! P-Please, have a seat!_"

"_Thank you, Miss Brant. It's a pleasure to be here._" Superman replied, taking a seat.

Elizabeth managed to calm herself. "_Well, we're all certainly curious about you, Superman..._" she began, and then she stopped. "_Oh, I-I'm so sorry...__**can**__ we call you 'Superman'?_"

Superman chuckled. "_Well, it's better than anything I've been able to come up with on my own. 'Superman' it is._"

"_Okay, then!_" Elizabeth said. "_Well, Superman, after the events of yesterday, as I said, we're all very curious about you! We think it's amazing that a mutant of your level of power is using his abilities to help..._"

Superman calmly raised his hand. "_With all respect due, Miss Brant, I would like to correct you on that point. I'm not a mutant._" he said. "_I'm something else._"

"_Oh._" Elizabeth said. "_Well...if you're not a mutant, then...what are you, if you don't mind?_"

"_Not at all._" Superman said. "_That has to do with where I'm __**from**__. You see, Miss Brant...I'm not from around here._"

Elizabeth blinked. "_I...I'm not sure I understand..._"

Superman sighed. "_Well, I guess there's no other way to say this than to come straight out and say it. Miss Brant, I'm from Krypton._"

Elizabeth looked _very_ confused. "_I...I've never heard of it..._"

"_You wouldn't have been expected to, ma'am. Krypton was the third planet of the Xerius Galaxy, located over two billion light years from this system._"

Elizabeth was shocked silent.

Lance chuckled. "Yeah, I think we've _all_ had a little '_Holy-crap-is-he-serious?_' moment like that."

Elizabeth managed to recover her voice. "_You're...an __**alien?**_"

"_Yep._"

"_Oh my God._" Elizabeth said. "_Oh my GOD! This is...this is AMAZING!! You've changed Earth history just by BEING here!! Are there more like you? Are they coming here?_"

Evan frowned. "She _had_ to ask that, didn't she?"

Superman frowned. "_No, Miss Brant._" he said softly. "_Thirty years ago, the planet Krypton underwent a catastrophic reaction in its planetary core, destroying it...along with every other member of the Kryptonian race. The only reason I survived was because my parents sent me here, in an experimental Trans-Warp spacecraft, to escape Krypton's destruction._"

Elizabeth looked stricken. "_I...I'm so sorry...I had no idea..._"

"_It's alright, Miss Brant._" Superman said. "_I've had a few years to come to terms with that loss._"

Elizabeth nodded. "_So...we're still a bit curious about your abilities, Superman. What exactly can you do?_"

Superman smiled. "_Well, you probably know about my strength and my speed, as well as my ability to fly._" he began. "_I'm also capable of generating high-powered thermal-energy beams from my eyes, as well as exhaling with the force of a hurricane, or unleashing gusts close to absolute zero – zero degrees Kelvin. My body is, for the most part, invulnerable to pretty much anything, and my hearing and vision are considerably more acute than a normal human's; I can pick up sounds extending into Ultra-High and Ultra-Low Frequency, and my eyes can see more than just the middle part of the spectrum – what humans see: I can see parts of the infra-red and ultra-violet spectrum – you could say I have 'thermal vision' and 'X-Ray vision',_"

"_Wow._" Elizabeth said. "_You sound practically invincible..._"

"_I don't want to say __**that**__, ma'am._" Superman said. "_True, I haven't reached my limits, but I don't want to get complacent._"

"_Okay, then._" Elizabeth said. "_What is your opinion on the 'mutant issue'?_"

"_Well, I think that mutants have the same choice as any regular human – or __**any**__ person, for that matter – has to deal with._" Superman answered. "_They have the choice between using their talents for good – for the benefit of all – or for evil, just like everyone else does._"

Elizabeth looked thoughtful. "_So, they're like everyone else, just with powers?_"

"_Basically._"

Elizabeth smiled. "_Well, that's certainly an interesting point, Superman._" she said. "_What about the Xavier Institute, the school where numerous mutant students in the town of Bayville were said to have attended?_"

Superman smiled. "_I'm quite familiar with the Institute, ma'am. In fact, I'm proud to say that its students are my closest friends._"

Elizabeth smiled back. "_Our sources tell us that they were fighting that huge robot with you, yesterday. Do they always assist you?_"

"_It would be more accurate to say that we're a team._" Superman answered. "_On important missions, the X-Men – my friends – and I handle them together, such as if a mutant is in danger, or is endangering others. But, in the past, as far as generally helping people go, I've acted alone._"

"_And now?_" Elizabeth asked.

Superman smiled. "_Now I'm part of a second team._" he answered. "_The Justice League. Our goal is to help make the world a better place for everyone, mutants and humans alike. I'm proud to stand with them to achieve that goal, and since our goals are complementary to the Institute's goal of peaceful coexistence, I wouldn't be surprised if the League and the X-Men wound up on the same side, every so often!_"

"_Amazing!_" Elizabeth exclaimed. "_Well, after hearing that, I'm sure that every bad guy on the planet will be shaking in his boots!_"

"You can say _zat_ again!" Kurt laughed.

"You _tell_ it, Big Blue!" Bobby exclaimed.

"_Earlier, you said that you came here in a spaceship._" Elizabeth continued. "_What was it? 'Tran...Trans...'_"

"_Trans-Warp._" Superman answered. "_Essentially, it involves traveling faster than light without the temporal consequences of traveling faster than light._"

"_Wow._" Elizabeth said. "_Your people must have been incredibly advanced..._"

"_One of the most advanced races in the universe._" Superman said. "_But, to be fair, they were one of the __**first**__ races in the universe; the Xerius Galaxy – where Krypton was – was one of the first galaxies ever formed. Life began on Krypton millions of years before Earth's system was even __**formed.**_"

"_Well, I guess that makes sense._" Elizabeth said. "_You guys have just had more time to develop!_"

"_Exactly!_" Superman agreed. "_That was part of why my father sent me here: Krypton's people were once as humanity is now. My father recognized that your people have a __**lot**__ of potential._"

"_Wow! Thank you!_" Elizabeth laughed. "_That's quite a compliment, coming from a member of such an advanced civilization!_" Then, her expression turned a bit embarrassed. "_Well, Superman...you mentioned your parents...so...I'm assuming your people reproduced..._"

Superman blinked. "_Well...yes, of course..._"

"_Well...I was wondering..._" Elizabeth began, but stopped. "_I'm...I'm so sorry, Superman, I shouldn't ask..._"

"_I think I know what you were going to ask, Miss Brant._" Superman said, gently smiling. "_And it's okay; I can understand why people are curious about me. I will say that, as far as physiology goes, the Kryptonian people are mostly __**identical**__ to humans. Does that answer your question?_"

"_Yes, it certainly does._" Elizabeth answered, her smile a bit shy. "_And I think I can safely say that the female population of Earth is glad to hear it._"

Alison smiled. "Amen to _that._" she said softly.

"_So, Superman,_" Elizabeth continued, "_since we're on the topic...is there anyone special..?_"

Superman quickly held up his hand, his smile a bit wry. "_I'm afraid I'll have to stop you there, Miss Brant. I can understand people being curious, but I'd prefer to keep my personal life exactly that: __**personal.**_"

"_I'm sorry._" Elizabeth said quickly. "_I had to try._" Gathering herself, she continued, "_Is there anything else you'd like to say? Any message for the people of Earth?_"

"_Now that you mention it, yes._" Superman said. He looked right at the camera. "_I know that many of you are afraid; afraid of mutants, of me, and of everything that's happened. I came here to tell you all that you don't have to be afraid. The only crime that mutants are guilty of is being born with one extra gene. Mutants are still part of the human race – they're your brothers and sisters, your sons and daughters, your friends and family; don't turn away from them. And as for myself and the Justice League...no-one has to be afraid of us. We're not here to force anyone to do anything, or to impose our wills upon others; we're here to __**show**__ you all a better way, but it's up to each and every one of you to follow it._"

Scott smiled. "Way to go, Kal..." he said softly.

Todd lightly sniffed. "Boy...that kinda gets ya, right there..."

Tabitha chuckled. "Yeah. He kinda has that effect on people."

"_Powerful words._" Elizabeth said. "_Well, Superman, as I said, it has certainly been an honor speaking with you._"

"_Thank you, Miss Brant._" Superman replied, standing up to shake her hand. "_I hope I've answered a few of humanity's questions about..._" He suddenly paused. "_Uh-oh._"

The X-Men and New Mutants all knew _that_ phrase. "Uh-oh."

"_'Uh-oh'??_" Elizabeth repeated.

Superman's expression became determined. "_I'm sorry, Miss Brant, but I have to go; there's an oil tanker in distress off the coast of Europe. It's taking on water._"

"_Oh! Well, by all means, get going!_" Elizabeth exclaimed. Instantly, Superman darted towards the window, and leapt out into open air, flying towards the open ocean, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

Rogue chuckled. "And some things _neva_ change!"

With Superman gone, Elizabeth turned to the camera. "_Well, viewers, there you have it! A stranger to our planet, come to us from far across the ocean of space, not to conquer us with his great power, but to help us, to save us from ourselves; a true Man of Tomorrow!_" she said. "_After what has happened, Superman and his fellow heroes – the Justice League – are likely __**exactly**__ what this world needs: a beacon of hope, pointing towards a better way. All that this reporter – and the rest of the world – can hope for, is that Superman's words of reassurance did not fall on deaf ears...but that is something that, as Superman said, only all of __**you**__ can decide. This is Betty Brant, for Daily Bugle News, signing off!_"

The Professor smiled. "Kal...thank you..." he whispered.

"You _go_, Big Blue." Evan said softly.

Alison just watched the screen, smiling proudly at what her _tausha_ had been willing to do for them – for _all_ mutants.

"Okay, okay, party's over." Logan said. "So, Chuck, we all gonna clear out of Flyboy's place, or what?"

The Professor chuckled. "I suppose we should." he agreed. "Everyone, let's get going." With that, everyone headed out of the Meeting Chamber, to finish getting ready to leave.

It had only taken them a few minutes to pile into the Blackbird, and fly out of the Fortress, the crystalline stronghold's computer automatically guiding them out. Within a half-hour, the Blackbird had touched down at the ruined Institute, and the entire group emerged, the X-Men and New Mutants looking sadly upon their former home, as Krypto softly whined.

"It's only brick and mortar." Ororo said, smiling. "It can be rebuilt."

Wanda lightly smiled at Todd and Fred. "You know, you guys could stay, too."

Scott nodded. "We'd be happy to have you."

Todd smiled, and shook his head. "Thanks, anyway, but no thanks." he said. "Don't get us wrong, you guys are pretty cool, and joining up does seem like a pretty sweet deal...but, for now, we kinda just need to do our own thing."

"Yeah. Sorry." Fred added. "But you don't gotta worry about the two of _us_ buggin' you guys, anymore."

"That's perfectly fine." the Professor said. "Our door's always open."

Todd shrugged. "Maybe later, then." he said. He turned to Wanda, and smiled. "See you later, Cuddlebumps."

Wanda smiled. "See you later, you goofy wart." she teased back. With that, Todd and Fred turned, and started to walk away.

The Professor turned to Mystique. "Have you given my suggestion any thought, Raven?"

Mystique was silent for a moment...before she lightly smiled. "I...I think I would like to teach here."

Kurt smiled. "Zat's great!"

Rogue smiled, as well. "We're glad to hear it..._Mama._" she said, which brought a larger smile to Mystique's face.

Remy sighed. "_Parfait._" he lamented. "Remy's new teacher be de _mere_ o' de _fille_ dat Remy be datin', who _also_ app'ns t' be a _shape-shift'r_. Remy ain' gon' last de _week_."

Rogue chuckled. "Don't worry, Swamp-Rat. Ah'll come to yer funeral."

Jean turned to Alison. "So, Ali, what have _you_ decided?"

Alison was about to answer...when her _tausha_'s words filled her mind. _You don't have to be afraid..._

Alison smiled. "I think I know what to do."

"Good to hear." Scott said. With that, the entire ragtag band headed for the underground entrance to the Danger Room levels, to settle in.

_Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House_

By the time Todd and Fred had returned to the boarding house, the sun was starting to set. Since it was such a nice evening, the two pals had simply opted to sit on the rooftop, and watch the setting sun.

"Nice evening." Todd commented.

"Yep." Fred agreed.

"Ya know, after all the crap that's happened, this oughtta be the time when somebody says something profound." Todd observed.

"Yeah, sounds right."

Todd shrugged. "Eh. That never _was_ our style."

Fred chuckled. "Gotta admit, little pal, that was a classy move you did with Wanda, back there."

Todd smiled goofily at the thought of her. "Hey, you love something, set it free, right?"

"Thought we didn't do profound."

"Chicks are the only exception."

"Oh. Right." Fred agreed. He looked down. "You know, I kinda thought we might be facing a mob, after coming back here."

"Guess Supes' speech worked."

"Guess so." Fred said. "So, you think Supes and the League can do it?"

Todd chuckled. "Hey, they've sure got their work cut out for 'em, yo." he replied. "I admit, after all this, ya gotta respect 'em, but...changin' the whole _world?_ That's _crazy!_" Then, he grinned. "But the thing is, it's _just_ crazy enough to _work!_"

Fred smiled. "True enough!" he said. Then, he frowned. "I'm thirsty."

"Hang on...I think I stashed a bunch of colas in the back of the freezer, a few months ago." Todd said. "You know, so Pietro wouldn't get 'em?"

"Oh, yeah." Fred agreed; Pietro and caffeine did _not_ mix.

Within a few minutes, Todd had hopped into the boarding house window, fished out the sodas, and brought back two. Sitting down, he handed one to Fred, before popping open his own, with Fred doing the same. Todd was about to take a sip, before he stopped, and held the cola up in a toast. "To the League!"

Fred grinned, and did the same. "To the League!" he agreed. With that, the two pals took a sip from their colas, and continued to watch the sunrise...two underdogs rooting for the new guys, the entire world against them, but still with a fighting chance.

_New York City_

In his office in New York, Wilson Fisk frowned as he watched the news report.

'_A "Justice League," is it?_' he thought grimly. This did _not_ bode well.

His operations in Gotham had been ruined by _two_ 'heroes,' Superman and Batman.

Now there was an entire _team_ of them, with no government to keep them from coming after people like _him_, and _every_ reason to do so.

'_Precautions must be taken._' Wilson thought to himself. He would have to step up his recruiting of super-powered individuals. He might have to establish alliances with some of his business rivals...including that insufferable Silvermane.

And he would surely have to make getting rid of Superman and the rest of the foolish 'Justice League' a _top_ priority.

With these grim thoughts, Wilson returned to his paperwork.

_Castle Doom, Doomstadt, Latveria_

Standing in her father's throne room, next to her father upon his throne, Siryn couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry as she saw the news report that had gone out.

So, her future hubby was forming a new team: a 'Justice League.' She had to admit, Kal-El was quite the speaker...

Siryn shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "Father?" she asked. "What shall we do?"

Doom was silent, lost in thought, as Irene Adler's prophecy came back to haunt him, his previous chill reclaiming its grasp on his spine...

"_All I can see are seven figures joining forces with the Child...they will help the Child bring back something lost to this world..._"

"_Justice..._"

"Father?" Siryn asked again.

Doom shook himself out of his thoughts. "_Yes, my child. I heard you._" he said quickly. "_This changes nothing._"

Siryn lightly smiled. "What is our plan, Father?"

"_Patience, my child._" Doom answered, rising from his throne. "_I must ponder this turn of events. I will return shortly, my dear. Excuse me._" With that, Doom left the room.

Siryn's eyes were wide as she watched her Papa leave. This development...this 'Justice League'...

...it had shaken her Papa. Quite badly.

Siryn's eyes narrowed in determination. Her Papa was right. This new turn of events...it changed _nothing_. Their plans remained the same. Kal-El _would_ lead the mutant race, with her at his side, and with her wise Papa guiding them...and _nothing_ would change that.

_Nothing._

_Academy of Tomorrow, Boston Massachusetts_

'_Well,_' Sebastian Shaw thought to himself, '_this is certainly an interesting turn of events._'

Sebastian had decided to visit Emma's Academy, to oversee her instruction of the Hellions; with the new developments – the Sentinels and mutants being public knowledge – the new team would be critical to the Circle's affairs.

But _nothing_ could have prepared him for Superman's little speech on the news.

Sebastian was currently standing in the briefing room, along with Emma, the Hellions...and his son.

Sebastian allowed himself a cold smile at Shinobi's hateful scowl as Superman announced the formation of the 'Justice League.' His son's jealousy of the powerful alien still lingered.

Looking about the team, Sebastian saw several expressions similar to Shinobi's...most notably that of Julian. The young telekinetic undoubtedly envied Superman for his power, and surely viewed him as a threat to usurp his position as leader of the team, given Victor's plans for the alien youth.

Glancing to Emma, Sebastian saw the same mildly intrigued, sly smile on her patrician face that covered his own. '_The "Justice League"...how quaint._' she sent to him.

Sebastian smiled, and nodded. '_Indeed, Emma, dear,_' he agreed, '_this coming year will certainly be __**interesting...**_'

_Undisclosed location_

With a roar of pure _rage_, Graydon Creed fired a full clip into the television, enraged beyond belief at what he'd just heard.

"_...I'm from Krypton...the third planet of the Xerius Galaxy..._"

'_An alien..._' Graydon mentally seethed. '_All along...MOCKING me!!!_'

He should have seen it. The muties having access to such advanced technology...the flying freaks' inhuman power...even his vulnerability to the extraterrestrial meteor-element...

_Muties_ were bad enough. Muties were a threat...but a _home-grown_ threat.

But an _alien_...a creature from another _galaxy_...an unwelcome _stranger_ to their solar system..!!

'_How dare it come here...how DARE it!!!_' Graydon mentally roared.

_Humanity_ was the greatest species in the cosmos. Couldn't the people of Earth _see?_ Its kind had been _eradicated!_ It had _admitted_ so! Wasn't _that_ proof enough? Wasn't that proof that its kind _had no place here?!_

Graydon started to slow his breath. The Friends of Humanity were needed more than _ever_, if that _alien_ was serious about what its 'Justice League' planned to do.

'Justice.' Graydon laughed at the thought. As if that alien could _ever_ understand human justice.

As he stepped out of his private chamber, a lieutenant strode up to him. "Mr. Creed, sir! Did...did you _see..?_"

"I saw." Graydon replied. "I want this order issued." He smiled to himself, as the plan came to him so easily. "I want the alien, and any member of its 'League' shot _on sight_. Do whatever it takes, but I want the alien and its team _brought down_...no matter the cost." _That_ would send a message to _all_ the muties and freaks on Earth; the Friends of Humanity would make it _clear_ that they had _nothing_ to brag about.

As the lieutenant headed off to issue the order, Graydon was left with another problem. Trask's capture had practically _bankrupted_ their organization. Proceeding with their plans to eradicate mutants – to say _nothing_ of gathering whatever firepower they needed to take out the 'Justice League' – would be difficult...

Just then, the phone rang, and Graydon picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Graydon Creed._"

Graydon's eyes narrowed at the almost serpent-like, hissing voice. "Who is this?" he demanded.

"_Someone like you._" the female voice hissed slyly. "_Someone who sees this 'Justice League' as a threat that should be squashed before it grows._"

Graydon scowled. "Who are you?"

The voice cackled. "_My name, Creed, is Madame Hydra,_" she said, "_and we have much to discuss..._"

_New York Concert Hall, New York_

As the setting sun colored the sky, the huge crowd gathered at the Concert Hall murmured amongst itself. Tonight was supposed to be Alison Blaire's concert.

But Alison was said to have been seen with the mutants that had fought the massive robot. Alison's fans were confused. _Was_ she a mutant?

As the concert's start-time approached, the crowd started to get antsy. Where _was_ Alison..?

Suddenly, a small, person-sized silver shape appeared in the sky above the Hall...as Alison, in her uniform, descended from the sky, touching down on the stage, a mini-microphone clipped to her ear, her entrance casting a silence over the crowd.

Alison took a deep breath; no turning back, now. "Good evening, everyone." she greeted, her voice amplified by the microphone. "Before I begin, as I'm sure you were wondering – not that you need to wonder any more – _yes_, I _am_ a mutant."

She smiled to the crowd. "And you know what else?" she asked. "I'm _okay_ with that. I just wanted to tell you all that. This is me. This is who I am. I'm here, before all of you, and I'm telling you the _truth_."

Alison took a deep breath. She was about to continue, to say that, if they honestly didn't want to hear her sing...she would understand.

But she needn't have bothered.

"_ROCK ON, MEGA-GIRL!!!_"

"_WE LOVE YOU, ALI!!!_"

"_YOU __**GO**__, GIRL!!!_"

Alison didn't dare speak, as the crowd – no her _fans_ – erupted in cheers, louder than _any_ cheering she'd received at any concert she'd performed at before. Then, Alison smiled radiantly, her powers activating, bathing her in a radiant glow, which only encouraged her fans to cheer _louder_.

Magneto had preached that humanity would never accept mutants...but Clark had said that humanity could be a great people. Jor-El had believed the same thing.

And they were _right_.

This reaction – her fans' cheering – was bald-faced _proof_ that Magneto was _dead wrong_...and that her _tausha_ was _right on the money_.

Alison felt tears of happiness flow from her eyes. "Thank you..." she whispered. "Oh my God, thank you so much." Her fans only cheered louder. Alison smiled, and raised her hand in a pop-diva pose, her confidence returning to her easily. "Let's get this party _started!!!_" she declared, causing her fans to erupt in a fresh wave of cheers. With that, the concert began.

It was the best performance of Alison's _life_. Alison sang as if she had never sang before, singing with _all_ that she was, belting out each of her hits, one right after the other, her sweet voice completely capturing her fans' hearts, her powers giving her a personal light-aura, making any special effects utterly unnecessary.

The time seemed to just _fly_ by, and before long, Alison had reached the end, with her fans cheering for more. Alison was about to thank them and bid them good-night...but then she recalled the song she had been working on, remembering the lyrics easily. Smiling, she called, "How about one more for the road?"

Her fans cheered.

Alison's smile grew. "This is a completely new song," she said, "and it goes out to a _very_ special guy. I might be Number One on the charts...but _he's_ Number One in my heart." She looked up towards the sky. "You know who you are, baby; this one is for _you!_" With that, she launched into her new song, which she had titled, "True Blue."

Alison's fans swayed silently as Alison sang, her song telling a tale of two childhood sweethearts, separated by a tragedy, who reunited years later. Her song told of their relationship, slowly growing from innocent affection, to deep friendship, and finally to love. And through it all, the boy was always there when the girl needed him, never faltering, despite the burdens he carried; he was _true blue_.

It was her and Clark's story.

As the song ended, and Alison's haunting voice carried the last few lyrics into the breeze, the audience was silent...and then erupted into cheers. Alison smiled. "Thank you all for coming!" she called. "I love you all!"

As Alison turned to head backstage, she happened to glance upwards...and spotted a shape in the sky.

There, hovering silently over the stage, the blue of his uniform camouflage against the night sky, was Superman – her Clarkie – smiling down at her.

Alison smiled back, silently mouthing, '_I love you._' to him.

Superman smiled back, and mouthed '_I love you._' back to her, before silently flying off, to save the day again, with his new team. Smiling after her _tausha_, Alison turned, and headed backstage, waving to her fans – who loved her for _all_ that she was – as she left the stage.

_Xavier Institute ruins_

It was late at night when Superman returned to the Institute, to check in with his friends. He had already done a thorough sweep of the rest of the planet with the League, stopping several crimes, and averting one or two disasters...as well as stopping by to see Ali's concert, and receiving a call from his Ma. Superman smiled; his Ma had initially been worried, but after seeing the news report, as well as a few more reassurances from him, she told him that 'she was so proud of him.' Having more people to assist sure made things easier, but they were going to have to develop a more effective way of patrolling; perhaps a surveillance network for their new HQ?

Still, for now, all was well. The anti-mutant riots were dying down on their own, the planet was, for now, peaceful. The _Argo_ was safely back at the Fortress, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was still unaware of its location.

And, most importantly, his friends were safe and sound.

Quietly, Superman headed down to the Danger Room levels, where his friends were sleeping, deactivating the security system momentarily. He didn't want to wake them...

"Tough night?"

Superman turned to see Jean there, still in uniform. "Nothing major." he answered, smiling. "Sorry if I woke you."

Jean shook her head. "I just wanted to talk to you for a minute." she said. "There was something I never told you about when I joined with Phoenix." She took a deep breath...and told him.

Superman's eyes went wide. "You...you saw Pa..?"

"_Annie_ did...and I believed her." Jean answered. She smiled. "He wanted you to know he was proud of you, Clark, especially after yesterday." Her smile grew. "We _all_ are, after what you did for us." She gave him a quick hug. "We're lucky to have you as a friend."

Superman smiled, and returned the hug. "_I'm_ the lucky one, Jean." he replied. "You guys – _all_ of you – are my _family_. If I hadn't met you all, I would have been completely alone." His smile grew. "_Thank_ _you_."

Jean smiled back, as the hug ended. "You should go see Ali." she advised. "She's a bit drained after her concert...but in a _good_ way."

"I know." Superman replied. "'Night, Jean."

"'Night, Clark." Jean replied, before she turned, and walked away, as Superman headed to Alison's room, to check on his _taushi_.

It didn't take long for Superman to find Alison's room – he knew his _taushi_'s heartbeat – and quietly slid the door open. Alison was lying on the bed, the sheets tangled around her, clad in only a pair of spare workout shorts, likely found in the room, with her pendant around her throat, resting just above her ample curves, her sapphire eyes closed in sweet sleep. Smiling, Superman started to leave, to let her sleep...

"Clarkie..?"

Superman stopped, lightly smiling as he saw Alison stir, sitting up, holding the blankets over her chest. "Hey..." she cooed, smiling.

"Hey." Superman replied. "Sorry if I woke you."

Alison shook her head. "I wanted to wait up for you...I guess I dozed off..."

"Sorry; I had League business." Superman said.

"I know." Alison replied, extending her arms to him. Superman accepted her sweet invitation, and sat next to her, embracing her lovingly.

"So, how did your concert go?" Superman inquired innocently.

Alison smiled. "Oh, like you don't know!" she teased. "I got a standing ovation, Clarkie! Every talent agent in the business is clamoring to sign me, now, _especially_ after Tom ripped up my contract!"

Superman grinned. "What did I tell you?"

Alison smiled, and rested her head in the crook of his neck, nuzzling into him. "You were right, Clarkie...you and Jor-El were _right_..."

Superman smiled, holding his precious Alia close. "Glad that we got at least _one_ right."

Alison giggled sleepily. "But I think I'll sign for slightly _fewer_ CD recordings and concerts, Clarkie...I want to have some time to help you and the League..."

Superman smiled. "We'd welcome the help, _taushi_." he said softly. At that, Alison smiled, as her eyes closed in blissful trust, as she leaned closer to him, and Clark gladly accepted her invitation, their lips meeting in a tender kiss.

Their kiss slowly grew in passion, and Clark felt his senses start to go haywire...and then Alison pulled away. "Clark..." she cooed, smiling sleepily, "...as much as I would absolutely _love_ to fool around, tonight...I'm just too _tired_..."

Clark smiled, and gave her one last tender kiss. "I understand, _Alia_." he whispered. He grinned. "Besides, we don't want to wake the others; we were lucky that the Fortress' walls were sound-proof."

"Oh, _you!_" Alison laughed, lightly swatting his shoulder, before starting to fall back onto the bed. "Clark?" Alison sleepily asked. "Please...stay with me..." With that last sleepy plea, Alison fell asleep. Smiling, Clark lay down with his beloved Alison, tenderly spooning her from behind, as he draped his cape over her, embracing her as he did, smiling as he heard her sigh peacefully, before joining her in dreamland.

_Xavier Institute ruins, July 13, 2008_

By the time the X-Men, the New Mutants – including Wanda, now – and the instructors – including Mystique – awoke and had breakfast in the lower Danger Room levels, it was already mid-morning. Clark had needed to leave right after breakfast, to join the rest of the League on patrol, while the rest of them drew up plans to rebuild the Institute.

After a few hours, they all ventured topside...and took in the scorched ruins of their old home. "_Man..._" Bobby muttered. "...talk about depressing..."

"_I concur._" Mark agreed, his yellow eyes drooping. "_This sight is most displeasing. Repair will be a daunting feat._"

"Could be worse, guys." Scott said. "We could have to do this while facing a mob."

"Yeah." Alison agreed. "After Clark's speech, anti-mutant riots started tapering down...but they didn't vanish completely."

"I guess Clark can't do _everything_." Jubilee said softly.

"I still can't believe that's his name." Wanda said. At the breakfast table, Clark had introduced himself. "I mean...'_Clark_'?? No offence to the guy, but...he does _not_ look like a 'Clark.'"

Mystique chuckled. "I suppose we don't know him well enough to match the face to the name."

The Professor momentarily looked grim...before his face became determined. "Well, there's no sense in complaining." he said. "We'll quickly survey the Institute ground, and find out exactly how much we need in terms of supplies..."

Suddenly, the whirr of a rotor-blade cut off Professor Xavier, as a black LexCorp helicopter flew in low over the ruins, before touching down...as Lex hopped out, walking towards them.

"Hi, guys!" he called, stopping a few feet away. He briefly looked at the ruins. "_Wow._" he joked. "When you guys throw parties, you sure don't kid around!"

"Har har, rich boy." Rogue quipped.

"Sorry; couldn't resist!" Lex said. "I figured you guys could use a little help!"

"Mr. Luthor...Lex..." the Professor said, "...we appreciate the offer, but we simply _couldn't_..."

"Professor," Lex interrupted, "if there's _anything_ I've learned from that naive, lovable Boy Scout, it's that you _can't_ put a price on friends. _Trust_ me, I can afford to foot the bill to repair this place."

Scott smiled. "Thanks, Lex."

"Well, dat's all well an' good," Remy said, "but we still got t' 'ire workers t' do de fixin', an' Remy don' t'ink dat dere be too many workers willin' t' 'elp us."

"Leave _that_ to _us_."

Turning, everyone was surprised to see the entire Justice League touch down next to them. "I gave Lex a shout after our morning patrol was done." Superman said, smiling.

"Between all of us, we should have the place up in _no_ time!" Flash said.

Green Lantern whistled. "We're going to need a _lot_ of elbow-grease."

"You can say _that_ again." Aquaman agreed.

"A challenge, for sure," Hawkgirl said, as she smiled, "but worth doing."

Wonder Woman smiled. "Our mission is to help make the world a better place for all." she said. "Where better to start than a facility dedicated to education, and peaceful coexistence?"

"And if we need someone with specialized skills, such as a plumber, or artisan," Superman added, as he glanced to Batman, "I know a guy who knows a guy."

Batman simply nodded.

J'onn smiled. "How could we refuse our friends when they needed us?"

The Professor smiled, as did all the others. "Thank you." he said. "For _everything_."

Scott chuckled. "Why don't we save the 'thank-you's' for _after_ the Institute's repairs?" he joked.

Superman chuckled. "Well, then," he declared, smiling at Alison, who smiled back, "let's get _started!_"

With that, the Justice League, the X-Men, the New Mutants, and the instructors all got started at rebuilding the Institute.

The world had changed.

Now, it was up to _all_ of them to make sure that the change was for the _better_.

It was a new day for them _all_.

_THE END_

_Author's Note:_

_WOW._

_That's all I can say right now._

_That was the longest story I've ever written. There were times I wasn't sure if I could finish._

_I hope you all enjoy the ending! I guess I'm just a sucker for happy endings._

_There are just a few things I want to say before I go. First of all, yes, I do plan to do a sequel to this story. In the relatively near future, be on the lookout for "The Last Son, Book Three: Changes."_

_That said, I won't be starting on Book Three, right away. After this story, I am DRAINED. I need a few weeks to recharge my batteries. After that, I plan to start on my Ultimate Spider-Man/Transformers story, "More Than Meets the Eye."_

_But don't worry; I WILL write Book Three. With any luck, I can get started on it shortly after Christmas. If not, I should be able to start around New Year's…unless university gets in the way._

_On a side note, I'm also planning to start a completely original (non-fan-fiction) story. I plan to submit it and maybe get it published. One of my pipe dreams is to become an author…and maybe have my "Last Son" stories made into a comic book…with Stan Lee and DC Comics' approval, of course._

_Like I said, a pipe dream. Wish me luck!_

_And finally, I just want to give a HUGE thank-you to all of you, my readers and reviewers. You've ALL been great! You've really given me the confidence to keep going when I needed it, or when I hit a block! I'm a bit sorry to see this story end…but I'm glad I finished it!_

_But now that this story is finished, once I've uploaded this last chapter, I am just going to go up to my room…and become UNCONSCIOUS._

_Thank you all so much!_

_Good luck in all of your writing endeavors._

_Godspeed, my friends._

_Until we meet again!_


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